“I had my DNA tested for mitochondrial results, but I’d like to do the same for my father’s side. My problem is that I have no brothers, no uncles, and my father has passed away. Can my son take the test? Or would his results only give his father’s Y-chromosome information? Surely my son must have inherited some of my father’s DNA?”

Types of DNA
DNA provides our genetic blueprint which makes each of us unique and yet genetically similar to other family members and to a lesser extent to all humans in general.  There are 2 major types of DNA useful in tracing one’s family history through DNA genealogy:

• Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA)
• Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)

Y-DNA
Y-DNA passes from male to male in a family.  Location markers on the Y-chromosome are found in the Y-chromosome of males and are passed down from fathers to sons making it ideal for tracing paternal lineage.  In many cultures, the surname is also passed from father to son. This fortunate coincidence is what makes tracing your paternal lineage through genetic similarities so powerful for genealogy.   And because the Y-chromosome is passed largely unchanged from father to son, DNA results from a male participant today can be used to represent the paternal lineage dozens of generations into the past.

To test your paternal lineage you need someone on your male line to take the test.   If you are female, you can recruit a brother, father, or paternally related Uncle or Cousin to provide the DNA sample to use as if it were your own.  The key to remember in recruiting a “proxy relative” for the Y-DNA test is that the individual must be a direct line descedant of the ancestor of interest.  Thus, a woman’s son would NOT be a candidate for testing her great great grandfather as her son would have received his Y-DNA from his father NOT her father.

mtDNA
Mitochondrial DNA , or mtDNA , is a unique kind of DNA found outside the nucleus of the cell in the mitochondria.  Because mitochondria still replicate on their own, they need their own special DNA , which exists in a loop (unlike the strands of chromosomal DNA ).  A cell can have hundreds or thousands of mitochondria.  This unique factor and the rate at which the mtDNA changes make mtDNA a strong indicator of one’s ancient ancestral heritage.  Mitochondrial DNA testing is very valuable for unlocking clues about your ancient ancestors.  It can also be a powerful genealogical tool to eliminate possible relations through the maternal line.

Because a father’s mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is destroyed at fertilization, a child inherits only the mother’s mitochondrial DNA, thus preserving the maternal link to the ancient past. Due to this unique inheritance pattern, both males and females may directly contribute a DNA sample for testing the maternal lineage.

Should you have questions about a potential proxy or DNA test, please contact dna@ancestry.com.

A treasured timepiece.
One of the things I love to do when making a calendar is to look back on photos that resemble the same month from the previous year.  September was particularly fun.  Every year I take pictures of my kids in front of the mailbox in front of our home.  Now that my oldest son is in the third grade it is fun to look back and see how much he has grown over the four years since kindergarten.  My younger son just started first grade and likewise, it is neat to see how in just one year he finally reached the bottom of the mailbox.  Next September I’ll be able to look up at the calendar and remember the previous year.

Even more special is that I can share these memories with others.  All I have to do is copy the project and add a few additional photos with pictures of my parents to the appropriate months and I have the perfect gift for my mom and dad.  They also love seeing how much their grandchildren have grown over the year.

Where do I start?
A great thing about MyCanvas is that you start a calendar with any month of the year.  You can begin today on a calendar for this month or change the start date to January 2010 for a great holiday present.

Another great thing I love to do with MyCanvas calendars is to put a picture of the birthday person on their special day.  One of my son’s birthday also falls in September, so I put a picture of him in front of his birthday cake from this year’s birthday. It will be fun to remember that celebration next year when I get to September.

Make it your own.
MyCanvas lets you share your pictures in print.  There are many fun things to do with the MyCanvas calendar application.  You can be as creative as your imagination allows.  MyCanvas provides many cool backgrounds.  I chose the baseball background to remember opening day of the baseball season.

For the month of October, I put in pictures of my boys in their Halloween costumes.  plus a couple of other funny shots of my little one.  The picture of him sound asleep standing up at his bed after having run around the neighborhood collecting candy always makes me laugh.

If you have some cleaver ideas or have done neat things with MyCanvas calendars, please let us know.

One of the markers in our Y-chromosome DNA test has changed names from “Y-GATA H4.1″ to “Y-GATA H4“.  The allele value of “Y-GATA H4″ has also changed.  This has been done based on the recommendation of ISOGG and a consensus of genetic genealogists.  This will not affect purchasers’ current haplogroup assignments.

Ancestry.com DNA is committed to providing our customers with the most current and relevant results for family history research.  As other companies adjust their results to match the new standard, results will be more easily compared with the results in their databases and the results entered manually into our database.

For those of you that have purchased a Y DNA test you don’t need to take any action, but you can view your updated results right now.

