Jumping Into the DNA Gene Pool

This morning began as usual with a cup of coffee and a quick look at my Facebook news feed. A posting from 23andMe.com caught my eye. This company that offers DNA testing was having a major mark-down sale from its usual $499 to $99. That's a Black Friday sale I can live with, so I reposted the message on Facebook. Facebook friend Carole Riley shared the same link and asked if it was worthwhile.

Later this afternoon (in U.S. time), Carole and I found ourselves in a rapid-fire discussion on Facebook with Joan Miller about DNA testing for genealogy. Joan is clearly an expert on the topic as she was going through the DNA testing lingo and leaving me with a quizzical look on my face wondering, "what on earth is she talking about?" Before we knew it, Carole and I were both signing up at 23andMe to get our DNA testing kit. I'm always willing to try anything new and this could definitely be an adventure. As I mentioned to Carole and Joan, at least I should get a few blog posts out of this! We decided we three would embark on this adventure together.

Joan and Carole jumped right in. Carole posted on Carole's Canvas about 23andMe's sale and costs. Joan also wrote about her DNA Testing Buddies on her Luxegen Genealogy and Family History blog. I've added a blog roll to the right hand column of this blog titled DNA for Genealogy, where Joan and Carole's posts will appear, along with other blog posts relevant to the topic. Or you can bookmark this RSS feed if you want to follow along.

This is a subject I know absolutely nothing about, so I guess that means I have a lot to learn.

Here are few starting points:

The Spittoon - the blog from 23andMe

The International Society of Genetic Genealogy

Wikipedia - Genetic Genealogy

If you've already taken the DNA plunge, I'd love to hear about your experiences. Please post comments and suggestions below.