Author: Blaine Bettinger

Genetic Genealogy Spreads Around the World

Blaine Bettinger

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Commercially available genetic genealogy isn’t just for Americans and Europeans anymore. Eastern Biotech & Life Sciences, centered in Dubai, recently sent me an email announcing their new venture into the field of genetic genealogy testing.

Although it wasn’t apparent from the email that I received, Eastern Biotech & Life Sciences has partnered with Family Tree DNA to offer genetic genealogy testing. The following sentence comes from a press release at i-newswire: “Eastern Biotech & Life Sciences is proud to be associated with Family Tree DNA to create a database for the Middle Eastern population.”

From the Email:

“Dubai: 09/12/2007-Eastern Biotech & Life Sciences is set to launch a new Wall Chart of DNA Ancestry services to the people of the Middle East to help them invent their deep ancestors from 150,000 years ago. The roots of this tree lie more than 100,000 years in the past, at a time when our hunter-gatherer ancestors were living in Africa. As the branches of the tree multiply, they record the history of our species and the dramatic stories of how pioneering groups of humans explored and populated our planet. The different journeys they made shaped the world we know today. ... Click to read more!

DNA Collection Project in South Africa

Blaine Bettinger 4 Comments

Dr. Wilmot James, head of the African Genome Project and honorary professor of human genetics at the University of Cape Town, is heading a DNA collection project in South Africa.Dr. James is joined by his colleague Himla Soodyall, a scientist at the National Health Laboratory Service and an associate professor in the Division of Human Genetics at the University of Witwatersrand.On September 9th, James and Soodyall collected swab samples from a number of Capetonians.

The African Genome Project is supported by the South African genealogy website Ancestry24.com (although I was not able to find any information there).One of the goals of the project is to create a public genetic database to examine “how the country became populated over thousands of years” by filling in the gap in current DNA databases. ... Click to read more!

What’s on the Web?

Blaine Bettinger 3 Comments
  1. Misha Angrist wrote about the implications of personal genome sequencing in “Warts and all.”

  1. I think most everyone would agree that affordable whole-genome sequencing will be around long before we understand the information it reveals.I asked another member of The DNA Network, The Gene Sherpa his opinion on the matter.Genome Technology Online also thought it was an interesting discussion.And by the way, the Genome Technology Online’s daily newsletter is a great way to stay up-to-date.

  1. DNA Consulting is launching an online forum called DNA Ancestor Communities (from Family Tree Magazine).

  1. At Venturebeat: lifesciences, David Hamilton wrote a great post about genome sequencing and insurance – “Personal genomics and the end of insurance.”It received a lot of attention this week, including a mention in Dick Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter.

  1. EyeonDNA has a clip of Craig Venter from the Charlie Rose show in 2000, back before Venter was able to browse his entire genomic sequence.

  1. Jay Flatley of Illumina revealed more information about future products being offered by 23andMe.Naturally, it received a lot of attention (be sure to read the comments as well):

oI wrote about it here at The Genetic Genealogist;

oVentureBeat: lifesciences wrote an article, and ended with: “Rumors of yet a third, still stealthy, personal-genomics startup are also swirling around the Valley.”Any ideas?

oAnother early mention came from Megan’s Roots World, who, like me, picked up on the fact that 23andMe is initially focusing on ancestry.

obusiness|bytes|genes|molecules wrote an interesting post.

oGigaOM has a very brief mention.

oGenome Technology Online links back to the Forbes article as well. ... Click to read more!

23andMe Partners with Illumina – To Offer Genetic Genealogy?

Blaine Bettinger 11 Comments

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23andMe has been the subject of much discussion in the biotech and personalized medicine circles of the blogosphere (See here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here for plenty of information/speculation/discussion).

In August, 23andMe announced (“23andMe and Illumina Forge Consumer Genomics Goliath”) that they have partnered together to offer “consumer genotyping” – more about that in a minute.Illumina produces “SNP chips”, chips that can test a genome for thousands of SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) at a time.For example, the company has one chip that tests one million SNPs for as little as $600, and another chip that tests 550,000 SNPs (the HumanHap550) for only $300-$450.Interestingly, Illumina is also able to custom build chips to add specific SNPs if the customer so desires.Additionally, as the announcement touted, Illumina is also exploring the world of inexpensive whole-genome sequencing, suggesting that this partnership with 23andMe could transition from cheap SNP testing to cheap whole-genome sequencing at some point in the future. ... Click to read more!

