In a message dated 6/13/2006 9:03:08 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, confido@ix.netcom.com (Lauren Boyd) writes: > mtDNA is not a primary avenue to genealogical connections. Not the trackable, traceable by surname < IMHO, that's exactly half of the problem: Without surnames to provide "testable hypotheses," the search for mtDNA matches is literally like looking for a proverbial needle in the proverbial haystack. > sharing mtDNA means that the persons are closer related than a 50% probability of being cousins within 10,000 yrs < That's the other half of the problem. The super-slow mutation rate of mtDNA means -- according to FTDNA's chief statistical consultant, Dr. Bruce Walsh -- that to get approximately the same "resolution" as the yDNA 37-marker test, maternal-line tracing needs to use something approaching the FULL SEQUENCE mtDNA test. And as of today, that test is still far too expensive for widespread use. Best regards, Jim Brown (James Armistead Brown, Jr.) Project Co-Administrator Brown/Browne/Braun DNA Study DNAforBrowns@aol.com http://brownsociety.org/browndna/dna-brown.htm