A Y33 test looks at unique values on your DNA at 33 locations.  You get 33 points of comparison when you compare your results to someone else’s Ancestry.com DNA results. 

A Y46 test looks at an additional 13 markers.  Its added insight is particularly valuable when evaluating matches for a refined view in determining the most recent common ancestor.  In other words, the additional markers refine the predicted time period in which two individuals are related and can also eliminate unrelated matches.

If you are…

• trying to confirm or refute suspected family members
• looking for very specific matches
• searching for sub-branches in your family lines

the Y46 is the way to go.

The robust offering that the Ancestry.com DNA database provides is two-fold:  1. matching mechanisms, and 2. expansion. 

Matching Mechanisms
First, our database automatically compares your results with all other participants and lets you know about possible matches.   We further compare your results against each new entry in our continually growing database and notify you of potential matches.    Data are added each day from DNA tested by Ancestry.com DNA as well as from user-transferred results added from outside sources.   Our connection service allows users to communicate with potential matches (while maintaining their privacy) and collaborate on shared ancestors and family tree connections. 

If you are fortunate, our common ancestor analysis will narrow your search to a time frame and together you and your genetic cousin will discover the ancestor who joins your two family trees.  And in some cases, this connection can also expand your tree with the addition of records, nodes, and branches identified on the other person’s tree.

Expansion
Unlike other testing services Ancestry.com DNA combines science with more than 4 billion records and more than 11 million user-submitted family trees to create an incredible asset for users to make connections, trace their roots and connect with distant cousins.  Attach your results to your online family tree and inferred results appear in all the profile views for all of the relevant family members of your family tree.  Attaching results to your tree expands the opportunity of spotting an interesting change.  Furthermore, it increases your chances of connecting with others who wouldn’t necessarily have seen the DNA connection simply by relying on the Ancestry.com DNA database in solidarity. 

Another aspect of expansion involves our DNA Groups.  We do more than just link you by surname, we maintain an interactive database for comparison, searches and grouping based on location, ethnicity, and birthplace-whatever you choose to create.  Groups instantly compare all members’ DNA test results at once, letting you organize new and existing branches of your family tree.   We also allow group administrators the opportunity to compare DNA results of requesting group members.  

Ancestry.com DNA has more than 50,000 records in its globally expanding database.  With over 7,000 DNA Groups and the power of all of the additional content available on Ancestry.com, finding genetic cousins and expanding your family tree is really…just a swab away.

We presented research examples, how-to’s, test types (and limitations), and other topics such as: privacy and ethnicity laying a foundational understanding for beginners and others interested in entering the fascinating world of genetic genealogy.

Many thanks to Darlene Odenwalder and Elise Allen who helped me make last night such a success. And to Mark Weaver and his team for the behind the scenes technical work to make it happen. Finally, thanks to RootsTelevision.com for providing footage of Chris Haley, nephew of Roots author, Alex Haley, displaying how fun and easy providing a DNA swab sample can be. We struggled a lot with how we could show people how tests are taken and the video does a great job of showing the initial stage of DNA testing – the swab collection process.  It’s in our webinar coverage link below but if you want to go directly to the video (since there has been strong interest) click here.

If you were not one of the thousands who were able to join us last night, the webinar is archived and can be accessed here.  Archived webinars contain actual video and may be viewed at any time at no cost.

We will continue to address your feedback from the webinar, so please pay attention to our homepage and to upcoming blog posts for additional updates.  Your comments and feedback are always appreciated and can be sent directly to dna@ancestry.com.

Thank you for your participation!

Ancient Ancestry Finder™ predicts likely ancestry for both your maternal and your paternal lines.  So, if you’ve only taken one of our tests try it out and see what our best guess is for the test you haven’t taken.

 We’ve offered ancient ancestry information as part of our results package for several years.  If you’ve taken a test, you’ve received a haplogroup designation and name (like The Ice Immigrants or The Stonemasons).  Your results include a short, basic story describing the lives of your likely ancestors.  In addition to connections that can help grow your family tree, we give you a bigger picture to let you imagine what your earliest people were doing back when humanity was just getting started.

To give everyone a sampling of these results, with Finder™ we’ve built a simple experience that takes a best guess at describing your ancient ancestors.   You answer 2 or 3 questions with the most basic info about your family (facts almost everyone knows).  And then we provide a few options for likely ancient ancestral groups, along with descriptions of those groups.  The only way to narrow down those options to the most likely result is by taking an Ancestry.com DNA test.

The spirit of Finder™ is a bit different from what you may have experienced on our site.  It’s part of our effort to introduce ancestry and genealogy to a wider audience.  And the more people who become interested in Ancestry.com DNA and genealogy, the larger our database becomes.  And that benefits us all.

