FTDNA Holiday Sale 2015

Tis the season to be jolly for ... HOLIDAY SALES and FamilyTreeDNA is the first to light up with savings. See below for all of the great details. 

From Family Tree DNA:
"We're excited to announce the launch of our 2015 Holiday sale! It will start today at midnight and end on December 31st @ 11:59PM Central Time.
You'll find a full list of the sale prices on the FTDNA website. Similar to last year, we're adding a treat to this year's great deals – our Mystery Reward discounts! The Mystery Reward will be a randomized discount (up to $75 off) that can be applied on top of the already reduced Holiday Sale prices. You’ll get a new Mystery Reward every week as well as after making a purchase. You can use the discounts or share them with friends!

The Mystery Reward icon will appear on testers’ myFTDNA dashboard each week. Each code will expire the night before the next Mystery Reward appears. We’ll also send an email notification to the kit’s primary email address when a new code is available for use or sharing."

Holiday/End of Year Sale:

Family Finder - $89

Y37 - $139
Y67 - $228
Y111 - $309

Y37 -> 67 - $79
Y37 -> Y111 - $176
Y67- > Y111 Upgrade - $103

Big Y - $525

mtDNA - $69
mtDNA Full - $169

TYPES OF DNA TESTS SIMPLIFIED! (Videos & Visualization)

If you're a novice or new to DNA testing for genetic genealogy THE VERY FIRST THING you should do is review these five short videos created by the University of Utah. Each video is less than four minutes long and will help you immensely with an inaugural understanding of this complicated field. ALSO take a look at my visualization about the different types of DNA tests following these short videos from Genetic Science Learning Center's Learn Genetics series here. ... Enjoy:

3 TYPES OF DNA TESTS VISUALIZED

A lot of people know about genealogical DNA tests but have no idea there are three main tests to choose from that measure very different parts of your ancestry. So I edited two blog posts to add this screen-grab, which I altered with information to help explain the three different types of DNA tests available. What do you think? Does it makes things slightly easier to understand? If so, share this blog:

(Screen-grab from: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/chromosomes/types4/. Boxed text added by TL Dixon)

• First, AUTOSOMAL-DNA* (atDNA) Test analyzes your 23 chromosomes to estimate your ethnic contributions inherited from your parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents,16 gg-grandparents, 32 ggg-grandparents, etc., and includes an estimate of your ethnic admixture broken down into percentages, as well as match you to real genetic relatives going back about 500 to 1000 years. 

• Second, MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA* (mtDNA) Test analyzes your cell’s mitochondria genetic code to determine your ancient maternal ancestry; you inherited your mtDNA exclusively from your mother and her direct fore-mothers going back tens of thousands of years to a common ancestral mother. Therefore the mtDNA test is used to determine your MATERNAL HAPLOGROUP ASSIGNMENT (an identifier for mutation(s) unique to your mtDNA organized on "Phylotree" according to an alphanumerical grouping system ie haplogroups B2 or L1b1a or U6a5b for example). 

• Third, the Y-CHROMOSOME DNA* (Y-DNA) Test, only available to males, analyzes his Y-chromosome to determine his ancient paternal lineage via his father and direct forefathers going back tens of thousands of years to a common ancestral father. Therefore the Y-DNA test is used to determine a male’s PATERNAL HAPLOGROUP ASSIGNMENT (identifiers for mutations unique to a male’s Y-chromosome organized on "Phylotree" according to an alphanumerical system ie haplogroups A0 or E-U290 or R1b1a2).

