Report on new test from the Genographic Project / Family Tree DNA

Debbie Kennett administrator of the Devon DNA Project (the county) and the Cruwys DNA Project has put together a great summary of the forth coming ancestry test developed by the Genographic Project and Family Tree DNA. The test looks at markers from Y-DNA, mtDNA as well as autosomal DNA and will complement tests currently available at FTDNA.

It looks as though this test will be a replacement for the Y-DNA 'deep clade' currently used for deep ancestry. This is an exciting development for those of us interested in deeper ancestry and time frame when surnames were becoming adopted and hereditary.

Indications are that you will be able to purchase and link the product to your FTDNA account, so hold fire on ordering direct if you have a Family Tree DNA account until this is clarified.

Debbie also weighs up how the test might impact on other companies such as Ancestry and 23andMe.

Cruwys news: Ancestry SNPs galore: Today sees the launch of  Geno 2.0, an exciting new DNA test which marks phase two of the  Genographic Project...

With thanks to Debbie for putting together such a comprehensive blog.

New editor for the Journal of Genetic Genealogy (JoGG)

The editorial board of the  Journal of Genetic Genealogy (JoGG) has announced that it's new editor will be Dr. Turi King. With thanks to Ann Turner who has posted the following on the DNA Genealogy mailing list at Rootsweb:

Dr. King's PhD thesis topic was The relationship between British surnames and Y-chromosomal haplotypes and she is also co-author (with George Redmonds and David Hey) of the book Surnames, DNA and Family History http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199582648.do

Dr. King is currently a Research Fellow in the Department of Genetics and the School of Historical Studies at the University of Leicester, where she is the project manager for an interdisciplinary project The Impact of Diasporas on the Making of Britain http://www2.le.ac.uk/projects/impact-of-diasporas/the-research-group/research-associates/turi-king

Turi has worked on the Y chromosome since 1996 and has concentrated on surnames, the Y chromosome and genetic genealogy (among other studies) for over ten years. More details about her background and interests can be found at http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/genetics/people/king/turi

The last issue of the Journal (Fall 2011) had an article of Scottish DNA interest:
The Evolution of the Gordon Surname:  New Insight From Y-DNA Correlations and Genealogical Pedigrees by Tei A. Gordon and William E. Howard III.

Update on the status of the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation and GeneTree.

Have you sent a sample to SMGF in the past? Have you been waiting for them to release material on autosomal data?

Steven Perkins has posted on his On-line Journal of Genetics and Genealogy that he has had a reply from SMGF regarding the future of their database and GeneTree since it was acquired by Ancestry.com.

You can read the reply from SMGF here:

Status of the Sorenson Molecular, SMGF, genetic genealogy DNA Databases and GeneTree

Note for individuals who have tested with www.genetree.com (which is no longer taking orders) - "There are not plans to automatically 'convert' GeneTree accounts into Ancestry.com accounts, so GeneTree customers will need to move their information over to Ancestry on an individual basis."

Father-Son-Brother Project at FTDNA

This new project at Family Tree DNA has been set up by Sandy Paterson a friend of the Scotish DNA Project. The aim is to gather father-son and brother-brother haplotypes for comparison in order to help in the estimation of father to son Y-STR mutation rates using FTDNA marker.

If you have close male kin who meet the join criteria the project can be found at http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Father-Son-Brother/default.aspx

20 free Y-DNA test for Scots 'Browns'

The Brown DNA Study is offering 20 free Y-DNA tests to men of Scots or Ulster origin who carry the Brown/ Broun/ Browne surname.

Applicants for the free tests are asked to supply information on their earliest known Brown/Broun/Browne ancestors. If you apply, you also should be willing for the Brown DNA Study to display your genealogical information along with your DNA marker values at the Study’s website. Names and addresses of applicants will not be posted, however test participants can request confidentiality.

The offer can be accessed through this link:

 http://brownsociety.org/FreeScotsTests.htm

The Bown Project is hosted by Family Tree DNA. 

Contact Jim Brown the Project Administrator for further information.

 

Oetzi the Iceman's nuclear genome gives new insights

New clues have emerged in what could be described as the world's oldest murder case: that of Oetzi the "Iceman", whose 5,300-year-old body was discovered frozen in the Italian Alps in 1991. See the BBC news article.

The research team gathered information about Ötzi’s ancestry. His Y chromosome possesses mutations most commonly found among men from Sardinia and Corsica, and his nuclear genome puts his closest present-day relatives in the same area. Perhaps Ötzi’s kind once lived across Europe, before dying out or interbreeding with other groups everywhere except on those islands.

The full article published in Nature.com can be purchased here.

Supplementary technical information can be downloaded here.

Haplogroup N in Scotland

The Scottish DNA Project now has over 3900 participants. Recent members to join include a Galbraith (Berwickshire) and a McLelland (Kirkcudbright) who belong to Haplogroup N which is extremely rare in Scotland and has origins in Northern Europe and Siberia. The ancestors of these individuals may have arrived in Scotland through Norse incursions although it's possible there was another migration route taken.

The link below only shows results for 500 participants. Insert 4000 into the default page size at the top of the page and refresh the page (give the page time to reload).

http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Scottishdna/default.aspx?section=yresults

Scottish DNA Project now on Google+

The Scottish DNA Project now has a profile on Google+. The platform is increasingly used as a tool for genealogical networking, although the change in the way Google ranks pages is also an important factor in now having a presence. Just search for Scottish DNA and include the project in your Circles.