Conference "DNA as a Tool for Genealogy"

Pablo Blanco Traverso, of DNA and genealogy, gave a conference this Wednesday, November 12th, at the Ateneo of Santander, Spain, organized by ASCAGEN, the Cantabrian genealogy association.

The talk began with an introduction to Pablo's curriculum vitae by Eduardo Zúñiga Pérez del Molino, president of ASCAGEN, who highlighted his professional experience as a computer engineer from the University of Chile, working for multinational companies such as IBM and Unisys, and as a genealogist, being a member of multiple organizations and giving numerous talks in Latin America and Spain.

Pablo then presented for an hour the main aspects of using DNA in genealogy, covering the following topics:

• What is a DNA test and which companies offer them: MyHeritage, 23andMe, FamilyTreeDNA, Ancestry

  
  

• X and Y sex chromosome tests, what information they provide, and what haplogroups are. The migration routes of different haplogroups and which is most common in different areas of Europe.

  
  

• Autosomal test:

  • Analysis of ethnic composition: how the data is obtained, how the information is constructed, and how results may vary among different DNA testing companies.

  • Family matching: what percentage of DNA matches exist for different degrees of kinship (father, brother, cousin, nephew, etc.).

    
    

• Description of some innovative genetic analysis tools:

  • 23andMe Timeline to determine the approximate date of the last ancestor of a specific ethnicity.

  • MyHeritage automatic family groupings to understand which of our relatives are also related to each other.

  • FamilyTreeDNA X-match to identify the line of kinship with a person who shares the X chromosome.

  • MyHeritage DNA triangulation: Allows confirmation that several people descend from the same ancestor (or not).

  
  

• An explanation of how DNA testing helps people adopted irregularly find their relatives, a project carried out in collaboration with the Chilean NGO Nos Busquemos.

To conclude, a question-and-answer session was held with the audience, who showed great interest and asked many questions, creating a participatory and interactive environment.

At ADN y Genealogía, we help people build their family history using all available tools and the latest technology. Contact us here.