Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

When a DNA Testing Firm Goes Bankrupt, Who Gets the Data?

DeCODE Genetics, a genetics research firm from Iceland, filed for bankruptcy yesterday (see my article at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/11/decode-genetics-files-for-bankruptcy.html). Saga Investments, a US venture capital firm, has already put in a bid to buy deCODE’s operations, raising privacy concerns about the fate of customer DNA samples and records.

GINA to Protect Misuse of Your Genetic Information

Do you have genetic diseases in your family, such as diabetes, asthma, heart disease, or hypertension? Have you been asked to undergo genetic testing after receiving a medical diagnosis? If so, you may benefit from the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), a law that goes into effect at the end of this week. The act prohibits discrimination on the basis of genetic information with respect to health insurance and employment.

Genetic information is broadly defined under the law not only as personal genetic traits — such as having a gene associated with cancer, diabetes, or anything else — but also as family medical history. Health insurers and employers will no longer be allowed to include questions about the health of family members on mandatory applications or even to offer incentives to fill out voluntary questionnaires on the subject.

DeCode Genetics Files for Bankruptcy

DeCode Genetics, a pioneering company that used the Icelandic population and the country's excellent genealogy records as its guinea pigs in detecting disease-causing mutations, filed for bankruptcy today.

I have mentioned DeCode Genetics many times in past newsletters (see http://www.google.com/cse?cx=003715150024579880844%3Aulyzue1ivzu&ie=UTF-8&q=%22DeCode+Genetics%22&sa=Search).

Are You My Cousin?

Megan Smolenyak is a genealogy and DNA expert who has been mentioned many times in this newsletter. She has now written an article for the Huffington Post that describes a number of things. She briefly describes her discoveries about Michelle Obama's roots, information that wound up in the New York Times.

Megan than describes "pedigree collapse," known more casually as "kissing cousins." Perhaps the major emphasis is on about 23andMe’s new Relative Finder, which is a rather amazing service.

Technology Helps Unearth Family Trees

CNN has an interesting online story about the use of DNA in genealogy. CNN reporter Steve Mollman writes:

Here's a fun exercise: Compare the DNA profiles of random individuals who reside in different regions of the world, have little in common and don't much resemble one another.

If you could do this, you'd find close DNA matches once in a while.

DNA to Help Verify Migration Patterns of African Tribes

The following announcement was written by Family Tree DNA and by African American Genealogy Research:

HOUSTON, October 26, 2009 --In an effort to help verify the migration patterns of different African tribes, Family Tree DNA (www.familytreedna.com) will be cooperating with the Center for African American Genealogy Research (CAAGRI) and the Public Records and Archives Administration of Ghana (PRAAD), by testing several hundred members of the Nzema, Ga, Fante, Ewe and Asante tribes.

Is She the World's Greatest DNA Detective?

The Orange County Register has an interesting story about Colleen Fitzpatrick. She finds people. Colleen has been mentioned many times in this newsletter. (See http://www.google.com/cse?cx=003715150024579880844%3Aulyzue1ivzu&ie=UTF-8&q=%22Colleen+Fitzpatrick%22&sa=Search.) Now Colleen has what is perhaps her greatest challenge: can she find an amnesiac's lost life?

"I'm an avid genealogist," says Fitzpatrick, 54, of Fountain Valley. "And I have a knack for finding people that others have given up on."

DNA Bingo - How to Win Big by Scott Norton

The following article was written by Scott Norton and is republished here with his permission.

Using DNA tests to break through brick walls in family history is pretty easy. It's like Bingo: you match the numbers and you win. Your goal is to match the numbers of your DNA test with others and compare pedigrees. Most of the people I've helped have opened new doors, and some have made a real breakthrough. Here are step-by-step instructions to make DNA work for you. (If you need advice or direction about DNA and Family History, there is information at the end of this article.)

Here's how we do it.

The Origins of the Melungeons

Melungeon is a term applied to many people of the Southeastern United States, mainly in the Cumberland Gap area of central Appalachia: East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and East Kentucky. The most common adjective used to describe the Melungeons is “mysterious;” no one seems to know where the Melungeons originated. The Melungeons often did not fit into any of the racial categories that define an individual or group within American society; their neighbors considered them neither white, black, nor Indian.

The Melungeons appear to be of mixed ancestry, and contradictory claims about the origins of these people have existed for centuries. Most modern-day descendants of Melungeon families are generally Caucasian in appearance, often, although not always, with dark hair and eyes, and a swarthy or olive complexion. Descriptions of Melungeons vary widely from observer to observer, from "Middle Eastern" to "Native American" to "light-skinned African American."

iPhone Meets Genome

Here is some interesting technology: carry your genome information with you wherever you go, thanks to an Apple iPhone and cloud computing:

With employees spread across five continents, effective mobile communications are essential for Illumina, a San Diego, CA-based biotechnology company that designs breakthrough tools for genetic analysis. Using iPhone, sales reps can track customers, executives can manage employees, and everyone can stay in touch. And soon Illumina will make it possible for consumers to carry their personal genomes with them on iPhone.

