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In “Called back to Africa by DNA,†journalist Teresa Watanabe highlights the recent surge of interest in the genetic genealogy by African Americans. This increased interest is often written about during February, which is Black History Month (see “Genetic Genealogy and Black History Month†from February 2008 and “DNA Testing Jumps During Black History Month†from February 2007). Although the LA times article rehashes some of the same issues, it also contributes a number of new points to the conversation.
Interesting Tidbits:
Among other things, the article mentions several of the projects that focus on African American genetic genealogy, including African Ancestry:
The curiosity has fueled the growth of DNA testing outfits. African Ancestry Inc., a Washington-based firm, has tested the DNA of 15,000 people against its database of 25,000 African genetic lineages, according to its president, Gina M. Paige. The firm’s clients include Winfrey, film director Spike Lee, musician Quincy Jones, comedian Whoopi Goldberg and actors Morgan Freeman and Don Cheadle.
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 uses (both for genealogy and for personalized medicine), it will also raise a number of privacy issues, as a recent paper suggests.
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 viability of the market.