On Hold

The Genographic Project, which is led by Spencer Wells, has canceled its planned collection of DNA from members of Peru's Q'eros community after some indigenous leaders said that the project was not following local procedures, reports ScienceInsider. Regional officials say the expedition had not provided notarized evidence of "free and informed prior consent" as well as other documents that are required before any DNA sampling may take place, according to ScienceInsider. Wells says his team had verbal authorization from two communities' leaders. One local group, Asociación para la Naturaleza y el Desarrollo Sostenible, says it is concern about the way in which the project was presented to the community, and the way consent was obtained. "We have canceled our visit to the Q'eros until we find out exactly what happened," Wells says.