New AncestryDNA Communities

Ancestry recently announced they have created several more AncestryDNA communities.  These 225 new communities are focused on the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and French North America.  The announcement is here. Ancestry communities are formed by combining information in Ancestry family trees with DNA match information.  This is different from ethnicity percentages, which compares a… Continue reading New AncestryDNA Communities

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Gedmatch Contacts Users about Terms of Service and Law Enforcement Use

This is perhaps a first.  This morning Gedmatch emailed its users to explain the new terms of service.  Recently all kits were opted-out of law enforcement searching.  Some people have opted-in, but not all members of the community were aware of this change. Now the full database has been contacted (or attempted to be contacted). … Continue reading Gedmatch Contacts Users about Terms of Service and Law Enforcement Use

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Gedmatch Genesis merging back to Gedmatch

Gedmatch has a new announcement on their web page.  The new Gedmatch Genesis site will be replacing the Gedmatch site, so that all of Gedmatch will have access to the Genesis database and features.  This change will happen June 1st.  From Gedmatch: Moving to GEDmatch Genesis The transition from Legacy GEDmatch to Genesis is complete.… Continue reading Gedmatch Genesis merging back to Gedmatch

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Genealogy Jamboree 2019, Free Streaming!

Next week is the annual Southern California Genealogy Jamboree in Burbank.  If you can go, it's awesome.  If not, a number of sessions will be live streamed, for free!  You just need to register.  The schedule of live streamed sessions is here: Friday, May 31, 2019 1:00 – 2:00 FR010 Funeral Homes and Family History: They're Dying… Continue reading Genealogy Jamboree 2019, Free Streaming!

Gedmatch, Major Change for Law Enforcement Matching

Terms of Service Change This morning the news went out in the genealogy community that Gedmatch has changed its terms of service and privacy policy. "EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, ALL DNA KITS HAVE BEEN SET TO BE OPTED-OUT OF MATCHING BY LAW ENFORCEMENT. WITHIN THE NEXT FEW DAYS, WE WILL PROVIDE A MEANS FOR THE PERSON WHO… Continue reading Gedmatch, Major Change for Law Enforcement Matching

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NYTimes Article “Sooner or Later Your Cousin’s DNA Is Going to Solve a Murder”

Today is DNA day, and DNA is in the news again.  This article from the New York Times looks back on the year since the Golden State Killer arrest was announced. Sooner or Later Your Cousin’s DNA Is Going to Solve a Murder This article is a good overview of developments in the field. And… Continue reading NYTimes Article “Sooner or Later Your Cousin’s DNA Is Going to Solve a Murder”

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Register to LiveStream 2019 NGS Conference Lectures

The NGS annual conference gathers some of the most talented genealogy lecturers for a wonderful educational experience.  As in recent years, the organizers are offering packages to stream a subset of the lectures online.  The packages include, either of two sets of five lectures or a set of ten.  Some people who attended the conference… Continue reading Register to LiveStream 2019 NGS Conference Lectures

FamilyTreeDNA Encouraging Transfers to Catch Criminals

Recently the genealogical community has been upset by FamilyTreeDNA changing its terms of service, without alerting its customers, to allow law enforcement searches.  The company is now encouraging transfers to its database to catch criminals. The Atlantic and other news outlets have been writing about this new strategy: A DNA Company Wants You to Help… Continue reading FamilyTreeDNA Encouraging Transfers to Catch Criminals

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