Scientists Fabricate DNA Evidence

The New York Times reports that it is possible to fabricate blood and saliva samples containing DNA from a person other than the donor, and even to construct a sample of DNA to match someone's profile without obtaining any tissue from that person — if you have access to their DNA profile in a database. This undermines the credibility of what has been considered the gold standard of proof in criminal cases. I am not yet sure what it means to DNA evidence in genealogy.

"You can just engineer a crime scene," said Dan Frumkin, lead author of the paper. "Any biology undergraduate could perform this."

Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation Adopts Genetic Genealogy’s New Industry Standard for Reporting Y-DNA Profiles

The following announcement was written by the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation:

• Fast-growing Sector of DNA Testing Industry to Adopt National Standard, Gain Greater Accuracy in Results Reporting
• Uniform Nomenclature Will Reduce Confusion for Growing Number of Consumers Using Online DNA-Ancestry Databases

SALT LAKE CITY (Aug. 17, 2009)—The Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF) today announced it has implemented a recently developed industry-standard format for expressing Y-chromosome DNA profiles in genetic genealogy. The new system, or nomenclature, for Y-STR genetic markers will reduce confusion for genetic genealogy consumers, eliminate conversion errors, make personal DNA profiles easily portable and lead to more genetic matches when searching among different ancestry databases once the industry-wide standard is adopted. Y-DNA is an unrivaled tool for tracing paternal ancestry. Only males have the Y-chromosome, which is passed down virtually unchanged from father to son.

How Your Parents' Genes Shape Your Brain

High school biology class taught us that each of us is a composite of our parents; your mother and father each provided you with half your genes, and each parent’s contribution was equal. Gregor Mendel, often called the father of modern genetics, came up with this concept in the late 19th century, and it has been the basis for our understanding of genetics ever since.

But in the past couple of decades, scientists have learned that Mendel’s understanding was incomplete.

Using DNA to Solve Amelia Earhart's Disappearance

It has been 72 years since famed aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared while attempting to fly around the world. But the mystery remains unsolved: Nobody knows exactly what happened to Earhart or her plane.

Now researchers at the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, or Tighar, say they are on the verge of recovering DNA evidence that would demonstrate Earhart had been stranded on Nikumaroro Island (formerly known as Gardner Island) before finally perishing there. The 2.5-mile-long Nikumaroro Island, located about 1,800 miles south of Hawaii, was uninhabited until 1938 -- one year after Earhart disappeared. At that time the island was under British colonial rule, so the first inhabitants were an eight-man team instructed to start clearing land for a village and coconut plantation. Then, two years later, in 1940, the island's administrator found bones, and a campsite. (Details may be found at http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Bones_Chronology.html.)

During May and June of next year, Tighar will launch a new $500,000 expedition, continuing the archaeological work it has been doing on the island since 2001.

Using the Utah Family History Database to Study Genetic Back Disorders

We all know that you inherit many things from your ancestors, but back disorders? I found the following press release to be quite interesting:

NEW YORK – The molecular diagnostics company Axial Biotech has reached an agreement with the University of Utah that allows it to use the university's genealogical and family history database to study genetic associations for back disorders, the firm said today.

Video Interview of Katherine Hope Borges

Writing a genealogy newsletter has lots of benefits. For one, I get to meet and talk with many interesting people. Roots Television recently recorded a conversation I had with Katherine Hope Borges, Director of the International Society of Genetic Genealogy. In this recorded video, Katherine described DNA testing as a genealogical research tool. She did show how to provide a DNA sample. (Hint: You don't provide blood.) She also addressed the issue of privacy.

Tougher Controls Sought For DNA Ancestry Testing

As the popularity of take-home DNA kits to trace ancestry or calculate the risk for serious medical conditions grows, there is an increasingly critical need for federal oversight of "direct-to consumer" genetic testing, as well as of the use of DNA samples for research, according to researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and several other academic institutions.

Family Petitions Town to Dig Up War of 1812 Hero

About 200 people, all a part of a group called the Pike Family Association, are looking for answers about their most famous namesake.

Brigadier General Zebulon Pike was a War of 1812 hero who discovered the famous Pike's Peak in Colorado. His grave sits in Sackets Harbor, New York, at the Military Cemetery, but a recent study showed that officials are not 100 percent sure it's actually Pike's body in the grave. They're hoping for closure.

"When we found out that the Army wasn't totally sure who was buried in the grave, we said DNA can answer that question,” said Stu Pike of the Pike Family Association.

So, the Pike Family Association is asking the Village of Sackets Harbor for permission to dig up the grave and test any DNA.

The Life-Saving Secrets in Your Family Tree

The Wall Street Journal has a great story that tells how genealogists can even save or prolong the lives of the people that mean the most: their loved ones.

In the article, Anna Wilde Mathews writes:

Sorenson Suspends Most Free DNA Testing

From the SMGF "How to get Involved" page:

Thank you for your interest in the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation research project! For nearly ten years we have collected DNA samples and pedigree information from generous volunteers around the world. We have recently reached our original collection goal of 100,000 participants and we have now transitioned into the next phase of our project. This next phase consists of targeting specific populations and lineages which are under-represented in the current data, continuing the analysis of samples already collected, and developing applications for genetic genealogy research.