The Genetic Genealogist

Adding DNA to the Genealogist's Toolbox

Archive for February, 2010


Thank You: The Genetic Genealogist Named Among Family Tree Magazine’s 40 Best Genealogy Blogs

Published February 23rd, 2010 in DNA Companies, DNA in the News, Genealogy | 10 Comments »

Family Tree Magazine 40 Best Genealogy Blogs

Late last fall, Family Tree Magazine requested nominations for the best genealogy blogs, and then opened voting for the nominated list.  Yesterday, they announced the winners of the voting.  Diane Haddad wrote about the announcement on the Genealogy Insider blog, and Maureen Taylor wrote the article that will appear in the May issue of Family Tree Magazine: “Fab Forty.”

I am very pleased and honored to announce that TGG was selected as one of the 40 Best Genealogy Blogs, in the category of genetic genealogy. I would like to thank everyone who nominated and voted for me.  I have been very fortunate over the last few years to interact with a fascinating array of readers, and I am thankful for every one of them.

When I started blogging in February 2007 (I just recently counted my third anniversary of TGG!), there were very few blogs in the genetic genealogy space.  Today there are a number of interesting and well-written genetic genealogy blogs.  See my recent round-up at “10 Great Blogs for Genetic Genealogists.“  Each of these blogs is well worth adding to your reading list.

I would also like to congratulate all the other blogs on the list, as I am truly honored to be listed among them.  I am an avid reader of the vast majority of them, and I look forward to so much more.  Here are few links to their own announcements:

And here is the full list of winners.  A huge congratulations to them, as well as to all the blogs that were nominated:

All-Around

Cemetery

Corporate

Genetic Genealogy

Heritage

How-To

Local & Regional

News & Resources

Photos & Heirlooms

Personal & Family

Announcing the GET Conference 2010

Published February 18th, 2010 in DNA Databases, DNA in the News, DNA Studies | 2 Comments »

get-genomes-environments-traits_1266501683140

Daniel Vorhaus of the Genomics Law Report is also a member of the steering committee of the GET (“Genomes, Environments, Traits) Conference 2010. This unique conference, to be held on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 will gather together some of the biggest names in personal genomics, as well as most of the limited number of the people who have released their entire genomes to the public. Tickets for the conference go on sale today here.

As part of the GET Conference 2010, the new BioWeatherMap initiative will officially launch. According to the project’s website, BioWeatherMap is “a global, grassroots, distributed environmental sensing effort aimed at answering some very basic questions about the geographic and temporal distribution patterns of microbial life. Utilizing the power of high-throughput, low cost DNA sequencing and harnessing the drive of an enlightened public we propose a new collaborative research approach aimed at generating a steady stream of environmental samples from many geographic locations to produce high quality data for ongoing discovery and surveillance.”

Unfortunately I will be unable to attend the GET Conference 2010, although I’m sure I and anyone else interested in the Conference will all be able to participate in at least a limited manner through social media.

The Press Release

Personal Genome Pioneers to Convene at the Inaugural Genomes Environments Traits (GET) Conference: Luminaries at landmark gathering to shed light on diverse impact large-scale personal genome sequencing will have on everyday life

BOSTON, Mass. (February 18, 2010) — Worldwide fewer than 20 individuals have had their genomes sequenced and made publicly available, and on Tuesday, April 27, for the first time, nearly all of them will appear together, along with a select group of business leaders and scientific visionaries, to share their experiences and to provide a look ahead at how personal genomics will rapidly and broadly impact society. This historic gathering will take place at the inaugural Genomes Environments Traits (GET) Conference as part of a day-long thought leadership forum, exploring the myriad ways in which the integration of personalized genomic, environmental and trait information will shape the ways in which we access and interact with our genetic information.

“The GET Conference 2010 marks the last opportunity in history to gather a majority of individuals in the world with public personal genome sequences in a single venue,” says George Church, founder and principal investigator of the Personal Genome Project and professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School. “With rapid advances in technology, the number of individuals with personal genome sequences is expected to rise dramatically, from dozens today to thousands by 2011 and a million or more individuals within the next few years.”

