Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:45:09 -0230 (NDT)
From: David Pike 
To: pike-dna-l@rootsweb.com
Subject: DNA Testing at 23andMe



Hi everybody.

The FamilyTreeDNA lab has returned several new results to us recently. 
I'll send out news about them in the coming weeks, but today I'm writing 
about a potential opportunity that some people might want to consider.

To begin, I'll mention that genealogical DNA testing has generally 
concentrated on either the Y-chromosome (which is inherited by men from 
their direct paternal ancestral line) or mitochondrial DNA (which we all 
have, and is inherited from the direct maternal line).  For our Pike DNA 
Project we have almost exclusively relied on the male Y-chromosome, 
because it is passed from father to son, usually along with the biological 
father's surname.

We have a lot of other DNA in our genome too though.  A company called 
23andMe has developed a niche in the medical genetics industry by 
performing genome-wide scans of people's autosomal DNA.  You might have 
heard a bit about 23andMe already:  Google is one of their major 
investors, and the 23andMe DNA test was named by TIME magazine as the 2008 
Invention of the Year.

23andMe is now beginning to also provide genealogical services based on 
its scans.  In trying to avoid getting too technical, let me mention just 
a few things, the first being that genome-wide autosomal scans for 
genealogical purposes are NOT restricted only to men.
WOMEN CAN BE TESTED TOO.

Because these genome-wide scans are fairly new, not only is the overall 
database size still a bit small, but some of the tools and applications to 
analyse the DNA data are still being developed.  In short, I don't want to 
get anybody's hopes up too high regarding how powerful this new test might 
be.  That said, I am cautiously optimistic, especially now that 23andMe 
seems to be paying a bit more attention to the genealogical applications 
of its autosomal DNA testing.

To get to the main reason for this message, in an effort to try to reach 
out to genealogists 23andMe has given discount codes to several people so 
that these codes can be distributed to others who might be interested.  I 
have been given one of these discount codes, but have been asked to not 
post it in public.  I've also been asked to not state the value of the 
discount in public.  So if anybody is curious to know more details, then I 
ask that you please email me privately at dapike@mun.ca
The discount code that I have been given is only valid until the end of 
September, or until it's been used 50 times, whichever happens first.

As for what people might get out of testing at 23andMe, that's something 
that I can't fully describe just yet, mostly because I don't yet have my 
own test results from 23andMe (their lab is currently processing my DNA). 
What I can do is direct people to the 23andMe website for more details: 
https://www.23andme.com
where you can sign up for a free "demo account" on their "log in" webpage. 
You can then explore some of their utilities with the DNA samples of their 
demo family.  The utilities within the "ancestry" and "genome sharing" 
functions are likely to be of greatest genealogical value.

With regard to how this might help with some of our genealogical 
questions, I will offer a few speculative comments.  One is that I suspect 
that it'll be possible to compare the autosomal DNA scans of two people 
and to then estimate how closely or distantly related they might be, based 
on how much or how little autosomal DNA they have in common.  This could 
have several applications for us, ranging from helping to narrow down 
where people fit into family trees, to identifying family connections that 
Y-DNA alone cannot.

One last comment that I want to make is that although 23andMe does analyse 
part of the Y-chromosome too, the type of test that they perform is 
different than that done by FamilyTreeDNA.  We intend to continue to 
recommend the services of FamilyTreeDNA for Y-DNA testing, even though we 
might also turn to 23andMe for autosomal DNA analysis as we become more 
familiar with just what 23andMe can offer to us.

Sincerely,

- David.