It is not too late to register for DNA and ITS LINK TO FAMILY HISTORY, a conference being presented by the Downstate Delaware Genealogical Society on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2010, at the Hilton Garden Inn Dover, 1706 N. DuPont Highway, Dover, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Speakers will be: · Thomas H. Shawker, M.D., a physician at the National Institute of Health and serves as the chairman of the National Genealogical Society Committee on Genetic Genealogy. He is the author of Unlocking Your Genetic History and is a past president of the Prince George’s County Genealogical Society. He will have two presentations: (1) DNA Testing: The Very, Very Basics – This presentation explains the principles behind Y chromosome and Mitochondrial DNA tests for genealogy, how to interpret the results, and how those results can be used for genealogy. Topics include what specific test to order, how to verify relationships between individuals with the same surname, and help verify that elusive female ancestor. This presentation is designed to address the needs of the very beginner in DNA technology. (2) Race, Ethnicity, and Ancestry: Genetic Genealogy & DNA Testing – Do I have Native American or Jewish ancestry? Where in Africa do I come from? These are some of the questions that family historians can research using DNA tests, including Y chromosome, mtDNA, and autosomal markers. This lecture will discuss the value of these tests, how to apply them and how to interpret the results. · Mark J. Wadhams, MS, Quality Manager at the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL), Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. He has worked in the field of forensics for over 20 years. He has been involved with the identification of skeletal remains of numerous military service members as well as Tsar Nicholas II. He has presented at numerous national and international conferences and has published papers in the field of forensics. He will have a presentation on The Genealogical/Scientific Role Family Members Play in the Identification of Missing Service Members from Military Conflicts: Unknowns Never Again - a presentation on the identification of the Vietnam Unknown. This presentation will also include what the AFDIL does in accounting for current-day losses, as well as those service members missing from prior conflicts in Vietnam, Korea, World War II, World War I, and even the Civil War, along with the challenges of working with genealogists in finding family members from whom it can get DNA references. For more information and registration form, call 302-697-8930 or visit _http://www.downstatedegenealogists.org/resources/DDGS+DNA+Brochure.pdf_ (http://www.downstatedegenealogists.org/resources/DDGS+DNA+Brochure.pdf) .