The National Geographic Genographic Project was launched in 2005—a multiyear study that uses genetics, especially in terms of DNA, as a tool to understand how humans have migrated around the world over their history. The first phase included around 500,000 participants from over 130 countries; the second phase, which started in late 2012, is involving citizens in the project even more, offering an updated participation kit that allows members of the public to learn more about their ancestral makeup and at the same time add to the scientific database that will help scientists trace early routes of human migration.