Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2005 20:39:00 -0230 (NDT)
From: dapike@math.mun.ca (David Pike)
To: PIKE-DNA-L@rootsweb.com
Subject: [PIKE-DNA] Another Update


This is another update about some recent activity with the Pike DNA Project.
The newsworthy item this time is that we now have a 3rd group of matching results,
as can be seen on the "Results" page at

http://www.math.mun.ca/~dapike/family_history/pike/DNA/index.php?content=results.html

In general it is expected that we will obtain more matches and that additional groups will
develop as time progresses.  However, this latest group warrants a bit of education.  One
thing that FamilyTreeDNA and others realised fairly early after beginning to collect and
analyse DNA samples is that one particular set of 12-marker results was occurring with
surprising frequency.  This particular genetic signature has since come to be called the
"Western Atlantic Modal Haplotype" or WAMH, to reflect that it was being found with high
frequency in the western (i.e. Atlantic) region of Europe.  In fact, the WAMH is shared by
about 2.5% of men in western Europe.

Back to the Pike project, what made this latest group possible was the discovery of a
Pyke entry in the database of the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, which can
be searched at http://smgf.org

Up until about 3 or 4 weeks ago the Sorenson database was unable to be searched by surname,
making it virtually impossible to tell if there were any entries for the Pike surname or its
variants.  But on August 29th they updated their website and added a search-by-surname option.
Trying different variants of "Pike" I was able to find one Pyke entry, which is now listed
on our project's webpage with "kit number" S001.

At this point I should say a few words about Sorenson and their database.  One key feature
that distinguishes them is that they offer DNA testing for free.  Because of this, several
people may want to take a closer look at the information they have on their website.
However, there are some things to be aware of:

- Sorenson does not provide the results of the DNA tests to the donors of the DNA
  (i.e. you will not be told your test results), nor does Sorenson tell people when
  a genetic match has been found
- the Sorenson database is anonymous (the names of the donors are not revealed)
- Sorenson offers no email-forwarding service for people who might want to convey messages
  to DNA donors
- the online Sorenson database is only updated once every year or so
- the set of markers that Sorenson tests is not the same as FamilyTreeDNA

Because of these aspects of the Sorenson database, I will continue to recommend that
FamilyTreeDNA be used for the Pike DNA Project.  However, there are also some helpful
features of the Sorenson database, such as the association of a pedigree chart with many
of its entries (but with names of potentially living individuals kept private).  By referring
to this pedigree information and also with the assistance of the new search-by-surname
utility, it might be possible to figure out who a particular set of test results belongs
to ... in this way it might also be possible to find your own test results in a future
update of the database, if you choose to submit a sample to Sorenson.

While I continue to encourage that people join the Pike DNA project and get tested
via FamilyTreeDNA, those who are not in a position to get tested in the near term with
FamilyTreeDNA might want to consider the opportunity that Sorenson provides for them
to get tested at no expense (even if the results might not be available for a few years,
and even if it might take some detective work to figure out whose results are whose).

- David.