Have you ever dealt with something so massive and overwhelming it took a few days just to get your head wrapped around it? Well, that’s how I’ve been feeling about the new National Geographic Geno 2.0 announcement. It’s not just what has been announced, but the utterly massive amount of scientific research behind the scenes, and what it means to the rest of us.
If you think of all of the discoveries and progress that has been made in the 12 years since the advent of genetic genealogy, what you’re about to hear today dwarfs it all. Hold on tight – this is a white knuckle ride of a lifetime. The day I heard about this, I wandered around somewhat starry-eyed in amazement and kept muttering something terribly intelligent like “Wow, oh Wow.”
I’d like to share with you some of today’s big news and hope that you too share my sense of awe to be alive in such an exciting time, and to have not only a front row seat, but participating in making history. This isn’t a movie, it’s the real McCoy!
Let’s start with a bit of history about Nat Geo 1.0, the Genographic Project. Fasten your seatbelt, your E ticket ride starts here and now!
Nat Geo 1.0
Eight years ago, in April 2005, the National Geographic Genographic project was announced. The goal was to sell a total of 100,000 kits over 5 years to help fund the indigenous part of the project, which was to collect samples from indigenous peoples around the world to better understand population migration.
According to Nat Geo, this has been the most successful program they have ever undertaken. That in and of itself it an amazing statement, especially considering that there was a lively debate within Nat Geo prior to the project launch.
Someone opined to Spencer Wells that they wouldn’t even sell 10,000 kits, let alone 100,000. Well, they were wrong, 10,000 kits were sold the first day alone. I’m guessing that Bennett and Max at Family Tree DNA, whose test kits Nat Geo uses, has a sense of controlled panic about that time. The 100,000 kits were sold in the first 8 months and they still sell between 40,000 and 50,000 kits per year today.
How is that project doing? Well, it was scheduled to run for 5 years, and it’s now into its 7th year. They have collected over 75,000 samples from indigenous people and on the public side, over 750,000 people in over 130 countries have bought kits to help fund the research. 32 publications either have been released or will be shortly. Of the 45 million dollars the project has grossed, National Geographic has contributed more than 1.7 million dollars to the Legacy Fund for investment back into the indigenous communities that participated in the Genographic project.
You might recall that the original Nat Geo project only tested 12 markers for men and the HVR1 region on the maternal side. At that time, 7 years ago, $99 for each of those was a great deal and the projects received a lot of new participants. About 20% of the Nat Geo participants transferred their result to Family Tree DNA, for free, so they could join projects and participate in genetic genealogy.
Today, 12 markers is quite light and so is HVR1 testing alone. Project administrators cringe when we see those, because we know it’s really not enough to do much with today. We’ve learned so much in the past 7 years. You don’t realize how much things have changed until you take a minute to look back.
At the same time we were learning, technology was also advancing. Seven years ago, running autosomal tests was simply cost prohibitive. If you consider that computer technology has decreased in price and doubled in speed every year or two (Moore’s Law), the advances in DNA sequencing technology and understanding are moving in the same directions (increased capability and decreased costs) by a factor of 5 as compared to computer technology. Literally, we are moving at the speed of light. See, I told you to hold on. I meant it!
Geno 2.0 – The Big Announcement
It’s amazing that something this big has been kept this quiet. Those of us involved have been bursting at the seams with excitement, and today is the big day. Last night about 9 o’clock we received word that the countdown had begun.
For a look at the new National Geographic webpage, go to www.genographic.com. This is the heart of the new Geno 2.0.
Geno 2.0 is still comprised of the 3 core components as before, the indigenous portion, the Legacy fund and the public participation portion. However the technology is changing, dramatically, and the public participation arena is expanding. Public participation will now include some “citizen science” projects, grants, an educational segment meaning kits in classrooms, and community based projects. All of this is made possible by advances in the core sciences and technology. This, plus the focus of the “Dream Team” of genetic genealogy and population genetics.
Thankfully, Spencer Wells at National Geographic and Bennett Greenspan and Max Blankfeld at Family Tree DNA prepared us in advance for what was coming, as much as you can prepare for a technological tsunami!
Let’s take a look at the technology and scientific advances that have occurred and what it means to us today.
New Chips and New Partnerships
The days of sequencing 12 markers in the lab are gone forever, replaced by high-speed sequencing that looks at half a million markers, or more, at a time, and for the same price as a 12 marker test and the mitochondrial DNA test, together, would have cost in Nat Geo 1.0.
