Don DNA Report For Spring 2010

As of APRIL 1, 2010, the PFAS DNA Project has 86 members and all but two test kits have been processed by FTDNA. There is a renewed interest in DNA testing and I am getting more questions from our members. The new national television program on NBC, “Who Do You Think You Are” sponsored by Ancestry, has drawn a lot of interest in family history genealogy. The NBC show has a new celebrity on Friday of each week, and they search back, by a variety of resources, to find several generations for the person. It seems a bit simple as it is crammed into an hour show, but all researchers know it is quite a prolonged and difficult task to come of with proven answers.

The first two weeks they did the family history of Sarah Jessica Parker and Emmitt Smith, the Dallas Cowboy Hall of Fame, football player. DNA testing was used in some to find the deeper family origins. In addition to that program National Geographic produced the show “The Human Family Tree – Tracing the Human Journey Through Time.” In this show they took a diverse group of people living in NY City and tested their DNA, then met after the results were in and told the people where their family lines originated.

DNA is still relatively new and many new discoveries have been made to refine the testing results. Now Family Tree DNA has just introduced a breakthrough new test called Family Finder that does not focus on just the male yDNA or the female mtDNA. The new test can test males or females to determine a family connection for at least five generations.

The test is scheduled to open to the public in March, but it has been running early tests for some specific people to validate their new Family Finder system. From the Peacock Project I was allowed to take the test and Frank Tucker, my 67/67 match, was also selected. Since Frank and I are perfect matches and our ancestors came from a close proximity to each other in Barnwell Co., SC, I think this was a significant chance to breakthrough the “Brick Wall” in our families.

I get questions from women who have an interest to learn more of their Peacock or other surnames DNA, but have been stonewalled because the yDNA is only passed down from males. This new test uses 22 autosomal chromosomes that will allow aunts, uncles, grandparents, 1st cousins up to 4th cousins and possibly 5th cousins and beyond to test and see if they are kin. Most of you researchers have found people you “Think” must be your kin, but no proof can be found, but this test can get you beyond that block. This type of DNA testing has been used in identifying military remains as well as other missing persons, etc.

The tests that Frank Tucker and I took did require 2 new swabs of the cheeks as it requires a lot more DNA to do the test and our previous DNA swab (mine from 2002) was not adequate.

Our results should be determined in late April. I am including the announcement FTDNA sent to me for your information. You can go to the FTDNA site to learn more about Family Finder and sign up to be notified when the test is ready for new DNA testers: www.familytreedna.com/

This is the Peacock Project site where you can view our results: http://www.familytreedna. com/public/PeacockPFAS/default.aspx

TO DNA GROUP ADMINISTRATORS
“This is the most exciting genetic genealogy breakthrough since the company launched its Y-DNA test, which uncovered relatives in the direct paternal line”, says Bennett Greenspan, founder and President of Family Tree DNA.

Family Tree DNA is pleased to inform you of the pre-launch of our newest test: the autosomal-based Family Finder test. This pre-launch will progress in phases so that we do not exceed our lab’s capacity, and to ensure delivering results in a timely basis. A limited number of our customers are being offered the Family Finder Test during the prelaunch. We anticipate Family Finder will be offered for general release in the middle of March at the breakthrough price of $249.

While the Y-DNA matches men with a specific paternal line, and the mtDNA finds potential relatives only along the maternal line, Family Finder can look for close relationships along all ancestral lines.

You may now match to male and female cousins from any of your family lines within five generations. The science behind it uses linked blocks of DNA across the 22 autosomal chromosomes and matches them between two people. Based on this concept, our bioinformatics team has worked extensively to develop the calculations that would tell you the closeness of the relationship.

The possibilities to find matches abound: Aunts & Uncles, Parents and Grandparents Half siblings and 1st cousins 2nd, 3rd, and 4th cousins Possibly 5th cousins and beyond! When you take the Family Finder test, your results are compared against our Family Finder database. You will be able to sort your matches by degree of relationship, view their names and e-mail address for immediate communication, and download your raw data.

Special Note: The Family Finder test requires an untouched vial of DNA. If your kit does not have an extra vial on file, we will mail a collection kit for a new FREE DNA extraction. After ordering you will be notified by email whether we are able to use a stored vial or will be mailing a new collection kit.