This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/HBRBAIB/1195 Message Board Post: It is now possible to take a simple, painless DNA test to determine whether two people are related. In particular, a test of the so-called junk DNA on the Y-chromosome (which exists in males and passes from father to son in the same way as the traditional inheritance of surnames) can determine whether two males with the same surname actually descend from the same male progenitor. I have started a project to test male Sweets (or other males with similar names, such as Swett, Sweat, and probably other variants that I haven't run into). The goal is to learn whether any or all of the several distinct Sweet lines in the US can be traced genetically to a single family, or whether there are multiple, genetically different lines. If there are many, then it should be a simple matter to test a Sweet whose ancestry is uncertain by conventional genealogy and discover which line is the correct one for that person. Before that goal is reached, however, it will be necessary to focus on testing Sweets with known ancestry to serve for comparisons. Anyone interested in participating should write to me: jchbn@cuvmb.columbia.edu John Chandler