The formatting of the blog posting may be odd if you are reading this in a Feed Reader or via e-mail distribution, so click on the title above (which is an active link) to view the website version.

The formatting of the blog posting may be odd if you are reading this in a Feed Reader or via e-mail distribution, so click on the title above (which is an active link) to view the website version.

I had been offered the AncestryDNA test during the beta-testing phase at the end of 2012 and it was free (except for shipping). It's almost exactly a year ago since I "transferred" these AncestryDNA results to Family Tree DNA, which enabled me to actually work with my DNA and matches. Since then, I've gone from being a total novice in genetic genealogy to:

• Having a self-designed website with multiple genetic genealogy pages
• Blogging occasionally about DNA testing/genetic genealogy as well as family history
• Experience with my parents and I being tested at 3 or 4 DNA testing companies each (see Here)
• Helping known cousins when their DNA results come through
• Beta-testing the ADSA Tool before general release
• Being totally comfortable with triangulation and being able to phase my data and map my chromosomes.
  

The formatting of the blog posting may be odd if you are reading this in a Feed Reader or via e-mail distribution, so click on the title above (which is an active link) to view the website version.

The formatting of the blog posting may be odd if you are reading this in a Feed Reader or via e-mail distribution, so click on the title above (which is an active link) to view the website version.

I've also included some details about GEDmatch, which doesn't need to have a sale, as it's free! In the event you haven't heard about it, I encourage everyone who has tested at FamilyTreeDNA (their Family Finder test), AncestryDNA, and 23andMe to upload their data to GEDmatch, as it has various comparison tools not available elsewhere – and it gives you additional matches to others who used a different DNA testing company from you.

The formatting of the blog posting may be odd if you are reading this in a Feed Reader or via e-mail distribution, so click on the title above (which is an active link) to view the website version.

As an alternative to using chromosome mapping as described above, I've created a chromosome map of adoptees who match me and my close relatives (both parents, and an uncle and aunt). None of the adoptees is a particularly close match (the closest is a predicted 3rd to 5th cousin), so I'm unlikely to be able to help any of them identify their biological families at this stage. However, I thought this would be a good way to keep track of them, so that when my chromosome map of ancestors is more complete, I'll be in a better position to give pointers of either family names or geographical locations where adoptees and others looking for their biological families may find the answers they are looking for.

The 2014 Who Do You Think You Are? Live conference took place a couple of weeks ago in London and included DNA presentations. Fortunately for those of us who weren't there, many of these have been uploaded to YouTube. I highly recommend the one by Maurice Gleeson entitled Autosomal DNA – a Step-by-Step Approach to Analysing your atDNA Matches. Unfortunately there's some background noise from the exhibition hall, but don't let that put you off (and you will stop noticing it after a short while).

Other DNA lectures from the 2014 WDYTYA? conference are available Here. I've added a new webpage, Presentations on DNA Testing, which includes a range of webinars and podcasts for those who have undergone DNA testing, which I'll keep adding to – previously I included these within a page of links on general genealogy webinars, but I think they deserve a page of their own. If you've been tested at Family Tree DNA, don't miss their excellent, comprehensive series, which has topics of interest for those who have only just received their DNA results through to those with an advanced understanding – their latest webinar covers the "Big Y", as the first results started to come through a few days ago. Maurice Gleeson, Debbie Kennett, and Katherine Borges, who all gave presentations at the 2014 WDYTYA? show, also participated in Genetic Genealogy Ireland 2013, and many of the presentations at this 3-day event are available on YouTube on that link. Additional videos covering more general genetic genealogy topics, rather than specifically dealing with handling and interpretation of DNA results, are available Here.

• Not wanting or able to use spreadsheets to analyze your DNA matches?
• Looking for something that is quick, FREE, and means you don't have to check across multiple screens or multiple spreadsheets?

If so, then the ADSA (Autosomal DNA Segment Analyzer) is what you need. It's an amazing tool developed by Don Worth and really fills a niche, in that it is incredibly useful for both novices (and those not wanting/able/prepared to spend hours and hours working with spreadsheets) as well as those who are more experienced and have elaborate and sophisticated Excel spreadsheets to work with their DNA data.

​Not wanting or able to use spreadsheets to analyze your DNA matches?

• Looking for something that is quick, FREE, and means you don't have to check across multiple screens or multiple spreadsheets?

If so, then the ADSA (Autosomal DNA Segment Analyzer) is what you need. It's an amazing tool developed by Don Worth and really fills a niche, in that it is incredibly useful for both novices (and those not wanting/able/prepared to spend hours and hours working with spreadsheets) as well as those who are more experienced and have elaborate and sophisticated Excel spreadsheets to work with their 

Further to my blog posting yesterday indicating how an artificial insemination nightmare was uncovered by consumer DNA testing for ancestry purposes, CeCe Moore (Your Genetic Genealogist), who helped the family identify the biological father and wrote the blog posting Artificial Insemination Nightmare Revealed by DNA Test, has blogged an update: Artificial Insemination Story Covered on Salt Lake City KUTV CBS Affiliate and University of Utah Releases a Statement. (As of 2 Mar 2014, the link to the video of the initial coverage by KUTV is no longer available, but there is an Archived Video Story.)

​Less than 3 weeks after my last blog posting, The Next Twist for DNA Testing: DonorChildren.com, CeCe Moore (Your Genetic Genealogist) posted an unbelievable article yesterday, Artificial Insemination Nightmare Revealed by DNA Test. This outlines how DNA testing revealed that a child ("Ashley") who was supposedly conceived using artificial insemination using sperm from "Jeff" (Ashley's Dad), the husband of her mother "Paula", was actually the biological child of a convicted felon, Thomas Lippert. Apparently Tom, a former law professor, had kidnapped a female student and given her electric shock therapy with the aim of making her fall in love with him. Although he did serve some prison time, he got off lightly after hiring one of OJ Simpson's attorneys, F. Lee Bailey, to defend him, who negotiated a plea bargain for a lesser charge. Subsequently Tom Lippert worked at the front desk and in the lab of a fertility clinic, Reproductive Medical Technologies Clinic in Salt Lake City (a.k.a. University of Utah's Fertility Clinic) from 1986-1995. After having difficulty conceiving, Paula and Jeff had been referred to the same fertility clinic, and Jeff's sperm was supposed to have been used for conceiving Ashley.