At 22:09 12/09/05, Brian Randell wrote: >At Saturday's National Family History Fair in Gateshead (which >incidentally had about 2200 visitors, and 120 stands), where I was helping >to man the Devon FHS stand, I picked up information about GeoGene's Y >Chromosome-based DNA testing services. >The results are claimed to allow one to: >"Follow your own paternal and/or maternal (depending on the actual service >chosen) ancestors' journey as early modern humans peopled the world; >See how frequently your 'genetic cousins' are found in different countries >today; >Learn about the genetic markers thatreveal your ancestral origins >Discover how your ancestry fits into the vast family tree that unites the >human race" >(The results are provided on a "personalised A3-sized wallchart", and on >CD-ROM.) >They have a website at http://www.geogene.com/. >I had been waiting for DNA testing to improve and become cheaper before >even considering investing in it. However GeoGene's service fees (£90 for >paternal or maternal testing, £140 for combined) seem low enough, and the >enthusiasm of one of my Devon FHS colleagues for the results he had >obtained from GeoGene is high enough, at least to prompt me to ask whether >any SOG-UK-L subscribers have any views about the merits of the GeoGene >service. I too was very interested in the GeoGene's stand at Gateshead, and tried to get them to explain the significance and accuracy of what they were measuring. When the GOONS had a seminar on this subject in Oxford about two years ago, Oxford Ancestors stated that we were heading for a cost of ~5£ per marker. As far as I could see, GeoGene have nearly reached this level and are making credible measurements on 17 marker points for about £90. I was very tempted to sign up on the spot to receive the two "personalised" A3 wall charts (one male ancestry, one female ancestry) purporting to indicate which part of the world my ancestors had come from. Certainly the wording was very entertaining. However I was a little put off by statements along the lines of "This gene was first found in a woman 60,000 years ago in Abyssinia". When I tried to press the sales people, they tried to say that this was quite factual and derived from analysis of burial remains. I think I can just about believe that DNA measurements can give a pretty good indication of common ancestry groupings, but I remain just a bit skeptical about the flowery language used on the wall charts. +Z_______________+Z_______________+Z__________________________+Z <www.adshead.com> Gordon Adshead Manchester Design Technology Beaumont House, 2 Goodrington Road, Handforth, Cheshire, SK9 3AT, England Tel:Fax:Msg:+44-1625-549770 Mob:+44-777-6145602 <gordon@adshead.com>

One thing you have to beware of is the quality of the analysis of the original material. DNA degrades and can be unmeasurable in ancient bones. The archaeological literature is littered with papers on the problems of extracting ancient DNA. Such bones can also be contaminated with modern DNA if the researchers are a bit careless ... Ros ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gordon Adshead" <gordon@adshead.com> To: <SOG-UK-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 12:47 AM Subject: Re: [SoG] GeoGene > At 22:09 12/09/05, Brian Randell wrote: > >At Saturday's National Family History Fair in Gateshead (which > >incidentally had about 2200 visitors, and 120 stands), where I was helping > >to man the Devon FHS stand, I picked up information about GeoGene's Y > >Chromosome-based DNA testing services. > >The results are claimed to allow one to: > >"Follow your own paternal and/or maternal (depending on the actual service > >chosen) ancestors' journey as early modern humans peopled the world; > >See how frequently your 'genetic cousins' are found in different countries > >today; > >Learn about the genetic markers thatreveal your ancestral origins > >Discover how your ancestry fits into the vast family tree that unites the > >human race" > >(The results are provided on a "personalised A3-sized wallchart", and on > >CD-ROM.) > >They have a website at http://www.geogene.com/. > >I had been waiting for DNA testing to improve and become cheaper before > >even considering investing in it. However GeoGene's service fees (£90 for > >paternal or maternal testing, £140 for combined) seem low enough, and the > >enthusiasm of one of my Devon FHS colleagues for the results he had > >obtained from GeoGene is high enough, at least to prompt me to ask whether > >any SOG-UK-L subscribers have any views about the merits of the GeoGene > >service. > > I too was very interested in the GeoGene's stand at Gateshead, and tried to > get them to explain the significance and accuracy of what they were measuring. > When the GOONS had a seminar on this subject in Oxford about two years ago, > Oxford Ancestors stated that we were heading for a cost of ~5£ per marker. > As far as I could see, GeoGene have nearly reached this level and are > making credible measurements on 17 marker points for about £90. > I was very tempted to sign up on the spot to receive the two "personalised" > A3 wall charts (one male ancestry, one female ancestry) purporting to > indicate which part of the world my ancestors had come from. Certainly > the wording was very entertaining. > However I was a little put off by statements along the lines of "This gene > was first found in a woman 60,000 years ago in Abyssinia". > When I tried to press the sales people, they tried to say that this was > quite factual and derived from analysis of burial remains. > I think I can just about believe that DNA measurements can give a pretty > good indication of common ancestry groupings, but I remain just a bit > skeptical about the flowery language used on the wall charts. > > > > +Z_______________+Z_______________+Z__________________________+Z > <www.adshead.com> Gordon Adshead Manchester Design Technology > Beaumont House, 2 Goodrington Road, Handforth, Cheshire, SK9 3AT, England > Tel:Fax:Msg:+44-1625-549770 Mob:+44-777-6145602 <gordon@adshead.com> > > > >

Hi: Does anyone have any recommendations for B&B ensuite accommodation near the PRO at Kew - I've been given one suggestion for a place that is about 15 minutes walk away, and I'm wondering what there is even closer. Cheers Brian Randell -- School of Computing Science, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK EMAIL = Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 222 7923 FAX = +44 191 222 8232 URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/~brian.randell/

On Thu, 15 Sep 2005 09:54:58 +0100, Brian Randell wrote: >Hi: > >Does anyone have any recommendations for B&B ensuite accommodation >near the PRO at Kew - I've been given one suggestion for a place that >is about 15 minutes walk away, and I'm wondering what there is even >closer. > >Cheers > >Brian Randell TNA have a link about accomodation. See at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/visit/accommodation.htm Tom