In January I wrote about Benjaman Kyle, an amnesiac who was found on August 31, 2004 next to a dumpster behind a Burger King in Richmond Hill, Georgia. In that post, “Using Genetic Genealogy to Solve the Mystery of Benjaman Kyle,” I suggested that a Y-DNA test might be helpful in elucidating Mr. [...]
I’ve been working on a presentation regarding the future of genetic genealogy, and one aspect of that future is the ability to trace DNA (SNPs, mutations, haplogroups, etc…) through recent history as the result of combining extensive genomic sequencing with massive family tree information. Although the ability to do this will have many [...]
In November 2007 I estimated that as of that date 600,000 to 700,000 DNA testing kits had been sold by genetic genealogy companies and that the number was increasing by 80,000 to 100,000 kits per year (see “How Big is the Genetic Genealogy Market?”). I ended that article with a prediction: “As the [...]
23andMe and mondoBIOTECH announced at Davos (the World Economic Forum in Switzerland) today that they will work together to further the study of rare diseases. According to the press release (below), mondoBIOTECH will identify individuals suffering from certain rare diseases and sponsor their enrollment in the 23andMe Personal Genome Service™. Researchers will use the [...]
I’ve long been interested in the success and long-term outlook of the genealogy market. Although altruistic genealogists have done immense amounts of work to transcribe and put records online, one of the strongest forces behind the digitization of genealogical records has been private profit-driven organizations. And these organizations, of course, rely on the [...]
An international team of researchers have concluded that humans entered the Americas from Asia along at least two different paths. By studying two rare mtDNA haplogroups found in Native Americans – D4h3 and X2a – the researchers conclude that D4h3 spread into the Americans along the Pacific coast while X2a entered through the [...]
Note: there are some great X chromosome inheritance charts below - if you are unable to see them, be sure to click through to the original post!
Most genetic genealogists have sent away their cheek swabs to learn about their mitochondrial DNA or their Y-DNA lines. Others have explored their autosomal DNA for ancestral information, [...]
Last week I had the opportunity to attend a lecture by Spencer Wells, director of the Genographic Project from National Geographic and IBM.
The talk was a Syracuse Symposium event, and the first big event ever to be held in Syracuse University’s new $110 million Life Sciences Center. I thought it was fitting that [...]
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New research from Mark Jobling’s lab at the University of Leicester suggests that Y-DNA can be used to determine a male’s surname.
I know, I know, this is obvious to anyone who is familiar with genetic genealogy. Just check out the many instances of this type of determination at ISOGG’s Success Stories website, for [...]
The Personal Genome Project (PGP) was established to analyze and publicly share the genomes and personal information of up to 100,000 volunteers in order to advance understanding of “genetic and environmental contributions to human traits and to improve our ability to diagnose, treat, and prevent illness.” In the first phase of the PGP, [...]
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