However, when you’re looking at just the Y DNA and the mitochondrial, you’re missing 98% of the human genome, the part that isn’t Y or mitochondrial DNA. And that 98% holds many secrets, the secrets of our ancestors.
The National Geographic Society recruited one of the top geneticists in the world at Johns Hopkins, focused on autosomal genetic markers. He has spent the past two years identifying every known marker relevant to ancestry or population genetics that is NOT medically relevant. This includes the X and Y chromosomes, mitochondrial DNA and the balance of the autosomal markers.
Are you sitting down? Here’s the first of several bombs!
Relative to Y-line DNA, in 2010, just 2 years ago, the YCC SNP 2010 tree had a total of just over 800 SNPs that has been discovered. Today it still hasn’t reached 900. You can see the current tree at http://www.isogg.org/tree/index.html. Notice that all of the L SNPs were discovered by Thomas Krahn in the Family Tree DNA lab with the assistance of Family Tree DNA’s customers and project administrators. This is truly “crowd-science” in the flash mob sense.
Today, after a concerted effort of discovery involving many people, there are a total of 12,000 Y SNPS and of that, 10,000 of them are unique and new and have never been seen or published before. This means that your haplogroup will automatically be determined to the furthest branch of the tree with no additional SNPs to be tested. As this test becomes available to Family Tree DNA clients as an upgrade, it will signal the demise of the deep clade test.
If there is a project administrator sitting next to you, they have just fainted. The magnitude of this is simply mind-boggling.
Relative to mitochondrial DNA, 3352 unique (non-haplogroup defining) mutations have been discovered. To measure all of the relevant mitochondrial DNA mutations, including insertions and deletions, over 31,000 probes (locations) are needed on the new high density chips. Before this new approach, chip technology was unable to account for insertions and deletions, but that has been remedied by a new approach to an old problem. This means that haplogroups will be determined to their deepest level and they will be accurate, including insertions and deletions critical to haplogroup assignment.
Relative to autosomal DNA, over 75,000 Ancestrally Informative Markers (AIMs) have been discovered and included on the new chip, and that’s after removing any that might be considered medically informative. This astronomical number of SNPs will allow us to detect ethnicity and improve accuracy on a scale that we’ve never even dreamed about before. I specifically asked Spencer Wells if this will help resolve those “messy” situations where we have European, Native American and African admixture, and he indicated that it would. I can hardly wait. For those of us what have been waiting patiently, and some not so patiently, to be able to identify small amounts of admixture, this is the best news you could ever hope to hear! I told you that something wonderful was on the way!
Relative to admixture with Neanderthal, Denisovan and Melanesian man, meaning interbreeding, more than 30,000 SNPs have been identified that will signal interbreeding where it occurred between modern humans and ancient hominids. And yes, this means that it did occur! So indeed once again, you can begin wondering about your brother-in-law. He’s probably wondering about you too.
Relative to the X chromosome, it’s included. The X chromosome, because of its special inheritance pattern, gives us an additional, special tool when working with genetic genealogy. We’ll cover this in a future blog.
The New Chip
In total, the new SNP count to be included on the new Nat Geo 2.0 chip (photo above) includes both new and known existing SNPs in the following amounts:
- Autosomal including X – 147,000
- Neanderthal – 26,000
- Denisovan – 1,500
- Aboriginal – 13,000
- Eskimo – 12,000
- Chimpanzee – 1,100
- Y Chromosome – 12,000
- mtDNA – 31,000
This chip has been designed to distinguish between populations.
OMG – What Happened to the Haplotree?
We’re not done yet with bombshells.
After this new chip was created by Illumina specifically for National Geographic, about 1200 samples were run as proof of concept, including 400 WTY (Walk the Y), 350 mitochondrial full sequence and 500 Y samples. All of the samples run are checked and tested for all of the SNPs on the chip. Of course, females’ samples will fail on all of the Y haplogroup locations, etc.
Just based on this test run alone of 900 Y chromosome kits, the haplotree expanded from 862 SNPs to a total of 6153. If you’ve just said something akin to “Holy Cow,” you’re on the right track. Imagine what it will do with another 1000 or 10,000 or 100,000 tests. Right now, we’re making discoveries so fast we can hardly deal with them.
What Does This Mean?