The morning portion of GET Conference 2010 will feature wide-ranging discussions during which personal genome pioneers and globally recognized leaders of genomic science and industry, including Misha Angrist, George Church, Jay Flatley, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Rosalynn Gill, Seong-Jin Kim, Greg Lucier, James Lupski, Stephen Quake, Dan Stoicescu and James Watson, will share their experiences and discuss the future of personal genomics. Award-winning science journalists Carl Zimmer and Robert Krulwich will moderate the discussions.

These experts will re-convene in the afternoon for a series of breakout sessions with other thought leaders and conference participants in a series of intimate discussions focused on the role personal genomes play in understanding ancestry, family life, nutrition, and disease risk, as well as the marketplace for products and services that utilize the analysis of genomic and environmental information, including new drug therapies, consumer products and law enforcement applications.

The afternoon program will additionally showcase:

  • Four “prototypes of the future” sessions highlighting the next generation of personalized genomic products, services and activities and moderated by the executive editor of WIRED and author, Thomas Goetz.

  • The public debut of the BioWeatherMap initiative, a collaboration between scientists and the public using next-generation sequencing platforms to address the fundamental question: “How diverse is the microbial life around us and how can we use that information to our advantage?”

The GET Conference 2010 will take place on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 from 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the Microsoft New England Research and Development Center in Cambridge, Mass. The event will be limited to 200 registrants. To register for the GET Conference 2010, visit http://www.getconference.eventbrite.com/.

About the GET Conference 2010

The first annual GET Conference will gather 200 scientific, industry and thought leaders in the fields of personal genomics, personalized medicine, microbiomics and systems biology, as well as prominent hedge fund managers, VCs, private investors, and philanthropists, in an intimate venue to consider the present and future of personal genomics.

All proceeds from the GET Conference will benefit PersonalGenomes.org, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization which supports the Personal Genome Project and whose mission is to serve as a global ambassador for emerging technologies and knowledge that will positively impact the health and well-being of humankind. For more information, visit www.getconference.org, or e-mail info@getconference.org.

Conference sponsors include: Alan & Priscilla Oppenheimer Foundation; Knome; Life Technologies; Microsoft; OHO Interactive; Procter & Gamble; Robinson, Bradshaw, & Hinson; Schwartz Communications; and Third Rock Ventures. Limited sponsorship opportunities are still available. For more information email: info@getconference.org.

About the Personal Genome Project

The Personal Genome Project is an open-ended research study that aims to improve the understanding of genetic and environmental contributions to human traits. The project is currently enrolling members of the public who are willing to share their genome sequence and other personal information with the scientific community and the general public. For more information, visit http://www.personalgenomes.org/.

Announcing Family Finder – An Autosomal Test From Family Tree DNA

Published February 16th, 2010 in DNA Companies | 10 Comments »

In a move that puts it in more direct competition with personal genomics companies such as 23andMe and deCODEme, the genetic genealogy testing company Family Tree DNA announced today that it will offer a large-scale autosomal test for genealogical  purposes.  The test, which will be available to the public in mid-March, will allow test-takers the opportunity to connect with matching family members across all genetic ancestral lines.  The test will launch at a price of $249.

The Family Tree DNA Family Finder site is now online.

Although other companies such as 23andMe and deCODEme offer similar tests, members of the genetic genealogy community have lamented the fact that their databases are populated in significant part by people who have no interest in genealogy.  Presumably, people who purchase the FTDNA test and become part of that database will be strongly motivated by genealogical interests, and thus will be interested in communicating with genetic relatives.

Family Tree DNA has also indicated that test-takers will be able to download their raw data.  No word yet on what type of SNP chip is being used, or how many SNPs are tested.

The Press Release:

Houston, TX – February 16, 2010 – Family Tree DNA, the pioneer and largest DNA testing company for genealogy purposes, is launching today their newest test – named Family Finder – which will allow connecting with family members across all ancestral lines. “This is the most exciting genetic genealogy breakthrough since the company launched its Y-DNA test, which uncovers relatives in the direct paternal line”, says Bennett Greenspan, founder and CEO of Family Tree DNA.  Initially available to current Family Tree DNA members, Family Finder will be offered to the general public in mid-March.

