If they can find out my DNA line why couldnt OJ pay to find real killer?

July 11, 2006 12:31 PM

Has anyone ever done the National Geographic Genographic Project ??

It's the one where you swab cheek -they map your DNA (maternal or paternal).. A friend did this ($100) then had an option to do more testing (an undisclosed amount -think 200-300). He said according to info on paternal line he is 85% Irish ancestry (he an African American man).
Seems pretty interesting (accurate tho??). I just bought 2 kits as a gift for my dad (maternal and paternal lines) and would love to know if anyone's done or heard things about this.

posted by beccaj to science & nature (11 comments total)

Yeah, I sent my sample in (a couple of months ago, i think?) and just got the results back a couple of weeks ago. My maternal ancestors apparently migrated up to Finland.

You get back a map that shows the various migratory groups your ancestors (along the one line) were part of, along with information on those groups. I printed up the map and hung it on my wall. My brother's sending in a sample to get a map of our paternal ancestry.

Do you have any specific questions?
posted by clarahamster at 12:42 PM on July 11, 2006

I dont know how your friend got that 85% Irish info since the site specifically says:

You will not receive a percentage breakdown of your genetic background by ethnicity, race, or geographic origin. Nor will you receive confirmation of an association with a particular tribe or ethnic group.

What they do do is trace either your paternal or maternal lineage presented as geographic information about where your markers are prevalent.

Again, this is for only one lineage. For example, if of your 8 great-grandparents, one is Irish and the other 7 are Asian but that Irish guy is your dad's dad's dad - then that is the paternal lineage you will be tracing to the exclusion of the others.
posted by vacapinta at 12:46 PM on July 11, 2006

I did it. It's pretty cool. I'm trying to get my sister to do it so we can trace our matrilineal ancestry.

This blog entry has a sample map and genetic history. (My ancestors followed the M343 route into Western Europe.)
posted by kirkaracha at 12:53 PM on July 11, 2006

You might want to check this link.
posted by adamvasco at 1:02 PM on July 11, 2006

vacapinta : then had an option to do more testing (an undisclosed amount -think 200-300)


Clarahamster- I guess I have a bunch of friends that were cynics-- kinda gave me the "SHAM" attitude about it.

Just a bit of feedback-- what people thought if they did it, etc...
posted by beccaj at 1:23 PM on July 11, 2006

Thanks Kirkaracha-- cool - I like it! My dad will be So jazzed about this. And as a bit of a geneologist I'm pretty jazzed too.

Adamvasco-- sorry. bad link??
posted by beccaj at 1:26 PM on July 11, 2006

adamvasco's link is to this earlier discussion in the blue
posted by exogenous at 1:52 PM on July 11, 2006

Background: one of the research centers for the project is my PhD department, with the geneticist Tad Schurr, and I know him and several of his students quite well.

That said, this is most definitely real science, and certainly not a sham at all, so ignore your friends. The project is huge, both in scope and importance, and is pretty much attempting to explain the populating of the world in far greater detail than has yet been done before.

Kirkaracha's link is pretty much all you need to know. Your mtDNA and Y-chromosome are characterized by certain mutations, some of which have reoccurred over human history and are thus present in many locations around the world, others of which are slow-mutating are are likely unique to a specific region. By looking at several of these mutations, the movement of ancestors can be traced at a general level. This means that while your mtDNA may have, for example, a typically Irish pattern, your ancestors may well have lived anywhere in the world after the most recent Irish-specific mutation arose, but it is most likely that they were indeed Irish.

In any case, the processing they're doing on your DNA is the same as is done in any genetic study you'll see in Nature or Science. Enjoy your results!
posted by The Michael The at 3:03 PM on July 11, 2006

I did it. The results were, oddly enough, exactly what I was expecting. I was hoping for some more information, maybe a little bit more detail, but it certainly was cool My favorite thing was taking the DNA samples and sending them in!
posted by MattS at 7:00 PM on July 11, 2006

FYI, I've written at length about my and my husband's genetic genealogy results in a previous AskMeFi thread about the Genographic Project, if you're interested.
posted by Asparagirl at 10:02 PM on July 11, 2006

Thanks so much for your responses-- I searched but I guess I searched the wrong key words!!
posted by beccaj at 4:19 AM on July 12, 2006