Sense About Genealogical DNA Testing

There has been some rather negative press coverage about DNA testing in recent weeks resulting from outrageous claims by one British testing company in particular.  Headlines that individuals are related to the Queen of Sheba, castrated Irish slaves, Napoleon or are descendants of Romans have been made without any data being published in peer reviewed journals.

Sense About Science a charitable trust that equips people to make sense of scientific and medical claims responded to these claims by publishing a guide to testing Sense About Genetic Ancestry Testing

Unfortunately this publication was selectively quoted by the media tarring genealogical DNA testing with the same brush.

In order to bring some balance back into the conversation Debbie Kennett, well known to many within the genetic genealogy community has been given the opportunity to complement the Sense About Science article.  In a blog post on their website she provides further details about DNA testing for genealogical purposes and why it can be used effectively and legitimately as an additional tool in family history research.

You can read her article here:
http://www.senseaboutscience.org/blog.php/41/sense-about-genealogical-dna-testing

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.

DNA and Social Networking: A Guide to Genealogy in the Twenty-First Century

Debbie Kennett's excellent new book about genetic genealogy and the networking revolution has now been published. Debbie is to be commended in articulating in a very skilful manner what can potentially be a challenging field for the family historian.

Debbie is an active member of the Guild of One-Name Studies and runs several vibrant DNA projects such as the Cruwys surname project and the geographical DNA project for Devon.

The topic of chapters in the first section include: the basic principles of DNA testing; surnames and the paternal line; before surnames - haplogroups and deep ancestry; the maternal line - mitochondrial DNA tests; cousins reunited - autosomal DNA tests and setting up and running a DNA Project.

Section two includes: traditional genealogical networking methods; genealogy social networking websites; general social networking websites; blogs; wikis; multimedia and collaboratives tools. There are also four appendices: DNA websites; Testing companies; DNA Projects and Surname resources.

All in all a thoroughly helpful resource for the newbie to the field as well as the seasoned genealogist.

The Scottish DNA Project gets a mention on page 37 within the Surnames and paternal line chapter.

It is well worth subscribing to Debbie's Cruwys blog and read more about her book here.