Thursday, December 13, 2012

For Family And Friends


23andme tests the entire genome which is 22 chromosomes and the X and the Y and mitoDNA.A male has one X and one Y.Everyone has mitoChondrial DNA which they inherit from their mother, only females pass on their mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA).Females have 2 Xs,one from each parent.Men get one only from their mother..
The test is Autosomal which means across the whole genome and arrayed are 2 of each chromosome ( maternal and paternal).They are in tiny tiny pieces called SNPS  which is  different from older tests on  mitoDNA and Y DNA tests which are in STRS. STRS are bigger chunks of DNA.

These autosomal snps are in clusters inherited through your ancestors and are specific to YOU and your family.Anyone who you share a segment with is related to YOU, the larger the segment the more closely related.Smaller segments of less than 6.5cM are thought to indicate an ancestral place or a very distant ancestor and shared by many more people.

I now have 1082 cousin matches,some are my first cousins who I knew about. Others are startlingly with people I never knew about who descend with me from John Carrow’s line  1660-1750; Charles Swanson in 1809;my many Irish ancestors and a few cousin from the same small village north of the Arctic Circle where my grandfather Sigurd Boe was born.

23andme also tests health traits for the same $99 and they are also available to you without charge. Every time new tests get completed new cousin matches and health traits are sent to you.
I have tested Family Tree DNA's Family Finder, 23andme and DeCodeME ( by upload). I have not tested at AncestryDNA but it is available to me via a cousin and it is not as good as the other two.

I feel 23andme is the BEST autosomal test It has the largest database at about 200,000 and are now in a growth phase to reach 1 Million.. Family Tree DNA has about 35,000 and AncestryDNA has slightly more than 50,000 ( they have given many free tests out)I am an Administrator of 5 surname groups at Family Tree DNA, 3 Ancestor Projects at GEDmatch.comand 5 at Ancestry.com.
Gedmatch.com and others are called “third party” comparison sites. They are available to folks for free.You must have access to your Raw Genome to transfer your data to the third party sites.Ancestry.com currently does not allow you access to your own genome so transfers cannot happen.

Family Tree DNA allows upload of 23andme genome for a transfer fee of $89. You must have a V3( newer test) to do that upload.23andme does not upload FTDNA data at this time. AncestryDNA used to allow you to manually put your test results from other companies into their groups but that is no longer being done.

DEcodeME is an Icelandic company that allowed genome transfer but they have been purchased by another company.

 

 

Friday, February 17, 2012

It's been HOW long?

It has been a whole year since I have communicated via this blog.I DO Communicate on Facebook where I have some groups for family and genetic genealogy and at the various DNA testing sites where I participate.Find me there!

Last year was one of change..some health issues, now remedied resulted in losing 47 pounds and walking two miles a day.My better half fell and broke 5 ribs so we were pretty much chained to the farm, as well as needing daily help with the horses.Upwards and onwards is my motto this year.

March will find us in Florida for 10 days in our travel trailer.April we will be at our Beach house on the Outer Banks with family for Easter. In June we hope for a week in New Jersey and then back to the Beach in July with maybe the whole family. While in Florida I will spend a day with my 2nd cousin who "found" me via my Ancestry.com Tree.Our grandmother's were sisters.

Currently I am waiting with bated breath for my 23andme test results to be uploaded to Family Tree DNA.I am hoping to match with lots of new cousins via that route.The Norway DNA site has maybe 50 people who have tested there.I have joined that group.

As administrator of 5 surname groups there I anticipate matches with Irish cousins and Colonial Delaware folks also.FTDNA where I originally tested almost 6 years ago is pairing with a genealogy company and they will reciprocally share records.

April 2 the 1940 census will be available and am SO Looking forward to finding new information.Additionally Ancestry.com has an autosomal large group of tests coming out in some fashion. I have several DNA groups there as well.Wondering if they will allow uploads from either FTDNA or 23andme?

Finally 23andme has begun some exciting new efforts for Genealogy minded customers. They also at this point are the "biggest game in town" with 200,000+ autosomal kits. I remain committed to them for cousin matches but new winds are blowing everywhere as regards to genetic genealogy.

Life is exciting for those of us who participate in this field of interest.