In genetic genealogy, what does it mean when someone says they are “identical by” something…and what are those various somethings? In autosomal DNA, where your DNA on chromosomes 1-22 (and sometimes X) is compared to other people for matches of … Continue reading
Welcome to the concepts articles. This series presents the concepts of genetic genealogy, not the details. I have written a lot of detailed articles, and I’ve linked to them for those of you who want more. My suggestion would be … Continue reading
Sometimes we get caught up in the details of how DNA testing for genetic genealogy works and what it means. Then someone asks a simple conceptual question, and I have to step back and figure out how to not tell them … Continue reading
Recently, Ancestry introduced a new view of your ethnicity called SideView™. In a nutshell, AncestryDNA uses your DNA matches to attempt to divide your ethnicity into regions inherited from Parent 1 and Parent 2. Based on your matches and the … Continue reading
Recently, I’ve noticed an uptick in confused people who’ve taken Ancestry’s DNA test. They are using shared matches, which is a great tool and exactly what they should be doing, but they become confused when no shared matches appear with … Continue reading
I have lots of ideas about what I’d like to write about, but I work with genetic genealogy every day and what I’d like to write about might not be the same as what you want to read. As always, … Continue reading
Before you read any further – I’m fine. Now. But I wasn’t. I’ve been really debating about whether or not I should write this article. After it was written, I debated about whether I should publish it. It’s one of … Continue reading
I don’t think that we actively think about our DNA segments as nested ancestors, like Russian Matryoshka dolls, but they are. That’s exactly why segment information is critical for genealogists. Every segment, and every portion of a segment, has an … Continue reading
It’s that time of the year again when we welcome the next year. 2021 was markedly different than anything that came before. (Is that ever an understatement!) Maybe you had more time for genealogy and spent time researching! So, what … Continue reading
MyHeritage just introduced Labels, a new, free, organizational tool for DNA matches. Labels provide customers with the ability to organize their matches in various ways. I’ve had the opportunity to work with Labels for a few days now, and I’ve … Continue reading
