UNLOCK THE STORY OF YOUR GENES

ENLISTING DNA ON YOUR FAMILY HISTORY QUEST

Welcome to the DNA Workshop! In every issue DNA adviser Karen Evans will be sharing the latest DNA news, unpacking a reader case study, and giving you step-by-step tips for you to use in your DNA research at home. It’s time to unlock the story of your genes…

DNA NEWS

LIVINGDNA FAMILY NE TWORKS

Living DNA have been rolling out some new features over the last month or so. Beginning with their existing customers there will be new portal features such as enhanced regions to more accurately represent your ancestry and maps with opacity levels to show the strength of your ancestry in each region. Look out also for their simple click opt-in button within your portal that clearly shows you if you are part of Family Networks. Alongside this, you will now have much clearer visibility of your matches and status of results. livingdna.com

ANCES TRY ETHNICITY UPDATE

If you have tested with Ancestry you will no doubt have noticed some changes in your ethnicity. If, like me, you have predominantly UK and Irish ancestry then the most important part of this update is the expanded reference panel and algorithm. Ancestry are able to break larger regions so your England, Wales, & Northwestern 

Europe region are now broken up into one or more of the following regions: England & Northwestern Europe, Wales, Ireland, or Scotland. This seems to have increased many people’s Scottish Ethnicity.

Ancestry have expanded their reference panel and algorithm resulting in updates to ethnicity estimates

DNA CASE STUDY

Dear Karen I really appreciate you having a look at my DNA results. I was born in a Salvation Army Home for unmarried mothers and informally adopted by a family, though I didn’t know this at the time. I always felt I did not fit into the family and then I found my birth certificate in a jug with my real mother's name on it – Mary Fellows.