In reality, what this means is that we will very soon use SNPs to determine heritage down to a genealogical meaningful timeframe, meaning 500 to maybe 1000 years. The standard STR (Short Tandem Repeat) markers we know and love will become the leaves on the branches of the tree and these will likely be used when there are no more SNPs to determine family groupings and line marker mutations within families.
New National Geographic Geno 2.0 Website
Needless to say, all of this discovery has prompted National Geographic to redo their website entirely. New maps are forthcoming. Yeah!! New maps include the migration maps as well as new haplogroup “heat maps” where the colors are graduated based on frequency.
There are entirely new capabilities too. The new website will show you as the center of a circle and you’ll be able to contact people who have tested at Nat Geo who are located near to you in the circle. Those closest to you, you’re most closely related to. Further away, more distantly related. Before, there was no matching between Nat Geo participants.
And yes, Geno 2.0 participants will still be able to transfer into Family Tree DNA for free. I hope they make that option much more visible or interactive.
A New Test Kit
Anyone wanting to participate in Geno 2.0 will have to order a new kit from National Geographic. The previous Nat Geo kits, if you recall, were anonymous unless you chose to transfer to Family Tree DNA, plus the permission you gave was specifically for mtdna or Y-line, not autosomal testing.
Furthermore, the DNA in many kits will be too old and will have degraded too much to use. Everyone ordering the new Geno 2.0 kit will receive a new swab kit, in an heirloom box. The comprehensive Y-line (haplogroup only), mtdna (haplogroup only) and autosomal testing will cost $199.
For Family Tree DNA clients who will be offered the upgrade in the late summer or fall, you will be able to upgrade if your DNA is less than 4 or 5 years old. Otherwise, you’ll receive a new swab kit too.
All processing will be done at the Family Tree DNA Houston facility.
New Results Pages
The new test of course requires all new results pages for participants.
Take a look at a few of the pages you can expect.
The results will be presented as a personal story.
Your story will also include information such as maps of where your ancestors lived and where they migrated.
I asked Spencer if participants will be able to download their results so that we can continue to compare them as we do today, using various phasing tools. Spencer replied, “Yes, raw results WILL be available for download. In the Genographic Project, you will always own your DNA results, and the genotype data will be yours to do with as you please. I feel very strongly that this is a cornerstone of ethical DTC genetic testing.” Way to go Spencer!!
As Geno 2.0 moves forward, additional analytical tools will be added.
Ordering
National Geographic is accepting pre-orders now. They will ship before the end of October, and they expect to be shipping significantly before that.
In Summary
Our world is changing, rapidly, and for the better. The door we’ve been peeking through for a decade now is swinging wide open. More brick walls will fall. We’ll find and meet new cousins. Ethnicities will be identified at a level never before possible. We’ll learn about our ancestors and the story of our past through their DNA that we carry today. It is the frontier within. DNA is truly the gift that keeps on giving!
“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Neil Armstrong, July 20, 1969
______________________________________________________________
Disclosure
I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.
Thank you so much.
DNA Purchases and Free Transfers
- Family Tree DNA
- MyHeritage DNA only
- MyHeritage DNA plus Health
- MyHeritage FREE DNA file upload
- AncestryDNA
- 23andMe Ancestry
- 23andMe Ancestry Plus Health
- LivingDNA
Genealogy Services
Genealogy Research
- Legacy Tree Genealogists for genealogy research
Wonderful blog Roberta!!
This is truly amazing!!!!!!!! I definitely want to be involved and please keep us posted with the progress. My only concern is what will happen to our current projects at FTDNA? Will they become invalid or is there any upgrade in sight for them? In other words, will the Nat. Geo. project be different from our FTDNA projects????
There won’t be separate Nat Geo and FTDNA projects. The FTDNA projects are what will remain in place, just like they are today.
So if the FTDNA are the projects that will remain, will that mean that everyone in the project will eventually have to upgrade to participate in the new technology?
If you want the new tests, yes, you’ll have to order them. Family Tree DNA clients will be offered an upgrade option later this year.
Wonderful news Roberta.
Hey Roberta,
I’m absolutely stunned, of course! Among the many questions, may I ask you these two?
1. All those 1200 samples that were used to test the chip… are all those people aware of it, and are they getting their results for free? If so, when? Hopefully some will share them with their fellow genetic genealogists!
