Month: March 2010

GeneTree Adds New Services

Blaine Bettinger 1 Comment

The following is a press release from GeneTree:

New GeneTree Services Enable Users to Make Sense of Genetic, Genealogy Information

  • New GeneTree Products and Services Focus on Making Genetic, Family History Information Comprehensible and Meaningful to Users
  • As a wholly owned subsidiary of Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, GeneTree is able to Leverage the World’s Most Comprehensive Collection of Correlated Genetic and Genealogical Information on Behalf of Users
  • Re-Designed Web Site Includes Enhanced Content and Features

SALT LAKE CITY (March 31, 2010) – GeneTree today announced that the company has launched a new product offering of integrated genetic and genealogical services unique in the marketplace for its ability to expand users’ knowledge of their genetic and family history connections. The company also announced it has significantly revamped its Web site, www.genetree.com.

GeneTree’s comprehensive new service offering focuses on integrating two essential sources of human identity: quality genetic tests and industry-standard family history consulting services. In contrast to providers that focus exclusively on anthropological deep ancestry, GeneTree’s product and service offering is designed to help people discover near-term family connections in the last six to ten generations as well as deep ancestral connections. ... Click to read more!

Personal Genomics and Genetic Genealogy Tidbits

Blaine Bettinger 3 Comments

  • Daniel MacArthur at Genetic Future writes “Willful ignorance is not an effective argument against personal genomics,” which is a criticism of an embarrassingly bad op-ed by Camilla Long in the Times (U.K.) entitled “When DNA means do not ask.”  In the article Long mentions several types of genetic testing including “superficial services such as ancestry tests.”  A truly uneducated statement, considering that ancestry tests are among the informative of all genetic tests!
    • ... Click to read more!

    Faces of America and Genetic Genealogy Testing

    Blaine Bettinger 6 Comments

    Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings (“I’m Puzzled by DNA Claims on ‘Faces of America’”) writes about the fourth and last episode of “Faces of America,” a PBS documentary series investigating the ancestry of several famous people in America. This fourth episode included several different types of genetic genealogy to examine the ancestral origins and relatedness of the show’s members.

    1. Whole Genome Sequencing by Knome

    The first type of genetic genealogy was whole-genome sequencing by Knome of Henry Louis Gates and his father. This analysis examined Henry’s (“Skip’s”) genome for medical conditions and physical traits, and also compared his DNA to his father’s, thereby allowing them to deduce the entire DNA contribution from his deceased mother. This segment was actually quite moving, as Dr. Gates was able to establish this intimate connection to the mother that he and his father obviously missed very much. ... Click to read more!

    Pathway Genomics: A Review

    Blaine Bettinger 3 Comments

    Pathway Genomics

    Kevin Davies, Ph.D., currently the Editor-in-Chief of Bio-IT World, recently wrote an article about Pathway Genomics in which he reviewed the company’s Health Test product (see “Pathway and Me: Consumer Genomics Firm Delivers First Results”):

    “Earlier this year, I submitted a saliva sample to Pathway to get a feel for how the latest consumer genomics offering compares to the more established companies in the field. Pathway communicates the health results not by a numerical relative or lifetime risk but via a series of color-coded bins depending on their potential significance to the individual.”

    I too recently had the opportunity to test my DNA through Pathway Genomics. (DISCLAIMER: Although this test kit was not free, I am a consultant for Pathway Genomics. This review, however, contains my own opinions of the Pathway Genomics Ancestry Test product). This is a brief review of the Pathway Genomics Ancestry Test, which examines SNPs on the mtDNA (for both males and females) and the Y-chromosome (for males). Using those results, Pathway classifies test-takers into one of over 1,200 maternal haplogroups and one of over 525 paternal haplogroups. ... Click to read more!