Genetic genealogy is teaming up with family history research in a whole new way, thanks to the folks at Ancestry.com. Even though the Ancestry DNA product is still in the beta testing phase, it has generated a lot of interest and there is a waiting list for it for when it becomes available. Ancestry DNA is a DNA test that can help you determine your genetic ethnicity. For people who take the test and are members of Ancestry.com, the test results can be used in conjunction with the billions of records on Ancestry.com to provide a comprehensive family history experience.
The test itself is an improvement over other DNA tests in that it is autosomal, meaning that it looks at both your maternal and paternal lines. Some tests look at only one or the other. What’s more, the Ancestry DNA test looks at 700,000 locations in the genome. That’s a whole lot of genetic information for a simple saliva test.
Your DNA will be compared to DNA samples from around the world, to look for similarities and connect you to the lands and peoples that are part of your past. Test results can reach back hundreds of years, perhaps even a thousand years. If you choose to connect your Ancestry.com family tree to your DNA test results, you can see your ancestors’ locations on an interactive map. You may even discover relatives that you never knew about.
Please note that I am not a member of Ancestry.com, nor have I received any compensation from them in exchange for mentioning their web site and products here. Ancestry DNA sounds like a fascinating product with the potential to add a new dimension to genealogy research. Since my family history has such diverse ethnic origins, I would love to think that a product like this could help me to figure out exactly what percentage of which ethnicities I am.
Photo by puravida on morguefile.com.