2. When do we get to see this new Haplotree? I take it the 12,000 Y SNPs not yet been publicly shown on Ymap? Any idea when they will be?
Thanks again,
Bonnie
1. I don’t know about the financial arrangement, i.e. if they got their tests for free, with the folks whose DNA was used to vet the new chip. I do know I wasn’t one of them. I do know that we have been under very strong, signed, nondisclosures.
2. I don’t know when the new tree will be made public. I’m betting there is a publication in process, but I don’t know that for sure. This would seem to be too important to not publish in the academic literature.
Thanks, Roberta! I’m not really concerned about what they did or didn’t pay… more interested in who they are, are any of them in my projects, when am I going to hear from them, etc! And why wasn’t my family one of them! 😉
As far as a publication, that’s great. It didn’t occur to me, amidst all the other wonders. It could be that’s why someone said on a forum that there were rumors of a Hammer et al paper revealing a new haplotree. I thought the rumor was probably arising from the Hg. A paper, which will restructure the roots of the tree. I’m extremely curious to find out how many of our new A SNPs are on this chip already!
Roberta, you have a way of communicating that is both simple, to the point, and yet exciting. You would never make a lawyer 🙂
Please write the next tax laws !
You are SOOO funny. Can’t write tax laws though….I have to be able to understand something before I can write about it:)
OK, so if our sample is over 5 years old we’ll have to order a ‘new’ test anyway, but for newer samples at FTDNA they might be able to just order an upgrade? I am so excited about this, but I am also more than a bit discouraged as I have been pushing new FF tests, and bought several myself.
Yes, for newer samples, you will order an upgrade. These don’t replace the utility of Family Finder tests. They augment them. I don’t know in the future how this test and Family Finder will dovetail and how that will shake out. Initially, these test kits will only compare with the Nat Geo data base. If you want to be in that data base, you’ll need to take this test. For cousin matches, today, the results are in the FF data base and that’s what you want to be able to find cousins.
I planned on testing with Family Tree for my mtDNA but I guess it would be better to test with Nat Geo. My aunt just tested with Family Tree and did her mtDNA. Will it be the new test or will she have to upgrade also?
The Nat Geo test tests more than just the mtdna. It tests autosomal too, so it costs more than the mtdna test alone, unless you’re doing the full sequence. So it depends on what you want, and when you want it. Any test ordered now or already in process is NOT the new version. The new tests won’t be shipping until in October.
Do you know exactly what the new test will cover if your female?
Mitochondrial at the full sequence level and autosomal.
Is the full swquence level HVI and HVII and can we order them now?
No, the HVR1 and HVR2 are only a small part of the full sequence. You can order now, but the kits aren’t shipping until October. Also, keep in mind, I haven’t seen the results, so I don’t know if you receive your markers or not in a way that is comparible to others who have taken the normal FTDNA tests.
Is NG Geno 2 expected to resolve puzzles like the following?
An interesting study reported in the June 2003 issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics leads me to believe that it is possible for Book of Mormon peoples to be ancestors of modern Native Americans and yet not be easily detected using traditional Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA tests. This study, conducted by a group of scientists from a company called deCODE Genetics, used the extensive genealogies of people from Iceland combined with probably the most massive population study ever performed. They traced the matrilineal and patrilineal ancestry of all 131,060 Icelanders born after 1972 back to two cohorts of ancestors, one born between 1848 and 1892 and the other between 1742 and 1798.6
Examining the same Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA markers used in other genetic studies, these 131,060 Icelanders “revealed highly positively skewed distributions of descendants to ancestors, with the vast majority of potential ancestors contributing one or no descendants and a minority of ancestors contributing large numbers of descendants.”7 In other words, the majority of people living today in Iceland had ancestors living only 150 years ago that could not be detected based on the Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA tests being performed and yet the genealogical records exist showing that these people lived and were real ancestors.
Hi Steve. From what you copy/pasted, this focused on yline and mtdna, not autosomal. The great benefit DeCode has is that they have put together the genealogy of all of the people of Iceland so they can effectively study heart disease. Having an entire genealogy of an isolate population provided them with wonderful research opportunities.
I first tested with National Geo. Genographic Project and then transfered my info to FTdna. Since then I have had my mitochondrial dna tested at the full sequence level and also tested for Ftdna’s Family Finder. This just a few years ago. Will I be automatically contacted by Ftdna to upgrade to the new 2.0 test or do I have to notify them of my desire to upgrade?
