Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings (“I’m Puzzled by DNA Claims on ‘Faces of America’ ”) writes about the fourth and last episode of “Faces of America ,” a PBS documentary series investigating the ancestry of several famous people in America. This fourth episode included several different types of genetic genealogy to examine the ancestral origins and relatedness of the show’s members. 1. Whole Genome Sequencing by Knome The first type of genetic genealogy was whole-genome sequencing by Knome of Henry Louis Gates and his father. This analysis ...

Kevin Davies, Ph.D., currently the Editor-in-Chief of Bio-IT World, recently wrote an article about Pathway Genomics in which he reviewed the company’s Health Test product (see “Pathway and Me: Consumer Genomics Firm Delivers First Results ”): “Earlier this year, I submitted a saliva sample to Pathway to get a feel for how the latest consumer genomics offering compares to the more established companies in the field. Pathway communicates the health results not by a numerical relative or lifetime risk but via a series of color-coded bins depending on their potential ...

Late last fall, Family Tree Magazine requested nominations for the best genealogy blogs, and then opened voting for the nominated list. Yesterday, they announced the winners of the voting. Diane Haddad wrote about the announcement on the Genealogy Insider blog , and Maureen Taylor wrote the article that will appear in the May issue of Family Tree Magazine: “Fab Forty .” I am very pleased and honored to announce that TGG was selected as one of the 40 Best Genealogy Blogs, in the category of genetic genealogy. I would like to thank everyone who nominated and voted for me. I ...

Daniel Vorhaus of the Genomics Law Report is also a member of the steering committee of the GET (“Genomes, Environments, Traits) Conference 2010 . This unique conference, to be held on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 will gather together some of the biggest names in personal genomics, as well as most of the limited number of the people who have released their entire genomes to the public. Tickets for the conference go on sale today here . As part of the GET Conference 2010, the new BioWeatherMap initiative will officially launch. According to the project’s website, BioWeatherMap ...

In a move that puts it in more direct competition with personal genomics companies such as 23andMe and deCODEme, the genetic genealogy testing company Family Tree DNA announced today that it will offer a large-scale autosomal test for genealogical purposes. The test, which will be available to the public in mid-March, will allow test-takers the opportunity to connect with matching family members across all genetic ancestral lines. The test will launch at a price of $249. The Family Tree DNA Family Finder site is now online. Although other companies such as 23andMe and deCODEme offer ...

In October 2008 , I reviewed an article by Dr. Alondra Nelson in the journal Social Studies of Science entitled “Bio Science: Genetic Genealogy Testing and the Pursuit of African Ancestry ” (Social Studies of Science 2008 38: 759-783). The article was about the complex interpretation of the results of genetic genealogy testing by African-Americans and black British. Dr. Nelson is Associate Professor of Sociology at Columbia University in NY. On Friday, an article by Dr. Nelson appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education entitled “Henry Louis Gates’s Extended ...

Both 23andMe and deCODEme (using my 23andMe data) have interpreted my SNP results to indicate that I have a greatly increased genetic risk for Type 2 Diabetes. This post interprets the information from both companies and applies some of the primary research that the companies relied upon to predict my risk. Hopefully, this information will be useful to me as I strive to more completely understand my own risk factors, and will be useful to others as an example of using SNP data to potentially understand more about your health. I. The Genetics My 23andMe analysis makes it clear that I have ...

Just took the @23andMe Longevity Survey - http://bit.ly/8DYAKC about 14 hours ago @tgoetz : http://bit.ly/4rkgsW - looking forward to get a fitbit; finally a scientific way to tell whether it really was a bad night’s sleep about 14 hours ago I would have guessed more - “Americans Consume 34GB of Content a Day” at Lifehacker - http://tinyurl.com/yl8y6hc 1:47 PM Dec 9th I guess I should drive safer - RT @ABAJournal : Lawyers Second Most Likely Professional to Be in a Car Crash http://bit.ly/4pzRlZ 11:54 AM Dec 9th I use @HootSuite to filter: #mhco @Rex7 - ...

DAVIDE at the European Genetics and Anthropology Blog has an interesting post regarding 23andMe ’s Ancestry Painting , at “Taking a closer look at your inter-continental ancestry results at 23andMe .” In the post, he describes how to “rummage through the Flash data behind the “Ancestry Painting” presentation” to learn more about the SNPs involved an admixed Ancestry Painting. The post includes the incredibly simple directions: First of all, you have to make sure you’ve got the free Firebug plug-in installed. Right click on the little bug in ...

Whit Athey has announced publication of the Fall 2009 issue of the Journal of Genetic Genealogy. This is Whit’s last issue as Editor, and I’d like to extend my sincere appreciation to him and all the work he has put into JoGG over the past 5 years. Every issue requires hours of work to coordinate reviews and format articles, among the many other aspects of publishing. Whit’s tireless work has helped add so much to the field. I’d also like to announce that with Whit’s departure I will be assuming the position of Editor of JoGG. I’m excited about this ...

Familybuilder , launched in 2007, is a genealogy company that ranks among the top 10 online genealogy services in the world with over 17 million users and over 120 million family tree profiles. Late last year the company began offering a genetic genealogy product, as I wrote about here on the blog (see “Familybuilder Announces DNA Testing ”). Disclosure: This is a review of Familybuilder’s Y-DNA service using a kit I received free of charge for purposes of this review. Please note that this is not meant to be an endorsement but merely a review of the Y-DNA service ...

I recently received an interesting question from a reader (see this comment ) about 23andMe’s Relative Finder , and thought it would be worth sharing the question and my answer with all my readers. The Question: I’m a man who recently took a 23andMe test, and I have a question about Relative Finder. Another man who I match on 36 of 37 Y-DNA markers via Family Tree DNA also took a 23andMe test. We believe that we are third cousins, but this individual does not show up as related in Relative Finder, nor does he show any similarities in the Family Inheritance section. Does this ...

DNA Test Index has a great index of DNA testing providers, including genetic genealogy testing companies. Via @genomicslawyer – an “atypically complete list of genetic test providers: http://bit.ly/2f8FLW .” ISOGG, the International Society of Genetic Genealogy, has a new information page at “I’ve Tested at 23andMe, Now What? ” The site includes “a variety of tools to help you further explore your ancestry,” including EURO-DNA-CALC and Promethease , among others. Family Tree DNA has a new Holiday Sale, as summarized at the U4 Haplogroup ...

I’ve been playing with 23andMe’s Relative Finder this week, since it’s now in open beta. It’s been interesting hearing from 6th to 10th cousins from around the world, and we’re working to find ancestors in common. I’m looking forward to identifying - for the first time - a piece of autosomal DNA that came from a specific ancestor. While in the beta period, the number of relatives is limited to 1000 (I currently have 173 with only 5 in the 3rd to 7th cousin range), and you can only contact other people who have opted in for the beta test. So if you have a ...

Megan Smolenyak has been very busy the past couple of weeks sharing her research of Michelle Obama’s genealogy. Genealogy Insider posted this video of Megan on the CBS Early Show on October 8th. The YouTube video is described as: “The New York Times traced Michelle Obama’s five generation path from slavery to the White House. Harry Smith spoke to Megan Smoleyak the genealogist who uncovered the first lady’s family tree.” A much more in-depth video is available from the always interesting RootsTelevision at “Michelle Obama’s Roots .” ...