Image by Aaron Logan Roughly 6 million years ago, the Hominini subtribe of the Hominidae family tree (the so-called “great apes”) diverged into two known branches, with one branch (genus Pan ) resulting in modern-day Chimpanzees and Bonobos , and the other branch (genus Homo ) resulting in modern-day humans. Since there has only been 6 million years of divergent evolution, Chimpanzees/Bonobos and Humans share a great deal of DNA sequence in common (although estimates vary widely and typically depend on what, exactly, is being considered in the comparison). The Close Cousins ...

On March 14th and 15th of this year, Family Tree DNA hosted the 5th Annual Conference on Genetic Genealogy. From the press release (pdf): Each year, world renowned experts in genetics and science present cutting-edge developments and exciting new applications at this two-day educational forum which draws attendees from Family Tree DNA’s Group Administrators in North America and throughout the world. Among the speakers at the upcoming conference will be Dr. Spencer Wells, the director and population geneticist heading the National Geographic’s landmark Genographic Project as ...

In my genealogical research, I have sometimes found myself missing the trees by focusing on the forest. I think it happens to many genealogists – we get caught up in the research, the dates, the places, and we forget that there was so much more to people than their vital statistics. This can happen to genetic genealogists as well. The connection between the results of a DNA test and the individuals in our tree can be easy to forget and difficult to visualize. Take the results of an mtDNA test, for example. The results are obtained from a tiny piece of DNA that has traveled thousands ...

Yesterday I posted about my recent testing experience with 23andMe, focusing on the health and traits information. This post examines the genealogical aspects of testing at 23andMe. Ancestry Information Although I was interested in the health and traits information, I was most excited about the ancestral information . 23andMe’s test looks at mtDNA, Y-DNA, and autosomal coverage. I believe that the company is working to report on ancestry of the X-chromosome, but as I have previously reported X-DNA ancestry can be extremely challenging. This was my second foray into autosomal DNA ...

This is the first entry in a two-part series describing my recent experiences with genetic testing through 23andMe. Although I was most excited by the genetic genealogy information provided by the results, I thought that readers might be interested in some of the health and trait information as well. If I forget to discuss something, feel free to ask in the comments and I’ll do my best to respond. Note that this discussion is limited to a cursory analysis of my results. Anyone who is considering testing through 23andMe should be aware that scientists are only just beginning to study ...

In October 2007, I wrote about the launch of GeneTree (see “Sorenson Genomic’s GeneTree Launches ”), a “DNA-enabled family history-sharing Web site.” Today, GeneTree has announced that it is out of beta and has added advanced features for users. Press Release Following is the press release from GeneTree: SALT LAKE CITY (March 9, 2009)—GeneTree today announced its free family Web site has completed beta testing and now offers those who sign in a simple, intuitive way to regularly communicate with their extended family and to securely share and store ...

Image via CrunchBase DAVIDE at the European Genetics and Anthropology Blog recently posted two interviews (here and here ) with customers of 23andMe’s large-scale genome scanning service, one from Finland and one from the U.S. It’s very interesting to see the responses of these anonymous individuals, particularly since they are from different countries. For example, both were asked why they decided to purchase the 23andMe test - “Was it to test your ancestry or genetic health risk factors?” Interestingly, for both individuals ancestry was the motivating factor ...