One of the major revelations Tierney brings forth about this issue is the fact that the Yanomami project, directed by James Neel, was an outgrowth of secret experiments conducted by the Atomic Energy Commission. This was certainly scandalous as the Atomic Energy Commission had a reputation of secretly testing the effects of radiation on human subjects. Marcel Roche, a colleague of Neel's, had experimented with the Yanomami by administering a radioactive isotope of iodine into their bloodstream. The fact that the Yanomami were an "isolated" population made them a good choice for genetic study.