Month: October 2014

Finally! GEDmatch Announces a Monetization Strategy (and a Way to Raise the Dead?)

Blaine Bettinger 22 Comments

GEDmatch Tools for DNA and genealogy researchIf you’re serious about genetic genealogy, you’ve heard of GEDmatch. The third-party site is one of the few ways to compare testing results among the three testing companies. The site

However, since GEDmatch is run by two incredible volunteers (Curtis Rogers and John Olson) with full-time jobs, the site has experienced server issues and downtime. Many have lamented that there was no monetization plan in place, but gave donations in hope that it would help the site grow.

This week, GEDmatch announced a monetization strategy, namely advanced tools that are only available to Tier 1 members at a nominal cost of $10/month:

Basic GEDmatch programs remain free and we plan to keep them this way. Donations help cover the costs associated with running this site, and will provide you with the benefit of using the additional Tier 1 tools for a period of time equal to one month for every $10 donated. You may use the ‘Donate’ button below, for a one-time donation of any amount, or the ‘Join GEDmatch’ button to establish a recurring $10 per month amount. ... Click to read more!

Transfer Raw Data to Family Tree DNA for $39 (Sneak Peek for FREE!)

Blaine Bettinger 13 Comments

At the Family Tree DNA 10th Annual International Conference, FTDNA announced that they were reducing the price of autosomal DNA transfers (from the AncestryDNA test or the V3 test from 23andMe) from $69 to $39. Additionally, you could upload your raw data for free and you would receive information about your 20 closest matches in the database. On top of that, if you convinced 4 others to transfer their raw data, you would receive a transfer for free!

It looks like the site went live tonight! The link is (www.familytreedna.com/autosomaltransfer).

Here’s what you see at the intro screen:

AutosomalTransfer

autosomaltransfer1

Once you’ve uploaded, you’ll receive an email with a login and password. You’ll then receive a second email a short time later, after your results have been processed. In the meantime, you’ll see this: ... Click to read more!

Finding Genetic Cousins – Separating Fact from Fiction

Blaine Bettinger 19 Comments

AncestryDNAShort Summary: Before the end of the year, AncestryDNA plans to update our match lists using a new algorithm that reduces the number of false positive matches. For the first time, matching DNA segments will be characterized as IBS (i.e., a false positive) based on something other than simply segment length.

AncestryDNA Day

Last Monday, October 6th, I and six other members of the genetic genealogy community attended a ‘Bloggers Day’ hosted by AncestryDNA at the San Francisco headquarters of Ancestry.com. Two other members of the group have already written about the event:

While at ‘Bloggers Day’ we discussed many issues including the Y-DNA and mtDNA databases originally scheduled for destruction, upcoming changes to AncestryDNA’s matching algorithm (much more below), and other upcoming changes to the AncestryDNA about which you will hopefully soon hear much more. ... Click to read more!

Mapping Disease Genes to Our Ancestors – Mutation Mapped to 1620

Blaine Bettinger 3 Comments

ng3113-F1In 2008, I wrote about the case of Mr. and Mrs. George Fry, who are believed to have brought a particularly negative mutation with them to the New World from Europe in 1630 (“A Single Colon Cancer Gene Traced to 1630 – The Future of Genetic Genealogy?“). The mutation – in the APC gene – increases the likelihood of colon cancer, and has been found in many of the Fry’s living descendants.

In this months’s issue of Nature Genetics (see “Mutations in SGOL1 cause a novel cohesinopathy affecting heart and gut rhythm“), researchers using the BALSAC Population Database traced a founder mutation in SGOL1, which causes Chronic Atrial and Intestinal Dysrhythmia, termed CAID syndrome. So not only is it interesting that the same gene is involved in both heart rhythm and intestinal rhythm, but that the DNA has been mapped to this ancestral couple. The couple, whose names were not provided, were married in France in 1620 and arrived shortly thereafter in Nouvelle France. ... Click to read more!