DNA - Anybody?

[admin]

Hi folks,

I am starting to hear a lot about DNA testing to help us family history / genealogists. We really do need help!
I am interested, as I know many other members are too, but would like some feedback.

Modern DNA testing can now be used to corroborate or expand your family tree. A number of UK and US based companies now offer Y-chromosome tests that can prove whether people are closely related or not and even give a strong indication of how recently their common ancestor lived.

Question?:

• Has anybody gone down this route?
• Would you be wary of giving your DNA away to some company?
• Any other comments, greatfully received

Many thanks,
Dave

 

[sterico]

Hi,
It would be a good idea in a lot of ways, as it would take a lot of little doubts out of geneology, there will be a lot of people who would agree to it IF the DNA information was held in a SECURE database for geneological purposes only.
It will be very interesting and we will have to see what becomes of it and of course the inevitable cost.




Geneologists never look forward because they are living in the past.

 

[pennywinks]

Hi

I would be interested to find out how my DNA compared with other people's. It could be a quick way to find relations. I think a DNA databank is an excellent idea. I can't see why there is an objection to one - unless you had something to hide of course! It would speed up the crime detection rate, or even help bring the crime rate down altogether!

 

[marie44]

my family has had their dna done and thats how we found out we were descended from Niall of 9 Hostages one of the High Kings of Ireland a long time ago. they also can segregate the different families and tell who is who. as to giving it to a large corporation, no; there's no need for them to know. and they have a habit of using things against you. in family history theres nothing like it. my surname is Renshaw and there is a site here just for that last name and its surprising how they've figured out whose who, and guess what? i'm not related to any of them and they arent related to Niall. makes life interesting. all i want is my gggrandfathers parents. Renshaws come from Lancashire and even that knowledge doesnt help me.

Marie

 

[Irish bluebird]

I believe DNA might hold some curiousity ....but as for genealogy I think its a complete waste of time.

 

[sml]

I don't believe DNA testing is the answer.
It is not 100% reliable or confidential.
It's just the latest craze.

 

[Guy]

People are very confused about DNA and what it can or cannot prove due to the hype by some commercial interests.

The first thing to realise is that DNA cannot even determine who the father of a child is.
It can determine (up to a point) who is not the father but that is all.

The assumption that certain groupings of people are descended from specific people centuries in the past is totally false.
For that to be proved the DNA from the ancestor would have to be taken, even then there is no guarantee that this DNA would show up in descendants hundreds of years and many generations later.

Much of the DNA research to date is based on flawed science where a small sample was taken then the results extrapolated to the population in general.
Cheers
Guy

 

[lizanne]

I'm not too sure that DNA would be too helpful in genealogy.
It may prove that you have a common ancestor but I can't see how they can say you are descended from someone born hundreds of years ago if their DNA is not on file.

 

[patrickw]

I cannot help but wonder, if the comercial enterprises offering D.N.A. testing, and by that I mean non goverment (medical) or home office (legal), see geneology and family historians as the next cash cow. We have all seen the pre printed parchments offered in malls and online that trace surnames back to Noah and beyond, and there is no doubt that they can make interesting conversation pieces, but as real and practical evidence of lineage?? I wonder if the comercial companies offering these services, do so in a similar fashion, and am concerned that they could potentialy be pre determined to find some ancient king or eminent scientist on some strand of the customers D.N.A. after all, how many reccomendations would they recieve if all they turned up were agg labs.
I think the legal and security aspects of this type of research are well covered and sufficient for bonefide services, but due wonder about the way this field is opening up and the many quasi scientific companies that are taking advantage of recent de regulation in this field.

 

[admin]

Hi,

Totally agree with you there Patrickw

if the comercial enterprises offering D.N.A. testing, and by that I mean non goverment (medical) or home office (legal), see geneology and family historians as the next cash cow

Though most things nowdays are driven by money

find some ancient king or eminent scientist on some strand of the customers D.N.A. after all, how many reccomendations would they recieve if all they turned up were agg labs.

There cant be that many kings left for us!! You are a skeptic patrickw

Like Guy says

People are very confused about DNA and what it can or cannot prove

- We really co do with some really simple information that thoroughly explains.

Regards,
Dave

 

[pejay]

I do not think dna testing would help us with genealogy,I think it is just another way of getting more money from us, with not that much proof that the evidence we get is reliable or helpful. It can also raise false hopes too

 

[marie44]

Hi folks,

I am starting to hear a lot about DNA testing to help us family history / genealogists. We really do need help!
I am interested, as I know many other members are too, but would like some feedback.