#END"

Kyle Winkey's Memorial Fund

I, TL Dixon set up this GoFundMe page in good faith to honor the memory of my 17-year-old first cousin, KYLE WINKEY, as well as to cherish his legacy, to remember the loving spirit that he was, and to help take care of us his younger brother, who will be starting this school year without his only sibling and best friend. On August 30, 2015 in Plainfield, NJ, Kyle was tragically taken away from us on the birthday of his father, who predeceased him in 2004. I must add that Kyle truly enjoyed learning about our ancestral heritage through my genetic genealogy talks with him. Although we have lost a loved one, we know we’ve gained a heavenly angel whose duty is now to guard over us. Our family is truly grateful for the overwhelming outpouring of love, kindness and support we have received thus far. The idea that so many of you want to keep Kyle's legacy alive touches our hearts and souls. In lieu of flowers, please consider helping us lay Kyle to rest and to help his mother with costs of sending his young brother to school this term. Kyle would love you all for it. You can make donations to the Kyle Winkey Memorial Fund OR through your own Paypal Account (please see "My Paypal" tab at the top of this blog page).

AncestryDNA FINALLY introduces new "In Common With" feature, SHARED MATCHES

SOUND THE ALARMS! RING THE BELLS! RAISE THE SALES! ALERT! ALERT! ... AncestryDNA (Ancestry.com) has just released a new In Common With (ICW) feature aptly titled, SHARED MATCHES, which shows a list of your DNA matches that you and another DNA match share in common, meaning somewhere there is a common ancestor.  If you and your parent tested there is also the MOM/DAD FILTER where you can view your DNA match list by either parent's side. We in the genosphere have been waiting, longing, yearning, and praying for this tool. Before this we didn't know where or how our [unknown] genetic relatives were related to us and each other. We had the arduous task of convincing our DNA matches to upload to Gedmatch.com in order to triangulate, and it's been extremely frustrating to say the least. AncestryDNA had indicated it would not make an ICW feature available. Back on November 3, 2014, AncestryDNA product manager Anne Swayne blogged about other new features in the works and then later the company released New Ancestry Discoveries ("a technical innovation that combines the latest in genetic science, new patent-pending algorithms, and access to AncestryDNA’s extensive database to push the boundaries of human genetics") and DNA Circles ("which brings together a group of individuals who all have the same ancestor in their family trees and where each member shares DNA with at least one other individual in the circle"). However these new features were controversial because they relied on other AncestryDNA customers' family tree information instead of actual shared DNA. Now AncestryDNA has answered our cries, yodels, screams. Since the SHARED MATCHES feature is so new, AncestryDNA did not send out any "official" e-mails and is apparently still tweaking it; for example all of the common matches I share with known family AND my twin kit (I took a second test) did not show up. But I'm very confident this will change soon. Again thank you AncestryDNA. 

Now let's see how it works and where to find the feature:
According to AncestryDNA, "The shared matches list shows DNA matches that you and one of your DNA matches have in common. This might help you determine which family line you share or give you more evidence that you’re related to a specific person or match. For example, if you and your brother share DNA with a cousin, that cousin will show up as a shared match for both of you. Similarly, if you have a DNA match and your 2nd cousin has the same DNA match, this person would be a shared match to you and your 2nd cousin—and may help you determine how you’re related to this 2nd cousin." You can read the rest here:

So how do you find the new SHARED MATCHES list feature? Here are easy instructions: 

Step 1. On your Ancestry.com homepage, click on the "DNA" tab:

Step 2. On your DNA homepage, click on "VIEW ALL DNA MATCHES":

Step 3. Once your DNA matches load, then click on any of your matches (I chose my twin kit, King Genome):

Step 4. Once you click on your match, there will be a link "SHARED MATCHES" (located right under match's profile name and Ethnicity Results):

Step 5. The next page will show your shared matches to the DNA profile you selected (As you can see below, I share two pages of matches with my twin kit. Of course I should share all 27 pages but this is an indication the feature is still being worked on):

And there you have it! Happy Hunting!

###

PBS "First Peoples" (All 5 Episodes)

A great new documentary series from PBS investigating arrival of first humans in Africa, Americas, Asia, Australia & Europe. Based on the latest Archaeology and DNA research, this is must-watch TV. Premieres Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at 9/8c.  (See links to all five episodes/videos below)

FULL EPISODES (5):

1) First Peoples: AFRICA

2) First Peoples: AMERICAS

3) First Peoples: ASIA

4) First Peoples: AUSTRALIA

5) First Peoples: EUROPE

TribeCode's Newest Features ... Check it out...

