GenealogyDNA.com

DNA testing and genealogy results go hand in hand when a person is in search of their ancestral past. Medical information can also be obtained from DNA testing, but the way the results are analyzed is vastly different. For this reason, you must know what your intentions are before the tests are conducted.

There are specialists in the genealogy field that do nothing but analyze the results from samples. Just like with medical analysts, they know this craft and only this specialty.

In the different Y-DNA and mtDNA strands, the medical specialists are looking for specific omissions or additions of specific genes that might be present. The genealogy specialist is looking for patterns in the DNA sequencing.  These patterns are what identify the samples to which genetic family line they follow. These patterns are distinctive and are present in every sample. This includes both Y-DNA and mtDNA samples.

When studying the different samples, the analyst will be looking for the mother genetic line when the mtDNA is analyzed and the father’s genetic line from the Y-DNA. What specifically are being looked for are repeated sets of nucleotides. These patterns that are present in every sample are how they will be categorized and placed within a Haplogroup.

The reason this type of analysis can be done is because every mother passes down the mtDNA she was give by her mother to her children, which is unchanged. For the father’s lineage, the Y-DNA is passed down from father to son only. This too, is unchanged and the reason it can be traced.

This is why a male sample can trace both lines of their ancestral past but a female can’t. This is also the reason a child’s grandfather on their mother’s side can not be traced back unless a male sibling of the mother is tested.

This is the basics of DNA testing and genealogy results that can be produced from every sample.

Click this link for more information: DNA Testing

A DNA genealogy database is a depository of results that is filled with a wealth of information about our ancestral past. While each sample and its results are from just one person, by grouping them all together from a region tells the history of the people that came from there.

The largest data base of known results today is the Sorenson database. This is from the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation which is a non-profit organization. Their goal is to establish the largest and most complete genetic DNA database and genealogical information in the world.

This project sprouted in 1999 with a conversation between BYU Professor Scott Woodward and the philanthropist James Sorenson. Thus, the name of the data base was given the financial backers name.

In the past 11 years, over 100,000 samples of DNA have been collected and analyzed. This collection has resulted in a four-generation pedigree chart. The samples that have been donated have originated in more than 100 different countries around the world.

Both the Y-DNA and mtDNA results are included in this vast database. Both are available for genealogists to trace their family heritage.

Research at the foundation is not just on genetic DNA, but also has branched out into autosomal DNA. This is specifically to identify the genetic percentage of a sample’s DNA to a geographical region or continent.

Participation in the Sorenson project is completely voluntary. By adding your DNA to this existing data base, you and anyone else can use the information to learn about their ancestral past. The greater number of samples that the DNA genealogy database acquires, the more complete all of our genetic history will be.

This service formerly was free however as of last year they now charge the normal rates for testing kits.  You may order a testing kit from Family Tree DNA by clicking HERE

… Photosynthetic unicellular organisms. Oxidation. Mutation. Natural selection and evolution. Respiration. Cell differentiation. Sexual reproduction…

(Excerpted from “The History of the Universe in 200 Words or Less” by Eric Schulman
© copyright 1996-1997. by Eric Schulman)
Located on the web at: http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3fs8i/hist/hist.html

Can Genealogy DNA Testing take us back to the beginning?

As of today scientists, historians and genealogists have fairly reached the conclusion that the following list of bi-peds are in the evolutionary chain of human like creatures that inhabited earth and that evolved in to modern day Homo Sapiens.

Here are some fairly acceptable date ranges for various Hominid species.
Homo Habilis – 2.2 to 1.6 million years BCE (Before Common Era 2010)
Homo Erectus – 2 to 0.4 million years BCE
Homo Sapiens – 400,000 to 200,000 BCE
Homo Sapiens Neandertalensis – 200,000 to 30,000 years BCE
Homo Sapiens Sapiens – 130,000 years BCE to present.
(Washington State University)
http://www.wsu.edu:8001/vwsu/gened/learn-modules/top_longfor/timeline/timeline.html

Apparently most of us, at least Americans, resemble some of our ancestors as depicted in this sculpture known as the Venus of Dolni Vŭstonice, one of the earliest known figurines depicting the human body. Dates back to about 29,000 to 25,000 BP. (Before Present 1950,) or say, about 27,000 BC.  (courtesy wikipedia)

Oldest figurine of human body

Humans are noted for their desire to understand and influence their environment, seeking to explain and manipulate natural phenomena through science, philosophy, mythology and religion. This natural curiosity has led to the development of advanced tools and skills, which are passed down culturally; humans are the only animal species known to build fires, cook their food, clothe themselves, and use numerous other technologies.
(From wikipedia/humans)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_sapiens#Human_evolution

Seems I recall that we along with apes and monkeys have and use opposable thumbs that are able to  articulate which is a pretty handy feature for climbing trees and other tasks.  I know that I am a super being in the eyes of my three dogs.  They trust me for their next meal.  I make light appear magically when I enter a room, and best of all I can turn a door handle.

Ultimately researchers will not fully agree on exact times and dates but through the use of DNA testing we can get almost all the way back to the earliest known one of three, or one of seven, female ancestors.

That is quite an accomplishment for sure.