GenealogyDNA.com

Posts Tagged ‘DNA’

DNA Genealogy is basically another term for DNA testing. Usually DNA testing is done for catching criminals and solving other kidnapping cases. But, Genealogy DNA is used to find out what the possible relationship is of one person with another or for finding the ancestors.

The first Genealogy study was conducted in 1980s at the University of California, Berkeley. The scientists involved in this discovery are Rebecca L. Cann, Mark Stoneking and Allan C. Wilson. They discovered a new type of DNA named mitochondrial DNA which is present in the cell. It is passed on from mother to her child. The other DNA, Y chromosome, is

present in the nucleus of the cell is passed on from father to son.

These are the two type of DNA which mostly tells about our ancestors. It also tells about the tribes and the place of origin of our maternal and paternal lines. Scientists have studied a lot about evolution and have now concluded that we all came from one common ancestor called Adam and Eve. No doubt, there were other men and women also but it was only Adam and Eve who survived.

DNA Genealogy has helped a lot in solving different things. It is an interesting topic for scientists. They do new researches like finding out the people related to the famous personalities like George Washington, Julius Caesar or Genghis Khan. Scientists have produced human archeological record. Doctors have found DNA Genealogy useful for finding hereditary diseases and cure. DNA testing has a strong ability to reunite the families as it is 100% accurate and without any duplication. The best part is that it is helping in reduction of criminals in the society by solving maximum criminal cases.

To cut the long story short, I just want to say that DNA Genealogy which is related to DNA testing is the biggest discovery ever made in the field of medical science.

Simply put, genetic genealogy is the use of DNA to ascertain a genetic relationship between individuals.  The Father of Evolution, Charles Darwin, is also credited with the early study of genetics, before the discovery of microscopic cell part deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA.

Darwin’s son George was able to study surnames in Britain and determine the rate of incidence of marriage among people with the same last name.  Interestingly, upper-class families were more likely to marry a cousin than the lower classes.  In fact, Charles Darwin himself was married to his first cousin Emma Wedgwood.

It wasn’t for another 100 years that major advances would be made along Darwin’s theory and it took an unlikely American running for U.S President to thrust the issue in the public eye.

Barack Obama is reported to have German roots that go back to the 1700s.  According to a popular ancestry website, Obama’s great, g, g, g, g, grandfather Johann Conrad Woelflin was born in Besigheim, Germany in January, 1729.  He emigrated to America in 1750 and settled in Pennsylvannia under the name of Wolfley.

This is intriguing because the findings follow another report that Obama bears some Irish ancestry.  No one who looks at Barack Obama would doubt he is anything but the product of a white American mother and a black Kenyan father, but Obama’s family tree is a common one.  Many Americans believe they have only a few national strains in their DNA when in fact they have the influence of several countries in their family tree.

When told the charismatic American President was a descendant of Germany, the country responded with cheers.  This isn’t the first U.S. President to be so named.  Dwight Eisenhower also had German roots.

Dive into your genetic genealogy and prepare yourself for wondrous information about your family you never believed possible.

One thing that DNA testing for genealogy shows is,  if you are a male, you have the same biological component as your father, your grandfather, your great-grandfather, your great, great grandfather and your g-g-g-g-g-grandfather.

That component is called the Y-chromosome, part of the genetic ribbon of information that makes every male, male.   When you test your Y-DNA, you can determine whether you are or are not related to another male with the same surname.  You might even want to join the growing list of surname projects going on across the country.

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, exists in almost all cells and is the building block for a human being.  DNA determines genetics and whether your eyes are blue and your hair is straight.  It also predicts the risk for health disorders or diseases, so there is much to be learned through DNA testing that goes beyond ancestry.

The way genealogists approach DNA testing is they look for mutations.  In other words, a mutation is a change in the DNA sequencing.  Cells in our body increase by dividing in a process called mitosis.  An enzyme called polymerase uses the original DNA helix as a template and then builds a whole new cell using the same DNA code.

Occasionally a mutation in this process occurs and gets passed on.  It is rare; approximately 0.2% per generation, but it does signal a break in the identical ancestral code that gets passed from father to son.

There are DNA genealogy tests for women, even if they do not have a Y chromosome.  For women, scientists rely on the mitochondrial DNA which gets passed from the mother to all her offspring.

It’s fascinating that with the help of a single cheek swab DNA testing for genealogy can track the history of your surname, or even your ancient ancestors as they migrated from East Africa 80 thousand years ago.