Just sharing new DNA company TribeCode's recent announcements on Facebook ... Yes they are actually listening to their customers! ... Enjoy...

1. New MELTING POT TIMELINE 

From FaceBook: Hey TribeCode Facebook fans! We have just released a new feature, Melting Pot Timeline (6/17/15) 
Melting Pot Timeline reveals even more detail about your ancestry by unlocking the admixture within each population of your ethnicity composition. Using sophisticated data analysis algorithms, Melting Pot Timeline maps the expansion of founding populations from about 1300 BCE to 1900 CE to uncover their contribution to admixture around the world.

By selecting a population in your ethnicity composition pie chart, you will see the admixture within that specific population as well as any historical event during the same time period that would have influenced populations to migrate.

To access Melting Pot Timeline, hover your cursor over Experimental Features within the My Ancestry drop-down menu and select Melting Pot Timeline. Select the DNA or question mark icons for details on how to navigate the feature and interpret the results.

Questions or Feedback? Send us an email to customersupport@tribecode.com.

2. Hello GERMANY, and new European population update to TribeCode's Ethnicity Composition

From Facebook: ATTENTION TRIBECODE USERS: EXCITING UPDATE (May 20, 2014)
For the past few months, our team has been working hard to build upon our reference database to broaden the representation of global populations. We are very excited to share with you that we have expanded our reference data to include a more detailed characterization of European populations.

The additional reference data has been applied to every customer’s results and is reflected under the European Panel within Ethnicity Composition. This new panel has been added to give customers with high levels of European ancestry a more detailed and higher resolution view of their DNA ancestry. Specific populations referenced include German, Irish, Dutch and more.

Non-European ethnicity is shown as “Other” in this panel. For Non-European ancestry, you will see a more detailed view of your results on the Ethnicity Composition page.

We greatly appreciate your patience as we continue to build our reference data and improve our algorithms. We hope that this increases your satisfaction with your TribeCode results. For more detail on the European Panel, check out our latest post on Drum Beat! Please contact us if you have questions.

Ethnicity Chromosome Mapping & Determining "Ethnicity" of shared DNA segments between related individuals

Source: http://www.differencebetween.info/difference-between-ethnicity-and-culture

>>>>> Savvy genealogists use autosomal DNA tests to explore their genetic ancestry along with such genetic tools (chromosome paintings and browsers, triangulation) to help them learn more about their relationships with genetic relatives by exploring specific DNA markers or segments shared with them. According to ISOGG, commonly used methods for this are "complementary" techniques known as  chromosome mapping ("determining which DNA segments came from which ancestor") and triangulation ("comparing matching DNA segments to determine which ancestor donated which particular segment"). However we also know that our genetic ancestry (colloquially known as "ethnicity") is more than just shared DNA segments. We often descend from numerous ancestries and thus have inherited DNA contributions from multiple biogeographical populations, often challenging our preconceived perceptions and assumptions about our genetic inheritance. For example "white" Americans with small amounts of "Sub Saharan African" DNA are likely to share only "European" admixture with their "black" American genetic relatives. People with multiple ancestries (ie Latinos, South Africans) or similar ancestries (ie Bulgarians) may share ethnic components contrary to what they might expect (ie Latinos sharing "Ashkenazi Jewish" DNA instead of Native American DNA, or Bulgarians sharing "South Asian" DNA segments due to Romani introgression). What's more adoptees and those with an unknown parent may not know anything about their ancestry. Therefore it's reasonable to assume that knowing the "ethnicity" of shared DNA segments between related individuals is an important consideration when doing genealogical research. Simply put, ethnicity matters! 
But how do we determine the "ETHNICITY" of these shared DNA segments? In this deep dive my objective is to discuss an underutilized (it's not new) method -- I'll coin this process Ethnicity Chromosome Mapping* (ECM) -- that can be used in conjunction with chromosome browsing, mapping and triangulation to determine the ethnicity of shared DNA segments as outlined here:

