Here is the final version of the newsletter article. It will also include a simplified drawing of a cell showing the nucleus and mitochondria. Thanks for your suggestions. Want Your DNA Tested? Now’s Your Chance The Sorenson Project The Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), is a non-profit organization committed to developing the world's foremost database of correlated genetic and genealogical information, and making this information freely available to the public. To build this database, SMGF needs many thousands of volunteers from all over the world. Participation is free. To participate you will need to completely document 4 generations from you through your 8 great-grandparents. (Contact Patricia Straube if you need help with this). People who participate donate a small DNA sample taken through GenetiRinse (mouthwash). SMGF conforms to strict security standards to maintain the privacy of the donors and their genetic profiles. Due to privacy issues, samples are analyzed for database construction purposes only and individual results are not given back to participants. To order a kit go to The Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), website: http://smgf.org/ Orin Wells, president of the Wells Family Research Association , would like to see as many of our family members as possible participate in the Sorenson testing, both men and women. He says we can obtain the results once they are posted to the Sorenson DNA search database after 6 to 9 months. If you have any questions, feel free to ask Orin at OrinWells@wells.org. The WFRA Wells DNA project is where our members have participated and which helped us to identify our earliest Wells ancestor, Thomas Wells b: 1653 of Prince George's County, Maryland. What about the Ladies? There are two kinds of DNA that are found in a cell: nuclear and mitochondrial. Nuclear DNA is found within the nucleus of the cell and is recombined from the mother and father. The DNA from the Y chromosome, passed from father to son, without combining with the mother’s DNA, was used in the Wells DNA Project and is also found in the nucleus. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is contained in the mitochondria of the cell. The mitochondria are organelles located outside the nucleus in the cytoplasm. They are responsible for energy transfer and are basically the "powerhouses" of the cells. This form of DNA is in short strands and therefore does not mutate or change form very quickly. It is relatively stable and can be compared across several generations. Mitochondrial DNA is only passed along from mother to child. Both males and females receive mtDNA from their mothers, but only females can pass it along to the next generation. Fortunately, our Aaron Wells Family database can find many living members of our family, both male and female, with a direct maternal line to our ancestor, Ruth Wiggins. Therefore, it’s possible to find the signature DNA marker for the female half of our ancestral couple. The Genographic Project Perhaps you watched The Journey of Man hosted by geneticist Spencer Wells [no relation] on your local PBS station. Now The National Geographic Society, IBM, Dr. Wells and the Waitt Family Foundation have launched the Genographic Project, a five-year effort to understand the human journey—where we came from and how we got to where we live today. https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/index.html When DNA is passed from one generation to the next, most of it is recombined by the processes that give each of us our individuality. But the Y chromosome remain largely intact through the generations, altered only occasionally by mutations which become "genetic markers." which place a person in a "haplogroup"—a lineage or branch on the human family tree. These markers point to a specific time and place where the mutation occurred and can map subsequent migrations. While none of Aaron Wells’ descendants has purchased a test kit for this project ($99.95), one of the matches in the Wells DNA Project has. Raymond Wells is a descendant of John Boyd Wells, born about 1765, probably in Maryland or Pennsylvania. The results were surprising. Raymond belongs to Haplogroup G, which occurs in only 1% to 3% of men in the British Isles. It is thought to have originated in the Indus River Valley in what is now northern India about 10,000 to 20,000 years ago. It is considered to have spread into Europe with the coming of agriculture. The incidence of Haplogroup G spreads out in a gradient pattern from southeast Europe, especially along the Mediterranean coast. In the Caucasus, the region between the Caspian and Black Seas, members of G make up as much as 30% of the population. They are 14% on the island of Sardinia, 10% in north central Italy, 8% in northern Spain and almost 7% in Turkey. Part of the mission of the Genographic Project is to find out more about these rare groups.