DNA can also be used to solve mysteries of the genealogical kind. A few years ago, Ancestry.com offered an inexpensive DNA test, which was so reasonable that I sent in my money, got the kit, collected genetic material from the inside of my cheek with a cotton swab, sent it in and waited for the results.
A few months later, the results arrived and I was very disappointed. The test showed that most of my ancestors ( 93%) came from Eastern Europe--which I already knew. Every few weeks, I got a message from Ancestry.Com with new genetic matches. Most of them indicated 5th-8th cousins, and the probability of a match was very low. It seemed to me that I was getting anybody and everybody in their database. Most of them didn't even have any Eastern European ancestors. When I did get a good match, which happened twice, it was a fourth cousin that I already knew about through my research on Ancestry.com and another fourth cousin, a man who was adopted and knew nothing about his birth parents except a name. I decided that I shouldn't expect too much from a $10.00 test.
Just this week I got an email from Ancestry announcing enhanced DNA results. I checked it out and found some interesting new information--my DNA shows that I am 92% Eastern European, the other 7% is broken down as follows:
Asia < 1%
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Trace Regions < 1%
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Asia Central < 1%
Europe 99%
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Europe East 92%
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Trace Regions 7%
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Europe West 3%
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Finnish/Northern Russia 3%
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Ireland 1%
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Great Britain < 1%If you are interested in finding out more about genealogical DNA, I have a few links to check out:National Geographic Genome Project
Glad to see you back :O My hubby also used Ancestry's DNA and although he gets notices about 4th cousins and 5th cousins, not a single one has ever matched his family tree--but we're hopeful. The current enhanced DNA results seem like a much closer match to what we know about his tree than the previous, more general regional details. Good luck with your search!
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