DNA Explained
We have a few posts on the use of DNA in genetic genealogy, and we understand that all of the detail can be very confusing. So if you want DNA explained in the context of genealogy, you’ve come to the right place. Sometimes, getting your first (or second or third) report raises more questions than it answers. What does it mean that the report says you’re in the “Western Modal Haplotype” or the R1b1a1b1* haplogroup? Maybe you’re in R1b1a1b1* and U5a; and what does that mean? Well, there is someone who can assist you in working through the details of your DNA...
Read MoreAutosomal DNA tests for genetic genealogy
This is another post in a series on genetic genealogy. So far, I’ve written about the general topic, and the use of Y-DNA and mtDNA to trace back either a paternal or maternal line. These testing methods are great, and can take you back even tens of thousands of years in terms of very deep ancestral origins. However, neither one can tell you about closer-in family relationships, like your mother’s father’s brother’s children. This is where autosomal DNA tests for genetic genealogy can play a role. As we’ve mentioned before, we humans have chromosomal DNA in the...
Read MoremtDNA testing for genetic genealogy
Considering mtDNA testing for genetic genealogy? Here’s our next post in our tour through the use of DNA testing for genealogy. This time the focus is on matrilineal researches using mitochondrial DNA aka M-DNA aka mtDNA. As we mentioned before, the mitochondria is a so-called “organelle” that resides within the our cells, and those of other animals. It is the engine that provides us all with our cells’ metabolic energy. There is a theory that these mitochondria were once independent creatures, but that somewhere in the mists of time, a symbiotic relationship...
Read MoreResearching your Genetic Genealogy
Researching your Genetic Genealogy At a particular point in my researches using traditional approaches, I ran into a brick wall. In going back on my Scottish side, that brick wall was the aftermath of the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745. In going back on my German-Russian side, it was the origins of my ancestors in Germany before they moved to South Russia in the late 1700s. It occurred to me that DNA testing might provide some answers. This was back in 2003 or 2004 or so. Over the years since then, this approach has expanded in surprising ways; even though it is still in what is likely to be its...
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