Do not hit Reply to this message; Use Address below: Reply to: Robert Noles: rbnoles@bellsouth.net Hi Folks, About a year ago, I attempted to solicit interest among the North Shore Genealogical Societies in sponsoring a visit to the area by the BYU Molecular Genealogy Research Group (MGRG). There was not much interest in helping me with organizing a MGRG visit at that time! However, a Boy Scouts of America - Eagle Project by Daniel Van Dam has organized a visit by MGRG for Saturday, June 29 (1:00 PM to 4:00 PM) at the Metairie LDS Church (Stake Center at 5025 Cleveland Place). As many of you already know, genetics efforts involving DNA testing is fast becoming a major genealogical tool. We can already use the Y-chromosome and mitochondria DNA to produce remarkable results for identifying our surname line and our unbroken female lines respectively. The MGRP project will go a long way in helping genetics help define our other family lines as well. I wrote an article on this subject in the June 2001 STGS Newsletter. In case you can't locate your copy of the STGS Newsletter, I have copied the text of that article below. My article provides the background concerning the MGRG project and the basis for their visit to the New Orleans area on June 29th. Summary of requirements for participation in the MGRG project on June 29th are: 1) You must be at least 18 years old - all geographic and ethnic backgrounds are invited to participate 2) Have a complete 4-generation biological pedigree chart with names, dates and places of birth. 3) Approximately 10 cc (approximately 2 tablespoons) of blood are required for this study and will be drawn by an experienced phlebotomist (if you grant permission). 4) A signed consent form that you will be provided. The entire process takes less than ten minutes. Participant privacy and confidentiality is ensured throughout all aspects of this study. In fact, you will NOT receive individual results from your participation. When the study has been completed in another few years, you will be able to send in an inquiry to the established database. Representatives from the project will be at the Metairie Stake Center to provide an overview, answer questions, and collect samples on June 29th. If you have reservations about providing your blood sample (due to privacy concerns), you may still want to attend to receive the project briefing. You will be under no obligation to participate if you decide after hearing the briefing that you do not want to participate. However, you will learn more about the project and the future of DNA testing as it relates to genealogy. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about what DNA means for the future of genealogy as well as participate in a ground breaking study (if you so desire). I hope to see you there. Let's have a good turn out from the STGS. Bring a friend or another family member who has some interest in either genetics or genealogy. There is no membership requirement in any organization to participate in this study (or just listen to the overview of this DNA project). You do have to have the four generation pedigree report to participate in the study, but there is no requirement to just learn more about genetics! Although the official press release for this project indicates a COMPLETE four generation pedigree chart is required, unofficially I know they will accept you with a less than complete chart. So, don't let a few missing names and dates keep you from attending the June 29th event. For more detailed information regarding the MGRG project, the research progress, or to ask questions, please go to the official web site for MGRG at: http://molecular-genealogy.byu.edu You may also contact Daniel Van Dam (the organizer for the June 29th event) at 504-822-3801, or clvandam@mindspring.com or his mother, Cindy Van Dam at the Family History Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints 504-885-3936. Daniel Van Dam is a Life Scout and is working on his eagle project with MGRG. Regards, Rob Robert B. Noles 1st Vice President, St. Tammany Genealogical Society -------------------------------------------------------------------- Genetics & Genealogy Article by R. B. Noles from STGS Newsletter - June29, 2001 We have heard a great deal about DNA in the news over the past few years. Usually the reference to DNA is concerned with using it to prove someone’s innocence or guilt associated with a crime. Or perhaps the reference is concerned with solving some medical condition through gene manipulation. However, now we are hearing about the possibility of revolutionizing the world of genealogy with the application of genetic principles in the search for our ancestors. That gets my attention! Microbiology scientists are finding that we are literally living, walking and breathing records of our family history because of the inheritance properties of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). You may remember from biology class in high school that we receive twenty-three chromosomes from our father and twenty-three more from our mother. These chromosomes are stored in the nucleus of almost every cell of the human body. In addition to the nuclear DNA, a small molecule of DNA is found in the energy producing organelle known as mitochondria. The recombination and transmission of DNA from one generation to the next is the foundation of human life and the inescapable link to our biological ancestors. With DNA testing techniques available today, we can test two of our ancestral lines using genetics. Y-chromosomes (Ycs) are subject to only small degrees of mutation and are passed down almost unchanged from father to son. A Ycs test would be helpful when the analysis is attempting to verify a direct male line, permitting individuals sharing the same last name to verify possible relationships even in the absence of written records. In much the same way, a mother will pass her mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to all of her children. However, only her daughters pass it on to the following generation. The mtDNA is therefore passed intact from one generation to the next following the maternal line. This means that blocked genealogies (dead ends) due to the lack of or unreliable written records, adoptions, illegitimacies, etc., may now be extended and proven with the help of genetic testing. By relying only on the Ycs and mtDNA, we limit our search for ancestors to only two of our sixteen great-great-grandparents lines, the two outermost lines of the pedigree chart. A project is now underway to permit the use of DNA to determine genetic proof for the other fourteen lines. Dr. Scott R. Woodward of the Department of Microbiology at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, formed the Molecular Genealogy Research Group (MGRG) for the purpose of creating a tool that will permit people to enhance and extend their genealogical work through the use of genetics. The MGRG project involves building a database that will help trace family lines following the inheritance pattern of nuclear DNA from the remaining twenty-two chromosomes. The MGRG is collecting genetic and genealogical information from 100,000 individuals from around the world. Each participant provides MGRG with a complete four-generation pedigree chart and a small blood sample from which DNA is extracted. The DNA is analyzed at 250 different loci and linked to the dates and places of birth found on the pedigree charts submitted. No names are used to assure privacy. When this effort is completed in about five years, MGRG will have developed a database that can be used to reconstruct and verify personal genealogies, establishing geneotypic links within and between populations and producing unique identifications for people that do not have traditional name-based genealogies. For more information on this subject and the MGRG project, see the complete article written by Dr. Woodward in the March/April 2001 issue of the National Genealogical Society Newsmagazine or the article by Ugo A. M. Perego in the September/October 2000 issue of the Everton’s Genealogical Helper Magazine. Representatives from MGRG are willing to travel anywhere there is a large group of 200+ individuals interested in participating in the construction of the database. A lecture on genetics is also provided during these visits. Perhaps we can entice the MGRG to come to the Florida Parishes. We have a diverse population with a wide variety of ancestors! Stay Tuned!