SECTION I.  Instructions (4 steps) for using ECM to find "Ethnicity" of shared DNA segments

-- STEP 1. Identify location and size of potential shared DNA segments using chromosome browsing and mapping tools (CBaMt)

-- STEP 2. Identify potential "ethnicity" of shared DNA segments using CBaMt

-- STEP 3. Find “START POINTS” AND “END POINTS” of shared DNA segments using CBaMt

-- STEP 4. Confirm “ethnicity” of shared DNA segments using Gedmatch's "Paint the Difference Between 2 Kits, 1 chromosome" tool

SECTION II. ECM Pitfalls and Technical Notes

-- (a) What happens when the "ethnicity" of shared IBD DNA segment does NOT match?
-- (b) Technical notes about Chromosome Paintings
-- (c) Technical notes about Gedmatch's "Paint the Differences..." tool

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
Your results and access to 23andMe, FamilyTreeDNA, AncestryDNA, and third-party site Gedmatch.com. For optimal results, ECM works best under these conditions: 

• shared DNA segments (aka half-identical regions or HIRs; see also fully identical regions) between two persons who appear to share a genetic relationship  must be Identical By Descent or IBD (indicates a real genetic relationship) and NOT Identical By State or IBS (indicates shared ancestral population). To be considered IBD, the standard threshold for HIRs is generally* 7cM/700 SNPs or higher (with triangulation, 5cM/700 SNPs or higher) [*see Blaine Bettinger's blog here and here; Roberta Estes blog here & Kitty Cooper's blog here]; AND 
•  shared ethnic component(s) between genetic matches is easily distinguishable from other ethnic components in same general location on the chromosome painting; AND 
• you've tested several known close relatives, AND
• all tested parties have uploaded their raw DNA data to Gedmatch.com and have successfully registered kit numbers.

*Disclaimer: The ECM methods presented herein are experimental, the term"ethnicity" has no legal meaning and is subject to DNA companies interpretation, so be careful about drawing conclusions. The term "Ethnicity Chromosome Mapping" is of my own invention and has not been endorsed by genetic genealogy organizations nor has it been adopted into genetic genealogy lexicon. You may also contact me with any comments or questions here: KingGenomebyTLDixon@gmail.com.

SECTION I. 
Instructions (4 steps) for using ECM to find "ETHNICITY" of shared DNA Segments 

STEP 1. Identifying location and size of potential shared DNA segments 

(a) Firstly, I would like to introduce you to my sibling JR; my cousin ID; and my new genetic matches CF and sibling RF. I've invited them to help me demonstrate ECM, and you'll see them again as we go along. To initiate ECM whenever you get a genetic match (after taking an autosomal DNA test) or a newly tested relative's results come in, you need to learn some specifics about shared DNA segments. This includes SIZE (aka Genetic Distance, indicating the length of DNA segment in centimorgans); LOCATION on the chromosomes (aka Chromosome mapping; see Kitty Kooper's tool here), and IN COMMON WITH RELATIVES sharing mutual DNA segments [aka Triangulation; see various methods @  Kitty Kooper's chromosome mapper tool, Kelly Wheaton's Lesson 11, & Blaine Bettinger's Visual Phasing]. For ECM these tasks are easily achieved using your DNA company's in-house tools and third-party sites with such chromosome browsing, chromosome mapping and triangulation capabilities as:

• 23andMe's Family Inheritance: Advanced (FIA) & DNA Relatives Triangulation tool (note: Countries of Ancestry tool is now defunct);
• FTNDA's Family Finder - Chromosome Browser;
• Gedmatch.com One to One tool (for AncestryDNA, 23andMe, FTDNA)