News Humans Genetic diversity exploded in recent millennia Vast number of human DNA variants arose only in the past 5,000 years By Tina Hesman Saey November 28, 2012 at 11:50 pm - More than 2 years ago Share this:Share Share via email (Opens in new window) Email Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X Click to print (Opens in new window) Print A new look at living people’s DNA reveals that the human genome just isn’t what it was in Neolithic times. Most of the genetic quirks people carry today popped up within the last 5,000 years or so, researchers report online November 28 in Nature.