Question?:

• Has anybody gone down this route?
• Would you be wary of giving your DNA away to some company?
• Any other comments, greatfully received

Many thanks,
Dave

Hi, My name is Marie44 and i didnt have the test but my cousin did for me. its from the males you know. for what i was looking for it hasnt done me to much good but i will tell you that its a good idea. the Family Tree DNA.com is the one that did our testing and is a lot more satisfactory than any of the other. the only thing i found out was a link to Niall of the Nine Hostages. i wasnt looking for that but i got it. it will link families that dont think they are and it will tell those that think they are arent. DNA in public? what are they gonna do with it? they swab your cheek and you send it back to them. can anyone else use it? not to likely. and its really fun to learn what all those words mean. there are several more companies in the states but i really dont like them myself. do some research, on the computer its nearly free research that is.
marie44

hasta be a male with the same lineage as you if you're female.

 

[JMR]

I think it is really interesting, but not an exact enough science to be useful for genealogy at this point. Quite a few of the One Name Surname trees have tried implementing research along these lines. This is one that I'm a member of:

http://www.hardistyfamilytree.com/

They began some testing on various people across the world with this surname a couple of years ago now. I hadn't been back to check for some time until I saw this post, but it doesn't look like it's progressed much.

If anyone wanted to query the research project with Alan Hardisty the website owner, I'm sure he'd be happy to answer any questions.

Cheers,
Jil

 

[benny1982]

Hi

I am very skeptical about DNA testing. I am not sure if it holds the answers.

Ben

 

[Guy]

DNA testing will be of use to family historians in about 50 or so years when the scientists get their act together and decide what is actually going on.

For example Oxford Ancestors site states ;
Maternal Ancestry (mtDNA)
“…They show how everyone alive on the planet today can trace their maternal ancestry back to just one woman. By all accounts, she lived in Africa about 150,000 – 200,000 years ago and is known as “Mitochondrial Eve”.”

Paternal Ancestry (yDNA)
“…These clan fathers also had male ancestral lines and these ultimately converge on the common paternal ancestor of every man alive today. This man, know as “Y-Chromosome Adam”, lived in Africa 60,000 – 80,000 years ago.”

Now we all know that women don’t need men but what did they do for all those years?
Cheers
Guy

 

[marie44]

DNA testing will be of use to family historians in about 50 or so years when the scientists get their act together and decide what is actually going on.

For example Oxford Ancestors site states ;
Maternal Ancestry (mtDNA)
“…They show how everyone alive on the planet today can trace their maternal ancestry back to just one woman. By all accounts, she lived in Africa about 150,000 – 200,000 years ago and is known as “Mitochondrial Eve”.”

Paternal Ancestry (yDNA)
“…These clan fathers also had male ancestral lines and these ultimately converge on the common paternal ancestor of every man alive today. This man, know as “Y-Chromosome Adam”, lived in Africa 60,000 – 80,000 years ago.”

Now we all know that women don’t need men but what did they do for all those years?
Cheers
Guy

and it all boils down to what your beliefs are; do you believe in Creation or Evolution? Creation you can only go back to Noah and Evolution you go as far as you want, theres no limit. 200,000 thousand years or 2,000,000 million years, no limit. me, i can only go back to Noah and it gets interesting enough without adding all those other years. do me a favor, google up dinosaurs in the Bible. its really a kick.

marie44

 

[Guy]

I fail to see why creation and evolution have to be at odds.
Evolution is simply the more modern method of understanding creation.
Same concept different words
Cheers
Guy

 

[p.risboy]

Whatever the pro's and con's of DNA, it certainly makes for a good thread.
Creation or Evolution, same thing in my eyes. Whether that be fact or fiction, who know.
But DNA is still in it's infancy in 'relative' terms.

This thread has been going over a year, so that tells us something of the interest.
My interest in DNA was first aroused 28yrs ago, when I found out I carried the "brittle bone disease" gene, Osteosynthesis Imperfecta. Although I do not suffer from it, there are common 'markers' between carriers. And that was 28yrs ago, as I have mentioned.
So having a 'unique' marker, do I have an advantage over others would be my question.??

Steve.

 

[marie44]

I fail to see why creation and evolution have to be at odds.
Evolution is simply the more modern method of understanding creation.
Same concept different words
Cheers
Guy

are you serious? you dont know the difference between Creation and evolution? well God created Heaven and Earth and everything on it in 6 days and the 7th day He rested. evolution is some men trying to say we evolved from protoplasmic goo a few million years ago. is earth only about 7,000 years old or is it billions of years old? that goes for your dna too. 7,000 years is not to hard to handle, better than the alternative. :biggrin: personally i'd rather deal with the lesser amount, its easier. :biggrin:

marie44 :biggrin: