Hello, everyone. With the issues recently raised on the Genealogy-DNA mailing list, about sending the DNA samples to the USA for testing, and the possible effects of the mentioned irradiation of such samples, the following message was sent to me, and, after having obtained permission from Bennett Greenspan, I am posting the message to the list, as the response to the issue, from FamilyTreeDNA. The response below, indicates that no problems appear to have occured with DNA samples sent to FamilyTreeDNA in the USA, for testing. Thus I have sent DNA samples for testing, on that basis. I sent the samples, with the statement on the Detailed Declaration that I was required to complete: "Human DNA samples from mouth swabs - in sealed plastic containers - same as licking envelopes" so it is now a matter of waiting and finding what happens to the samples, and the results. I did what I did, to ensure that I did this correctly, and to have confidence that it was not a waste of time sending the samples, as in these times, to not do it properly, can be quite precarious, from my understanding, and it is difficult for lay people, to understand the extent of the effects of actions such as the irradiation of the samples, without qualified advice. So, anyone else who has similar concerns to what I had, about the possibility of the irradiation as used by the USA Postal Service, ruining DNA samples for genealogical anaylsis, can be assured that, so far, no adverses affects are indicated. And, I hope that any other male Busby's will be encouraged to take the tests, to find whether any relationships are likely to exist, between the different known Busby lines (eg, the descendants of Michael Horton Busby (my line), the descendants of John Scurr Busby, the descendants of John Busby of the Busby Bore in Sydney (who is father of James Busby of the New Zealand Treaty of Waitangi), the Oxford Busby's, the Yoprkshire Busby's, and the various USA Busby lines, including descendants of William Reece Busby). So, if anyone is inclined to take the DNA tests, but has been doubtful, due to concerns about sending the samples to the USA, sending the samples to the USA for testing, appears to be okay, as long as it is done properly. -- Bret Busby Armadale West Australia .............. "So once you do know what the question actually is, you'll know what the answer means." - Deep Thought, Chapter 28 of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy In Four Parts", written by Douglas Adams, published by Pan Books, 1992 .................................................... ---------- Forwarded message ---------- On Tue, 23 Dec 2003, Bennett Greenspan wrote: > > Hello gentlemen > > We discussed the irradiation issue after 911. After talking to the > company that was to see the equipment to the Post Office in the sates > we determined that their irradiation would not cause a harm to human > samples on a molecular level, although we felt that the yield might be > decreased, so we watched for lower yields of DNA. > > To date we have found no problem in running samples sent from anywhere > (either domestically or internationally) so we have concluded that > it's not an issue. Send the sample onward! > > > > E-mail any time. > > Best Regards, > > Bennett Greenspan > President > Family Tree DNA > www.FamilyTreeDNA.com > > ....................................................