You can’t order it through Family Tree DNA. You have to order through National Geographic. That link is http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=2001246&gsk&code=MR20937
Pingback: The Genographic Project Announces Geno 2.0
For anyone into deep ancestral genetics, this is amazing – or dare I say, revolutionary! I’m especially happy that they’re bundling in high-resolution mtDNA testing, which doesn’t help much with traditional genealogy, but is invaluable for deep ancestral and population genetics research.
Question: I have an elderly, future grand-uncle-in-law in Philippines who has never had any genetic tests done and has agreed to let me order a genetic kit for him, as we are curious to find out his family’s deep ancestral origins from all different angles. If I were to order this kit for him through NatGeo, and he had his results transferred to an FTDNA account, would I be able to order mtDNA FGS, FF, or STR-67 from within his new FTDNA account, on the same Geno2.0 sample of DNA? Would I need to send out an additional FTDNA collection kit upon ordering FGS, FF, or STR-67? Geno2.0 ships internationally for an additional $40, but FTDNA only ships to certain countries, not including this one. (Mail often takes *months* to reach the hinterland, off-the-map areas… …and expensive-looking packages sometimes disappear altogether.) Whatever the difficulty, I’m eager to run as many tests as possible on my fiancée’s elderly family members while there is still time.
I would suggest that you order the Geno 2.0 kit and the Family Tree DNA kit for the other tests and have them both sent directly to you. You package them up together and send them to him.
For anyone into deep ancestral genetics, this is amazing – or dare I say, revolutionary! I’m especially happy that they’re bundling in high-resolution mtDNA testing, which doesn’t help much with traditional genealogy, but is invaluable for deep ancestral and population genetics research.
Question: I have an elderly, future grand-uncle-in-law in Philippines who has never had any genetic tests done and has agreed to let me order a genetic kit for him, as we are curious to find out his family’s deep ancestral origins from all different angles. If I were to order this kit for him through NatGeo, and he had his results transferred to an FTDNA account, would I be able to order mtDNA FGS, FF, or STR-67 from within his new FTDNA account, on the same Geno2.0 sample of DNA? Would I need to send out an additional FTDNA collection kit upon ordering FGS, FF, or STR-67? Geno2.0 ships internationally for an additional $40, but FTDNA only ships to certain countries, not including this one. (Mail often takes *months* to reach the hinterland, off-the-map areas… …and expensive-looking packages sometimes disappear altogether.) Whatever the difficulty, I’m eager to run as many tests as possible on my fiancée’s elderly family members while there is still time.
I enjoyed reading your explanations on the announcement of the National Geographic – Geno 2.0 project. I hope I can ask a few questions.
1) I had my mtDNA and Y-line DNA tested last year from Nat Geo Genographic Project 1. And the results were Haplogroup J*(Subclade J*) and Haplogroup G (M201) respectively. I was wondering if the National Geographic – Geno 2.0 would have deeper resolution on my two lines. I see in the example you pasted above that the Haplogoup y-line was H*. This doesn’t seem very deeply resolved with all the SNP’s you mentioned they will test for. So I wonder if I do this test if the resolution will still be the same as I already have for both mtDNA and Y-line DNA?
2) Will the Red Deer Cave People also be in the test? Perhaps at a later date when their DNA is tested?
3) I have several ethnicities from different parts of the planet which are either rumoured or denied by family members, will this be revealed in the autosomal testing?
4) Will the ancestral dating or generation of various ethnicities be known though the test?
5) There are several medical issues in our family lines, how can I get the genetic tests for these since they will not be included in the tests at Geno 2.0?
Thanks
Dec Thom
1. Yes, much deeper resolution on the new Geno 2.0 test than before.
2. So far, DNA extraction on the Red Deer Cave people bones has not yielded any DNA. So no, they aren’t included.
3. Yes, various ethnicities are included so long as they have a sample population. I don’t know how detailed this breakdown will be yet.
4. In some cases, via haplogroup migrations, we do know ancestral dating. However, for autosomal DNA, we can’t tell that from DNA testing.
5. Neither Geno 2.0, Family Finder nor Ancestry’s test provide you with any medical information. For that, you need to test at http://www.23andme.com
I have had 111 markers tested. What will this test do for me?
