rollover

Who's your Grand Daddy?

Links to more information (DNA genealogy)

Words like "haplotype" and "polymorphism" are fun to say, but even more so if you know what they mean. Wikipedia has a set of interesting primers:


Just last week, The New York Times published a feature about Henry Louis Gates Jr., the American scholar whose PBS special African American Lives helped popularize DNA ancestry testing. In the piece, Gates criticizes the current state of the industry.

A 2006 piece, also from the NYT, offers more background on the industry, including the ways some people hope to use test results for financial or educational advantage.

The Genographic Project is a partnership between National Geographic and IBM. The project sells test kits much like the ones offered by the private companies, performs similar analysis and provides similar results. The goal of the project is different, though: it aims to gather a large database of samples, for use in ongoing and future research, with the ultimate aim of learning more about human cultural and evolutionary history.

Finally, In November, Science magazine ran a detailed article about the science and business of genetic ancestry testing. It's a fascinating read, although a fee is required for access.

Posted on December 5, 2007
•  •  Save on del.icio.us •  Post to Digg

Comments - Share your thoughts

What happens to your DNA after you send it in, and who keeps all this data on your DNA? Are you not putting yourself at risk by just handing over DNA that could be used by the government to build up data on everyone? I would not be so hasty to hand over my DNA as you don't know what this DNA company is all about and what they will do with this information. Posted by: Anthony Harris | Dec 5, 07 08:52 PM
People curious for more information about genetic genealogy might be interested in the International Society of Genetic Genealogy. Membership is free. Its website is at http://isogg.org/ Posted by: David Pike | Dec 6, 07 05:42 AM
I do a great deal of my shopping at Canadian Tire and I find their policies are consumer oriented. They started giving the Canadian Tire money from the early days before they got into banking or mortgages. It is a percentage of your purchase and this money is valid at Canadian Tire stores...any Canadian Tire store. Any reasonable person would know that if the store gives you this Canadian Tire money they can use it to purchase merchandise at any Canadian Tire store. If a customer purchase an item, take the Canadian Tire money, returns the merchandise without surrendering the Canadian Tire money and the store gives them a full refund, the store or corporation will be out of that amount of money. Take the figures you showed on your program and reverse it, that is how much the corporation will be out because the Canadian Tire money will be used to acquire merchandise. The man who said that he was not happy that he lost 30 cents was collecting the Canadian Tire money and use it to shop at Canadian Tire stores. We have a good thing going with Canadian Tire. Let's not spoil it. If customers use Canadian Tire Option Mastercard, they will not have to worry about this issue or collecting paper. Canadian Tire gives you points, same as the Canadian Tire money but it accumulates as real money and can be used to purchase merchandise. One person had points accumulated on their credit card and had a balance that was less than the points collected and Canadian Tire used the points to zero out the amount outstanding. This was a pleasant surprise to this customer. The complainers on this show want to have their cake and eat it too. These are the facts and you are free to publish it. Best Regards Adhin Sukhu Posted by: Adhin Sukhu | Dec 8, 07 10:50 AM
I think the CBC coverage of genetic genealogy both on Market Place and on the website is rather biased. The company Genebase discussed during the segment is a bit extreme in terms of their claims and the mitochondrial DNA tests described in the segment provide much less information about recent ancestry than Y-DNA (male chromosome) because the former mutates very slowly. Most other companies are much better at letting their customers know what can and can not be accomplished with the tests. Properly used, genetic testing can be a useful compliment to conventional paper-based genealogy. For those who would like to learn more about genetic genealogy I recommend the International Society of Genetic Genealogy website: http://www.isogg.org/ Genetic testing companies are very careful about keeping DNA data confidential and they leave it up to the customer to decide if the information will be shared. Posted by: D. Mountain | Dec 8, 07 11:29 PM
I'm glad to see the inclusion of the Genographic Project in the piece. As a participant, I found the information interesting and like the discussions it provokes. Anything that promotes more knowledge of the application of science among the general public is great. (A bonus for those interested in participating in the project is that it gives back to indigenous communities from which DNA was collected to trace migrations.) PS In the interest of complete disclosure, I am employed by one of the organizations behind the Genographic Project, but not involved directly in the project. Posted by: G. Jon | Feb 14, 08 02:36 PM
Subscribe to the comments

Share your thoughts

Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that due to the volume of comments we receive, not all comments will be published, and those that are published may be edited. But all will be carefully read, considered and appreciated.