Did you catch the genetic genealogy segment on 60 Minutes last night? I was not able to watch it, unfortunately, but I’ve been following some online reactions. For instance, at Megan’s Roots World (written when the segment was being made), Anglo-Celtic Connections and DNA for Everyone. There’s a great discussion at the DNA-NEWBIE Yahoo Group, and at the GENEALOGY-DNA Rootsweb list.
For those who missed the segment last night, HERE is the full report, with a video and transcript. Note that the journalists interviewed Hank Greely, a law professor at Stanford who I’ve mentioned here before, and who has a great chapter in an upcoming book - Revisiting Race in a Genomic Age, (forthcoming) edited by Barbara Koenig, Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, and Sarah Richardson. Rutgers University Press, 2007.
It appears that while the journalists did a fair job of presenting a balanced report, the overall feel was that genetic genealogy is being oversold. That message isn’t new or revolutionary - in fact, many in the field have been saying this for a while. Megan Smolenyak wrote a fantastic article about this very subject about a year ago - “Honoring Our Ancestors: Is Genetic Genealogy Being Oversold?”
If you saw the segment, please leave your thoughts below.
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[...] But the Ancestry.com move is really just the latest sign of a growing groundswell of enthusiasm — and, of course, hype — over new ways to buttress old-fashioned genealogy research with what seems to be cold, hard science. DNA Direct, which sells various medical genetic tests directly to consumers, just began offering genealogy and “ethnicity” tests as well, “in response to customer requests.” Startups like 23andMe plan to make genealogy searches and genome-based “social networking” a key part of their business (see our coverage here and here). 60 Minutes just ran a lengthy segment on genetic genealogy that purported to puncture some of the hype in the field (much to the dismay of some). [...]