Steve
It will give you your deep ancestry haplogroup further than it can be obtained now. It will give you percentages of ethnicity and it will give you your mtdna haplogroup as well.
Roberta,
Is this still true?
“For Family Tree DNA clients who will be offered the upgrade in the late summer or fall, you will be able to upgrade if your DNA is less than 4 or 5 years old.”
I’d love to have my brother’s sample tested. He died in Dec 2010 but his most recent sample was taken Oct 2010 (First sample was in 2005).
Thanks for the blog. It helps a lot.
Neither Bennett nor Max have told me that they’ve changed their plans. So to tbe best of my knowledge, it’s still true.
That would be great.
Thanks Roberta.
Hi Roberta~ Would someone benefit from this test who has already tested with 23andMe V3 and transferred their results to FTDNA Family Finder? Or would other FTDNA tests be a better investment? I love your enthusiasm and you have me sold other than this small dilemma. 🙂 ~Robert
Hi Robert,
The new Geno 2.0 is testing SNPs for Yline that have never been offered before in a commercial setting and also many, many autosomal SNPs for ethnicity as well. So while the 23andMe and Family Finder are very similari in terms of what they test, Geno 2.0 is a world apart.
Hi Roberta,
I tested WTY and FSG mtDNA.
However, I never heard if my DNA was used to vet the new chip.
In your opinion, is there much more to be gained for me with Geno 2.0?
Thanks,
A.J.
There are two aspects that might be of interest. First, depending on when you did the WTY, there may be more known SNPs now. Also, they test all SNPs believed to be equivalent and they may not be. Second, you will receive the ethnicity calculations. As far as the mtdna, you’ve already done the entire sequence, so no, nothing there.
The WTY was done in May, 2011 and the coverage was only 186942.
You wrote: “they test all SNPs believed to be equivalent.” Are you talking about WTY or Geno 2.0? Thanks.
Geno 2.0 is testing all SNPs that are believed to be equivalent. In the past, if you tested positive for one of those, it was sufficient to classify you within a haplogroup. What that meant is that a lot of those SNPs were never tested and the assumption that they are always equivalent might not be true if enough people were tested. So, they are testing them all in Geno 2.0.
So, I just signed my mom up for the entry-level mtDNA testing at Family Tree DNA and signed up for the blog, and now I read this! It’s exciting, but where does this leave me with a just-purchased kit?
You’re just fine. The kit your ordered will provide you with specific mutations and people whom she matches. The Geno 2.0 kit won’t provide that for mitochondrial DNA. So breathe easy and enjoy the journey:) And welcome!
Any word on FTDNA upgrade? I haven’t seen anything
I’ve heard nothing. I don’t expect it will happen until after the initial orders are processed.
Pardon my dummy-like questions, I’m very new (and clueless) to this. I saw you mentioned Family Tree DNA, and checked out the website. What exactly is the difference between FTDNA and Geno 2.0, aside from FTDNA allowing users to find their relatives? I’m not focused on finding people though that would be pretty awesome; my main intent is to discover extensive results on my heritage/genealogy/anthropological history. Should I combine Geno 2.0 with a (female) product from FTDNA? I read their product description, along with your blog, but there’s too many fancy Science terms I do not understand, but will try to familiarize myself with it.
I only went on the National Geographic website, to subscribe to their magazines, only to be distracted by the Geno 2.0 on the main homepage! I’ve always been curious in my family heritage and accuracy of it, so I am pretty excited needless to say =)
Family Tree DNA is a testing laboratory that does testing for individuals and many different organizations. It has several tools to aid in discovering your genetic heritage. It is also the home of many ad hoc member projects that you might like to participate in.
The National Geographic Genographic Project is primarily interested in the migration patterns of different ethnic groups around the world throughout human history. I don’t think anyone knows just how much new information and knowledge will come from Geno 2.0.
As far as additional testing from Family Tree, I would wait a while to even think of that. I participated in the original Geno 1.0 project, (only 12 Y chromosome markers,) and later expanded that testing with Family Tree DNA to 67 markers and mitochondrial testing. The total cost of those tests was several times the cost of Geno 2.0, even though the amount of data promised from Geno 2.0 will be thousands of times that of the original Geno 1.0. It will probably take years to evaluate the results.
It’s gonna be an exciting ride. I wouldn’t miss it for anything.
Thank you, Don! I can’t wait to begin.
Got my kit today.
