>Edith <Mooreedith@aol.com> wrote: > > > I would like to hear some educated input into why are the males only > > being tested? > > > > is there some scientific reason for this? > >The testing involves DNA that is passed on only from father to son. > >There is a similar test for mother to daughter - but the reason the >tests are being done for males is that the surname identifies the >group. Identifying the descendants of a female would be extremely >difficult as each woman would likely have a different surname. > > <snip> > > > Isn't also this process very expensive? > >I think it's more expensive than it is worth - but I suppose it >depends on what answers you are seeking and the likelihood of >finding them. I note that those who get paid to do the tests are >among the most prominent boosters of this methodology! <g> > > <snip> > >"Richard A. Pence" <richardpence@pipeline.com> Dear Richard, I don't know if you had your DNA tested for genealogy purposes, so I am sure what makes you affirm that "testing is more expensive than it's worth". I certainly would like to hear your substantiation. In the meantime, please allow me to make a correction to one of your answers: "why are the males only being tested". You said that the testing involves DNA that is passed from father to son. That is almost correct. First, both males and females can be tested. Males test for the Y-DNA (from father to son...) and females test for the mtDNA (from mother to daughter). Now, for genealogy purposes the Y-DNA works better because the mutation rates of the mtDNA are much slower that those occurring in the Y-DNA. In other words, with very slow mutation rates, a match between two mtDNAs would mean that a common ancestor existed a few thousand years ago, which is of no significance for genealogy. On the other hand, with mutation rates occurring at a faster rate, which is what happens with the Y-DNA, a match between to samples could signify a common ancestor just a few generations ago. That's why the Y-DNA is used for genealogy. For example, a 25/25 match signifies that in 50% of the times, a common ancestor could have existed 7 generations or less. Females testing their mtDNA will find more anthropological answers: deep ancestry and migration. Although this is a short paragraph, I hope it will shed some light into the use of genetics in genealogy. While we say that DNA testing is one more tool to be used in conjunction with traditional genealogy, there are many people who have tested, and who said that one test done to compare two individuals solved a 20, 30 or even 45 year puzzle which included many thousands of dollars spent in travel and research. E-mail me any time Max Blankfeld max@familytreedna.com