I just received word that the genetic ancestry testing company Geogene has gone out of business. From the website:
1 OCTOBER 2008: We are very sorry to announce that, due to ongoing technical issues and increasing competition from National Geographic’s similar ‘Genographic Project’, GeoGene is unable to continue trading. If you are interested in finding out about your genetic ancestry, we recommend you use National Genographic’s service instead.
Image via Wikipedia
There is an article in yesterday’s Greenwich Times entitled “Woman out to prove kinship to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz” about Cassandria Carlson, a woman from Schaumburg, Ill. who believes she is the granddaughter of Lucille Ball.
According to Carlson, her mother was born to Lucille Ball in 1947 and was then put up for adoption “because her very existence would have interfered with Ball’s career.” Among her evidence, Carlson cites a 1946 newspaper clipping which described Ball as pregnant as well as her mother Madeline Jane Dee’s memories of a red-headed woman named “Mrs. Morton” bringing her to the playground as a child (Ball’s second married was to a Gary Morton). Unfortunately, Ms. Dee died just a few years ago.
Via ” Mapping the Mario Batali Genome”
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is working on a new four-part genetic genealogy series for PBS called “Faces of America”, expected to air in 2010. Unlike the previous African American Lives series, the latest work will examine the genetic ancestry of Americans from all walks of life. From the press release (“THIRTEEN, Kunhardt McGee Productions and Inkwell Films, in Production on New PBS Series, Faces of America“):
Global in scope, Faces of America will look beyond the black experience to explore American identity with guests who are Asian, Hispanic, Irish, Italian, Jewish, Syrian, West Indian, and Native American. Joining Professor Gates in this new series are poet Elizabeth Alexander, who composed and read the poem at President Barack Obama’s inauguration, chef Mario Batali, comedian and television personality Stephen Colbert, writer Junot Diaz, writer Louise Erdrich, writer Malcolm Gladwell, actress Eva Longoria, cellist Yo Yo Ma, writer and director Mike Nichols, former monarch of Jordan Queen Noor, actress Meryl Streep, and Olympic gold medalist and figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi.
via blogs.ancestry.com
Ancestry.com DNA offers a Y-DNA and mtDNA haplogroup predictor – the Ancient Ancestry Finder – based primarily on location of your most distant known paternal or maternal ancestor. From the site:
To give everyone a sampling of these results, with Finder™ we’ve built a simple experience that takes a best guess at describing your ancient ancestors. You answer 2 or 3 questions with the most basic info about your family (facts almost everyone knows). And then we provide a few options for likely ancient ancestral groups, along with descriptions of those groups…The spirit of Finder™ is a bit different from what you may have experienced on our site. It’s part of our effort to introduce ancestry and genealogy to a wider audience.
This is a little off-topic for The Genetic Genealogist, but I thought I would share this paper which I wrote for a Genetics & Ethics class this spring. The paper examines all the biological and behavioral limitations on the ability of humans to create so-called “designer babies” solely from selecting embryos before in vitro fertilization. Although many are worried about the impact of being able to choose which embryo to implant, the paper argues that the impact is significantly limited by a number of factors.
Note that this paper does NOT factor in the potential for creating designer babies by changing an embryo’s DNA; that’s a whole different can of worms!
TruGenetics is a genomics company offering at least 10,000 free SNP scans to those who register at their website. Unlike most other personal genomics companies, TruGenetics users complete a survey to create a “personalized risk assessment survey.” Not surprisingly, the tests are currently not available to New York residents:
New York residents: We are currently working with your state authorities to receive permission to operate in New York. We cannot take your information at this time.
There is much more information at genomeboy.com and Genetic Future, including insight into TruGenetic’s business model. If you are considering this service, be sure to read and completely understand all the terms & conditions, as well as ALL potential outcomes. You can also follow twitterer “achamedian” to learn more.
via news.bbc.co.uk
An article at BBC News – Americans seek their African roots – briefly discusses genetic genealogy in America.
One interesting quote from the article: “Of the half a million Americans who have purchased DNA tests, around 35,000 of them are African American.” Interesting article, although I at a complete loss for where the “35,000” number was obtained.
The article also includes some criticism from Deborah Bolnick of African Ancestry‘s interpretation of their genetic genealogy tests.
Via Anglo-Celtic Connections, where John provides some very cogent input regarding this topic.
This is a video of a recent episode of Charlie Rose regarding personal genomics. The show includes prominent members of the field, including George Church, Linda Avey, Anne Wojcicki, and Steven Pinker, among others.
A quick digest of some of the most interesting news and developments in the field:
10 Great Blogs for Genetic Genealogists
I made this list of 10 Great Blogs for blogs.com a few months ago. It contains 10 blogs that I believe are vital reading for anyone interested in personal genomics, including genetic genealogy. Here are my picks, but check out the link for my description of each blog:
Genetic Genealogists Assist Studies
In addition to the articles published in the Journal of Genetic Genealogy (the Spring 2009 issue was just released), genetic genealogists have often assisted researchers publishing studies in other journals. This reinforces my suggestion to researchers that they interact with the genetic genealogy community to facilitate research. For instance, here is a quote from a new article in PLoS ONE examining the Y-DNA Haplogroup G: