Month: September 2014

Ancient Genomes at GEDmatch

Blaine Bettinger 3 Comments

A great resource from Jay Chandrakumar at Genetic Genealogy Tools (www.y-str.org) – SNPs extracted from sequenced ancient genomes and loaded into GEDmatch. Try out admixture tools with these GEDmatch profiles, but don’t expect many matches in One-to-Many!

Denisova – GEDMatch# F999903

Mezmaiskaya Neanderthal #1 – GEDMatch# F999909

Altai Neanderthal #2 – GEDMatch# F999902

Palaeo-Eskimo 2000 BC – GEDMatch# F999906

Clovis-Anzick – GEDMatch# F999912

For example, here’s the Palaeo-Eskimo 2000 BC (F999906) profile in MDLP K23b:

F999906 GEDmatch

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AncestryDNA Continues to Refine the Reconstruction of Ancestral Genomes

Blaine Bettinger 7 Comments

GeneticGenealogyFutureStamp1I’ve written before about a poster presented by AncestryDNA at the American Society of Human Genetics 2013 annual meeting, entitled “Reconstruction of Ancestral Human Genomes from Genome-Wide DNA Matches.”  In the abstract, the group describes how they use sequencing information from hundreds of descendants of an 18th century couple to recreate portions of the genomes of that couple.

AncestryDNA’s 2014 ASHG Poster 

The AncestryDNA group has continued to refine the process of reconstructing the genomes of ancestral couples, and has a poster in this year’s American Society of Human Genetics annual meeting:

Title: Reconstruction of ancestral human haplotypes using genetic and genealogical data.

Author(s): J. M. Granka, R. E. Curtis, K. Noto, Y. Wang, J. K. Byrnes, M. J. Barber, N. M. Myres, C. A. Ball, K. G. Chahine ... Click to read more!

A Response to the Genetic Testing Article in Vox

Blaine Bettinger 78 Comments

1This week in Vox, health reporter Julia Belluz (Twitter) wrote about genetic genealogy testing in “Genetic testing brings families together: And sometimes tears them apart.” The article focuses largely on testing company 23andMe, and presents the following thesis:

Direct-to-consumer DNA testing companies are revealing family secrets, many of which are emotionally damaging, without regard to those affected by the family secrets and without sufficient warning to the test-taker.

Unfortunately, rather than presenting a balanced view of the consequences of uncovering family secrets using DNA testing (and despite the title of the article), Belluz focuses only on examples of negative outcomes. The article is a perfect demonstration of “genetic exceptionalism,” the theory that genetic information is special and must therefore be treated differently from other types of information. Despite its many adherents, genetic exceptionalism is a theory without a logical underpinning. ... Click to read more!

Announcing the Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research (VIGR)

Blaine Bettinger 11 Comments

header-logo2The latest announcement by the newly founded Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research (VIGR) is bound to excite genealogists looking to further their knowledge, as well as those with with limited time or resources to attend courses in person.

VIGR will offer courses on a comprehensive list of genealogical subjects, giving genealogists access to a great curriculum year-round through the VIGR virtual platform. I’m proud to announce that I will be a speaker for the VIGR, and I look forward to interacting with the online genealogical community though my course on autosomal DNA. I am honored to be listed among the incredible speakers below.

No fewer than nine upcoming courses are already listed on the VIGR official website, the earliest commencing in November this year. Each will consist of a total of four 90-minute lectures, presented two each on consecutive Saturdays. Each course will also have extensive syllabus material and practical exercises, as well as time for Q&A. The institute intends to keep class sizes small, which allows for more interaction with instructors and a greater depth of instruction as compared to more typical genealogy webinars. ... Click to read more!

Genetic Genealogy Ireland 2014 – Are You Attending?

Blaine Bettinger 7 Comments

In 2013, genetic genealogist and popular lecturer Maurice Gleeson organized Genetic Genealogy Ireland 2013, the first of its kind conference in Ireland. The event was hugely successful (see all the YouTube videos here), and is back for round two in 2014.

The schedule for Genetic Genealogy Ireland 2014 has just been released (see “DNA Lecture schedule announced“), and features a great lineup of speakers:

  • Spencer Wells (Keynote Speaker)
  • Maurice Gleeson
  • Brad Larkin
  • Paul Burns
  • Catherine Swift
  • Emily Aulicino
  • Debbie Kennett
  • Richard M Byrne
  • Cynthia Wells
  • Kirsten Bos
  • Katherine Borges
  • Tyrone Bowes
  • Daniel Crouch
  • Patrick Guinness
  • Rob Warthen
  • Michelle Leonard
  • Gerard Corcoran
    • ... Click to read more!