A Meeting of the Minds

Blaine Bettinger 2 Comments

If you’re interested, here’s a link to a document from the Edge Foundation, a group designed to promote the discussion of intellectual pursuits. The document is a summary (including video links) of a casual meeting between some fantastic scientific minds (Craig Venter, Freeman Dyson, Robert Shapiro, Dimitar Sasselov, and Seth Lloyd) which took place in late August.

Although Dr. Church doesn’t discuss the Personal Genome Project, his brief discussion about our past and our future is very interesting.  There’s also a summary of the meeting from Gregory T. Huang, an invited journalist.  I see that one of the invited guests was Ting Wu, a researcher at Harvard who has initiated the pgEd (personal genetics education project). ... Click to read more!

Dr. Kirk M. Maxey Shares his Expertise with Members of the DNA-NEWBIE Mailing List

Blaine Bettinger 1 Comment

The DNA-NEWBIE mailing list is a great resource for people who are new to genetic genealogy or genetic testing in general. The list provides a forum for questions while promoting education and the sharing of ideas. I primarily use the mailing list to follow current trends or concerns in the field of genetic genealogy so that I can share them here on the blog.

The recent deluge of media attention regarding J. Craig Venter’s diploid genome sequencing prompted one list-member to quote Dr. Edward Rubin: “It’s not clear whether it’ll be 10 years or 50 years, but in our lifetime, [individual DNA sequencing ] will happen.” The list-member goes on to say that it will probably not happen in his lifetime since he turns 75 next month. ... Click to read more!

Low-Cost Sequencing Getting Closer and Closer

Blaine Bettinger 4 Comments

A very interesting article in the New Scientist published last week by Peter Aldhous examines the approach of affordable whole-genome sequencing. The article mentions 23andme, the recently published genomes of James Watson and J. Craig Venter, and the Personal Genome Project.

“Thanks to the advances in sequencing technology, that might be done for as little as $1000 per person. “DNA chips”, meanwhile, can scan your genome for common “spelling mistakes” for just a few hundred dollars. At that price, the era of personalised genomics is already dawning. “This is the year,” claims [Dr. George] Church.”

Mr. Aldhous’ article doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff either. Although I could potentially obtain my entire genomic sequence if I had $1 million lying around, very little of the information would be interpretable. We still have so very much to learn about our DNA. A great quote comes from Michael Egholm of 454 Life Sciences: ... Click to read more!

Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation Collects Mongolian DNA

Blaine Bettinger 4 Comments

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A news release announces the completion of a DNA collection project by SMGF (Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation) in Mongolia.The goal of the project is to study the descendants of ancient nomads from the Eurasian steppes.The collection was performed in conjunction with the National University of Mongolia and represents “the most comprehensive [DNA collection project] in the history of Mongolia, incorporating all of the country’s geographic regions and major ethnic populations.”In total, more than 3,000 DNA samples and pedigree charts were obtained from 24 different ethnic groups.

According to the news release, the “global fascination with Mongolian icons such as Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun” played a role in promoting the project: ... Click to read more!

Facts & Genes Newsletter From Family Tree DNA

Blaine Bettinger 1 Comment

A few days ago I received the latest Facts & Genes Newsletter from Family Tree DNA.  The newsletter is available on their website and includes the following tidbits:

  1. In August the company sent out their 100,000th test kit;
  2. The website now has a site map;
  3. The company was named one of the 100 fastest growing companies in Houston, and;
  4. The newsletter also has a brief segment entitled “Genetic Genealogy: Where to Start“, which might be interesting to some of you who are new to genetic genealogy!

Interview with Dana Waring, A Founder of the Personal Genetics Education Project

Blaine Bettinger 15 Comments

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Dana Waring, a member of Ting Wu‘s lab at Harvard and one of the creators/caretakers of the pgEd, the Personal Genetics Education Project. It was a fascinating conversation about the future of personal genetics and the dire need for more education of the public in this field. If you are interested in personalDevelopment Training as well as this project then you can visit development-academy.co.uk, or another site of your choosing, or you can just stick to the project which consists of genetics.
You can see a few recent mentions of the pgEd from other members of the DNA Network – EyeonDNA, and genomeboy.com.

I was very interested in Dana’s project, and she was willing to share more information with me and my readers via the following email interview: ... Click to read more!