Check it out here!

I’m constantly impressed at how much our members know…so a word of caution…If you already have a basic knowledge of how genetic genealogy testing works and how to use our service, you may want to skip this presentation and wait for future webinars to address advanced concepts. This webinar is perfect for people who are completely new to DNA testing.

Emphasis will be on our Paternal Lineage Test (Y-Chromosome 33), but we’ll also explain how and when to use the other tests we offer. And we’ll give real-life examples of how women can use the Paternal Lineage Test to grow their family trees.

Specifically, you can expect to learn how:

- DNA testing for genealogy works–in easy terms.
- To understand and apply your results to grow your tree.
- Ancestry.com DNA testing can continue to pay off for years.
- Women can benefit from a Paternal Lineage test.
- To use Ancestry.com DNA features: Groups, Transfer to Tree, and Ancient Ancestry.

Darlene Odenwalder, myself, and Elise Allen will speak during our webinar. Darlene is the DNA Project Coordinator and has researched genealogy for over 20 years, teaching classes in her local community. I’m the Director of Product Marketing and oversee the Ancestry.com DNA business, optimizing the delivery of products and services to our members. Elise writes science content for our users and received a master’s degree in the biosciences in 1999.
The last 20 minutes of this one-hour webinar include a Q & A session. We’re taking questions in advance—enter questions when you register or as comments here. We’ll answer your questions on July 8, in the Webinar. Register for the webinar and we’ll see you then!

The Guide includes a page-by-page explanation describing:

• Welcome page — an initial navigation to your online data access
• Matches map — Where in the world are the participants with whom you may match located?  Note:  this information is extracted from the purchaser’s postal code data.   Learn about the slider and hone in on closer matches.
• Match table — another view of your matches in a tabular format listing each of the possibilities no matter how close or distant they lie.  Here in the connection point, learn about what an MRCA designation is and how to use it in interpreting your matches. 
• Ancestry — Meet your people and discover your ancient ancestral origins and migratory route. 
• Your scientific DNA results — the official report from the laboratory.
• DNA Groups — Join the crowd and become a part of the many DNA Groups.  Browse the DNA Groups Directory, join a group or start one of your own. 

“A Guide to your Ancestry.com DNA Test Results” can be found after logging into Ancestry.com DNA on right hand side of the View Console page.  It is available in a PDF format, so you can view it on your computer or email or print as needed.  Just click the VIEW button to get started on your journey.

1. On how many markers were each of the participants tested?
2. How many markers do the participants share in common, or on how many markers do the participants differ?
3. Is there a common surname? 

It is important when reviewing your match list that you and the other participant (match candidate) were tested on the majority of markers, Y46.  The number of markers acts similarly to a phone number.  An area code e.g. 12 markers, yields a large pool of individuals sharing that same 3 digit code.  A prefix (33 markers) refines you to an even tighter group of people and so on.  If you do have a match with a person tested at only 12 markers, for example, you may want to contact the individual, discuss the situation and encourage an upgrade to see if there is still a significant match with that participant with a higher resolution test.  

Next, you want to make sure that you match on all but two or three markers.  A most recent common ancestor (MRCA) number will tell you how related you are to your match.  It is a statistical analysis that takes into account the number of markers and the mutation rates, but it is meant to be used only as a guide.  Its purpose is to help you think about how many generations may separate you from a direct link to your potential match. 

Lastly, evaluate the surnames.  If you were tested on the majority of markers and do not differ by more than a few marker values, yet the surname is different, there could have been an adoption, illegitimacy or name change.  So, go ahead and contact the potential match and collaborate on determining where a common ancestor is shared. 

Y DNA and mtDNA differ not only in their inheritance patterns, their usefulness in genealogy vs. anthropology, the associated laboratory processes, but also within deciphering among potential matches.  For instance, mtDNA is a great ancient ancestry tool, but its near-ancestry (recent genealogy) value is not as great as is the Y DNA.  mtDNA is, however, helpful in targeted instances where you have a specific hypothesis you are testing.  If the results of the participants do NOT match, then you can conclude that the individuals do NOT share a common maternal ancestor; if, however, they do match you can NOT conclude that the do share a common maternal ancestor since many people will share the same mtDNA results.  Therefore, the correct “interpretation” is that you share common ancient maternal ancestry.

Some people connect instantly; others as the database grows.  Ancestry.com DNA will notify you of a potential Y match if that person is within 7 generations.  It is with the marriage of DNA and traditional paper genealogy that will show where and whom the actual common paternal ancestor is.  Should you ever have any questions about your matches or results, please contact our client services team at dna@ancestry.com.