Recently, someone asked which of the major DNA testing companies test the X chromosome and which ones use the X in matching. How does this difference influence the quality of our matches? Vendor X in Download File Uses X in … Continue reading
Recently, MyHeritage rolled out a major update of their DNA software as well as new features, including: Improved Matching Chromosome Browser SmartMatching Ancestral Surnames Shared DNA Matches Shared Ethnicity You can read their blog posting here. Additionally, they announced that … Continue reading
Lots of people are giving their siblings DNA test kits. That’s a great idea, especially if your parents aren’t available for testing, because siblings do inherit part of the same DNA from their parents, but not all of the same … Continue reading
What is a crossover anyway, and why do I, as a genetic genealogist, care? A crossover on a chromosome is where the chromosome is cut and the DNA from two different ancestors is spliced together during meiosis as the DNA … Continue reading
Goran Runfeldt, a fellow genetic genealogist, has developed a killer app. You’ve heard of “The Terminator?” Well, meet “The Triangulator.” Goran developed the Family Finder Segment Triangulator tool to run, using a user script or browser extension, on the Family … Continue reading
In a future article, I’ll be writing about the process of uploading files to DNA.Land and the user experience, but in this article, I want to discuss only one topic, and that’s the results of imputation as it affects matching … Continue reading
Update: Please note that in August of 2019, this article was updated to reflect 200,000 simulations as opposted to the original 80,000, along with other applicable statistics. Have you ever wondered if your match with your first cousin is “normal,” … Continue reading
I’m super excited about visiting Dublin in less than a month. That’s right, Genetic Genealogy Ireland 2017 is fast approaching. The 3-day conference takes place at the Royal Dublin Society October 20-22 and is being chaired and orchestrated by Dr. Maurice … Continue reading
Recently, I’ve noticed a lot of confusion surrounding X DNA matching and mitochondrial DNA. Some folks think they are the same thing, but they aren’t at all. It’s easy to become confused by the different types of DNA that we … Continue reading
Given the time in which she lived, we know quite a bit about Dorothy Durham, wife of Thomas Durham, but we only have hints, and a mystery, about her parents. Dorothy was born in 1663 – that much we know … Continue reading