While the Y-DNA matches men with a specific paternal line and the mtDNA finds potential relatives only along the maternal line, Family Finder can look for close relationships along all ancestral lines.  Anyone, regardless of their gender, may now confidently match to male and female cousins from any of their family lines in the past five generations.  The science – linked blocks of DNA across the 22 autosomal chromosomes are matched between two people.

Based on this concept, Family Tree DNA bioinformatics team has worked extensively to develop the calculations that would yield the closeness of the relationship.  The possibilities to find matches abound: grandparents, aunts and uncles; half siblings; first, second, third and fourth cousins; and, more tentatively, fifth cousins.  Unlike other companies that offer autosomal testing for relationship purposes, the Family Tree DNA “Family Finder” focuses on the genealogy of the test takers: matching contact names and email addresses are readily available for easy communication, and special tools have been developed to assist in the genealogy and matching process.

About Family Tree DNA

Founded in April 2000, Family Tree DNA was the first company to develop the commercial application of DNA testing for genealogical purposes, something that had previously been available only for academic and scientific research. Almost a decade later, the Houston-based company has a database with over 280,000 individual records – the largest DNA database in genetic genealogy, and a number that makes Family Tree DNA the prime source for anyone researching recent and distant family ties. In 2006 Family Tree DNA established a state of the art Genomics Research Center at its headquarters in Houston, Texas, where it currently performs R&D and processes over 200 advanced types of DNA tests for its customers.

Columbia Professor Alondra Nelson Reviews The PBS Series “Faces of America”

Published February 16th, 2010 in DNA Articles, DNA in the News, Famous DNA, Genealogy | 3 Comments »

Faces of America

In October 2008, I reviewed an article by Dr. Alondra Nelson in the journal Social Studies of Science entitled “Bio Science: Genetic Genealogy Testing and the Pursuit of African Ancestry” (Social Studies of Science 2008 38: 759-783).  The article was about the complex interpretation of the results of genetic genealogy testing by African-Americans and black British.  Dr. Nelson is Associate Professor of Sociology at Columbia University in NY.

On Friday, an article by Dr. Nelson appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education entitled “Henry Louis Gates’s Extended Family,” which is an introduction and review of the current PBS documentary miniseries Faces of America. Regarding the genetic testing aspect of the show, Nelson writes:

If the findings of conventional genealogical research produce fireworks, the results of the DNA analysis generate shock and awe. “Know Thyself,” the final episode, which shares its title with the slogan of Knome Inc., focuses mostly on genetic genealogy. Whereas prior shows relied heavily on analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome (Y-DNA), yielding results that included at most about 2 percent of one’s complete genetic inheritance, in Faces techniques are used that probe deeper into more of the genome.

The technical aspects of genetic ancestry tracing are explained, but without sufficient social context, much the way a manual can tell you how to operate a car without explaining automobiles’ role in modern industry, the development of suburbia, or the emergence of youth culture. We can’t hold a documentary for a general audience responsible for not presenting a complex metanarrative on the philosophy of genetic science. But we can expect some acknowledgment and interpretation of technology’s limits.

It is likely that some genetic genealogists will instantly disagree with or discredit Nelson after reading this article, since it might appear that she is being critical of genetic genealogy, but I would disagree.  In my opinion, however, it is important to be aware of Nelson’s concerns, since they are concerns shared by many people across the globe.  For better or for worse, Faces of America will be many individual’s first introduction to genetic genealogy, and without seeing the whole series yet, I hope that Gates does a fair job of introducing this wonderful technology without glossing over its limitations, particularly as they might apply to minority or marginalized populations.

That being said, I also believe that the individual shares the responsibility for understanding this technology before deciding to undergo testing.  We are all responsible, in part, for our own education.

Rather than discrediting genetic genealogy, I believe that Nelson embraces the ability of genetic testing to help some people – and ultimately society – understand our present and our past, as well as how we are all so closely related, either through our genetics or through our shared history.  Indeed, the end of the article ends with the note that Nelson “is at work on a book about genetic ancestry tracing and African diaspora culture,” which I look forward to reading.

What are your thoughts after reading Dr. Nelson’s article?

Faces of America continues every Wednesday evening from 8 – 9 p.m. ET on PBS stations through March 3rd.