I've received some questions about the mechanics of running a DNA study. Most of them involve three issues: eligibility, privacy, and cost. 1. Eligibility. Aside from rare cases, it's very simple. Any male whose surname is Sweet (aside from adoptions or whatever), is eligible for the Sweet Y-DNA study. For the initial phase of the study, it is preferable to have Sweets who have traced their lineage back in an unbroken father-to-son line from one of the known founders. In past discussions on SWEET-L, the most commonly mentioned founder has been John Sweet who died soon after arriving in New England and whose family settled in Rhode Island. Others include John Sweet/Swett who settled in Newbury, Mass., and Henry Sweet of Swansea, Mass., who settled in Attleborough. Note: anubody who is VERY closely related (e.g., a brother or father of first cousin) is likely to have exactly the same DNA pattern as you. For the purposes of this study, only one of you is needed. 2. Privacy. This would be at the individual participant's discretion. The only information that would necessarily be revealed to the public would be an arbitrary numeric code for the participant and the actual DNA measurements. These measurements are simply the numbers of repeats of short segments of DNA at specific places on the Y chromosome that have no intrinsic meaning and no genetic function. If you look at the web page for any one of the hundreds of ongoing surname-based DNA studies, you will see a table of such values. They always look like a meaningless string of numbers ranging from about 8 to about 30 (because that is indeed what they are). The meaning comes entirely from comparing the results for one person against the results for another. We can group the results into families according to which ones are identical or nearly so. If two or more members of one particular group identified in this manner have traced their lineages back to the same founder, and if *all* of the tested descendants of that founder turn out to belong to that same group, then we can deduce that the founder had the same pattern as well. There is no need for any personal information about the participants, other than this identification with a remote ancestor. However, I suspect that many of the participants who have *not* traced their lines all the way back will want to be able to compare notes with other participants (if any) who match exactly. We will have to set up procedures to allow such people to get together if they wish. The testing companies can provide some of that matchmaking. Incidentally, this all assumes that there will be a web page devoted to the Sweet DNA study. I would be glad to provide such a page, but I don't have any personal web space that I could use. If anyone wants to volunteer some web space (a few dozen kilobytes should do it), that would be a useful contribution. One of the concerns that many people seem to have is whether an insurance company might somehow gain access to the DNA sample and make unauthorized use of it. I don't think that's possible. For the lab I'm mainly considering, the DNA testing is done without even the name of the participant, just an arbitrary numeric code. There is a front office that handles the bookkeeping, sends out testing kits, and gets back the samples. They then forward the samples with just the identifying numbers to a laboratory in a different state, where the processing is done, and the DNA sample is preserved in case another test is called for. In short, the front office has the names, and the lab has the DNA, so neither one can leak anything meaningful. 3. Cost. The best price I know of from a commercial DNA testing company is $99 (that's a group rate). Obviously, some people might consider this rate a bargain while others might consider it expensive. If anyone here is a molecular biologist and would be willing to do these tests "at cost", I'm sure we could come up with a cheaper rate, but it would involve a lot of work on the part of the volunteer, so I wouldn't count on arranging something like that. One further note: several people have written to me privately, saying they would be interested in participating. If just a few more jump in, we'll have the nucleus of a meaningful study. However, nobody has mentioned specifically being a descendant of John of Newbury or Henry of Attleborough. It is useful to start out with known descendants of different founders, so that something will be learned right at the beginning. John Chandler

John: I would be interested in participating in the DNA research project. I trace my Sweet lineage to Jonathon Sweet (1732-1792) who was born in RI, most likely Smithfield, but moved to Richmond, NH. He is suspected to be the son of Jeremiah, who descended from John Sweet of Devonshire, but I have not seen any conclusive proof of that relationship. Please keep me informed of the progress of this venture and let me know what I need to do. Joseph Sweet 36 Bean Farm Dr. Kingston, RI 02881 (401) 783-2679 -----Original Message----- From: John F. Chandler [mailto:JCHBN@CUVMB.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU] Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2003 5:33 PM To: SWEET-L@rootsweb.com Subject: How DNA studies usually work I've received some questions about the mechanics of running a DNA study. Most of them involve three issues: eligibility, privacy, and cost. 1. Eligibility. Aside from rare cases, it's very simple. Any male whose surname is Sweet (aside from adoptions or whatever), is eligible for the Sweet Y-DNA study. For the initial phase of the study, it is preferable to have Sweets who have traced their lineage back in an unbroken father-to-son line from one of the known founders. In past discussions on SWEET-L, the most commonly mentioned founder has been John Sweet who died soon after arriving in New England and whose family settled in Rhode Island. Others include John Sweet/Swett who settled in Newbury, Mass., and Henry Sweet of Swansea, Mass., who settled in Attleborough. Note: anubody who is VERY closely related (e.g., a brother or father of first cousin) is likely to have exactly the same DNA pattern as you. For the purposes of this study, only one of you is needed. 2. Privacy. This would be at the individual participant's discretion. The only information that would necessarily be revealed to the public would be an arbitrary numeric code for the participant and the actual DNA measurements. These measurements are simply the numbers of repeats of short segments of DNA at specific places on the Y chromosome that have no intrinsic meaning and no genetic function. If you look at the web page for any one of the hundreds of ongoing surname-based DNA studies, you will see a table of such values. They always look like a meaningless string of numbers ranging from about 8 to about 30 (because that is indeed what they are). The meaning comes entirely from comparing the results for one person against the results for another. We can group the results into families according to which ones are identical or nearly so. If two or more members of one particular group identified in this manner have traced their lineages back to the same founder, and if *all* of the tested descendants of that founder turn out to belong to that same group, then we can deduce that the founder had the same pattern as well. There is no need for any personal information about the participants, other than this identification with a remote ancestor. However, I suspect that many of the participants who have *not* traced their lines all the way back will want to be able to compare notes with other participants (if any) who match exactly. We will have to set up procedures to allow such people to get together if they wish. The testing companies can provide some of that matchmaking. Incidentally, this all assumes that there will be a web page devoted to the Sweet DNA study. I would be glad to provide such a page, but I don't have any personal web space that I could use. If anyone wants to volunteer some web space (a few dozen kilobytes should do it), that would be a useful contribution. One of the concerns that many people seem to have is whether an insurance company might somehow gain access to the DNA sample and make unauthorized use of it. I don't think that's possible. For the lab I'm mainly considering, the DNA testing is done without even the name of the participant, just an arbitrary numeric code. There is a front office that handles the bookkeeping, sends out testing kits, and gets back the samples. They then forward the samples with just the identifying numbers to a laboratory in a different state, where the processing is done, and the DNA sample is preserved in case another test is called for. In short, the front office has the names, and the lab has the DNA, so neither one can leak anything meaningful. 3. Cost. The best price I know of from a commercial DNA testing company is $99 (that's a group rate). Obviously, some people might consider this rate a bargain while others might consider it expensive. If anyone here is a molecular biologist and would be willing to do these tests "at cost", I'm sure we could come up with a cheaper rate, but it would involve a lot of work on the part of the volunteer, so I wouldn't count on arranging something like that. One further note: several people have written to me privately, saying they would be interested in participating. If just a few more jump in, we'll have the nucleus of a meaningful study. However, nobody has mentioned specifically being a descendant of John of Newbury or Henry of Attleborough. It is useful to start out with known descendants of different founders, so that something will be learned right at the beginning. John Chandler ==== SWEET Mailing List ==== Visit Daisy's Sweet Home Page! http://www.rootsweb.com/~daisy/sweet.htm