Collected the cheek scrapings and mailed them back Priority Mail within two hours, because I just didn’t want to wait another day!
Hi Roberta,
I participated in Geno 1 together with my wife and was disillusioned with the amount of detail in the results (my expectations may have been too high). I am now thinking about getting involved in Geno 2 as it looks much more promising in terms of the level of details.
My question is how much information of my ancestry (or lineage) would be apparent or available especially from the last few generations? Or should I include additional ancestry tests to Geno 2?
I am of mixed parentage in Asia.
Thx
Most of the Nat Geo Geno2.0 is deep ancestry, not genealogy. I compared the two, Geno 2.0 and Family Tree DNA tests on the blog page at this link: http://dna-explained.com/2012/10/14/what-to-order-geno-2-0-vs-family-tree-dna-products/
Thank you Roberta, I guess I will take the Geno 2 package first and see where it leads me as a first step 🙂
when the first project came out, an article in Newsweek indicated the limitations: your Y DNA is Japanese and your Mtdna is Mexican, but that ignores the 1100 Swedes in the middle! This new project promises so much more. There was a time that I seriously considered offering the test to various cousins to fill out the branches of my family. It looks like this GENO2.0 will save me a lot of time and money! I’ll have my brother tested again since I’m assuming a woman’s test would not provide her father’s DNA.
Jean, Read the followup blogs where I talk about what you get when ordering both from Family Tree DNA and the Geno project. There re certainly benefits, but these work more hand in hand than alone. There are several blog postings that talk about the Geno 2.0 test, but the one in particular I would draw your attention to is this one: http://dna-explained.com/2012/10/14/what-to-order-geno-2-0-vs-family-tree-dna-products/
Pingback: Proving Native American Ancestry Using DNA | DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy
Pingback: Proving Native American Ancestry Using DNA | Native Heritage Project
Pingback: 2012 Top 10 Genetic Genealogy Happenings | DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy
Pingback: Autosomal Testing Comparison | DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy
Pingback: What is a Haplogroup? | DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy
Pingback: New Y DNA Haplogroup Naming Convention | DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy
Pingback: Happy First Blogiversary | DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy
Pingback: Sunday Stories | DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy
Pingback: Determining Ethnicity Percentages | DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy
How about spelling the name of the world-renowned institution correctly?
It is Johns Hopkins, not John Hopkins.
Good eye. In over a year, no one else caught that. It’s fixed now.
Okay, I’m a bit confused.
This post appeared in my blog reader just now (late morning, Dec 1, 2013) with a date stamp of Dec 1, 2013 8:42am, but when I go directly to your website it’s showing a July 2012 date.
I did the Geno 2.0 test months ago. I’m guessing there isn’t a new test or is there?
Is this new or old?
“National Geographic – Geno 2.0 Announcement – The Human Story
robertajestes
Dec 1, 2013, 8:42 AM more »”
It’s old. Wonder why it was delivered to you today.
I have no idea. Maybe somehow it’s connected to your “Good eye” response to the comment before mine.
The good part is that it got my attention and got me back focused on keeping up with the science! And it’s still a great article and well worth reading again.
I participated in the first project and found out that I belong to Haplogroup HV. I just recieved 2.0 and I am wondering when I get my results, will this change the Haplogroup? Or is it adding the paternal line? I am adopted so all of this is very important to me!
It could revise your haplogroup. If you want the most information possible, you’ll want to take the full mitochondrial sequence test at Family Tree DNA. It won’t add the paternal line in that you don’t have a Y chromosome. You can take the Family Finder test at Family Tree DNA to match to your cousins on all lines if you haven’t already taken that test.
I got my results and I’m very disappointed in what I received. The very general nature of the your results could be the same for everyone , just change the per centages. I could have went to mystic and got the same for less money! I thought I would get a detail breakdown of the my DNA , like Ancestry.com.
Pingback: Chromosome Browser War | DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy
Pingback: DNAeXplain Archives – Historical or Obsolete Articles | DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy
what is the 1.1% dna N.G. didn’t give me a result for?
So, if I am a woman will my results only cover my mother’s side? If I am particularly interested in my father’s side’s ancestry should I just have him take the test?
Yes, just have him take the Y test for his direct paternal line and the Family Finder for his autosomal.
Pingback: 800 Articles Strong | DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy
Pingback: Y DNA Tree of Mankind Reaches 50,000 Branches | DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy