What does a beekeeping Monk gardener who lived over a hundred years ago have to do with family history research? If you consider that this particular German monk who grew up on a farm, had a keen mind for science and was later called “the father of modern genetics”, then you might understand.
You most likely already understand how important family history and genealogy is for researching about royal bloodlines (and determining who the next heir to the throne might be). But how do you deal with other claims to the throne (in other words – what about illegitimate children)?
The solution to this problem is found in genealogy tests. From Gregor Mendel’s discovery of genetics (you’ve guessed it – he was the beekeeping German monk gardener) in the 1800′s, scientists grew their understanding of heredity and created a type of heredity test – a blood test. By the 1950′s the science was accurate enough for court cases.
But there was one major problem: it couldn’t determine who the father of a child was – only who it was not! Using the science of heredity the blood test could accurately tell you if someone had any probability of being a father of a child. If the blood test came back negative, then there was no way that the child could be fathered by the man being tested.
The science of heredity has advanced beyond the blood test today. DNA testing has taken genetics and heredity to a greater level of understanding – and accuracy (not to mention its faster and cheaper too!). Because of this, genealogy testing has increasingly become more popular within the last few years.
A Simple Understanding of DNA Testing
DNA is the master blueprint of our bodies. Like a genetic fingerprint, DNA distinguishes each of us from the rest of the people of the world – no one shares the same DNA! Though they have very similar DNA structure, even twins do not share the exact same DNA. Because DNA is passed virtually unchanged from one generation to the next generation, genealogy testing is extremely accurate in determining relationships of family members.
If you want to know about your family origins and ethnic background, then genealogy testing will help be a great help to you. However, keep in mind that genealogy tests cannot instantly give you a complete family tree. But the benefits of genealogy testing can be many. One benefit is to learn whether someone has a certain type of ethnicity. Another benefit would be to find out if two individuals are related to each other. There are many other benefits to genealogy testing as well.
Three Types of DNA Tests
There are 3 types of DNA testing: Y-chromosome DNA (yDNA), Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Autosomal DNA (atDNA). Y-DNA testing is mostly used for tracing the direct paternal line of an individual. mtDNA testing is helpful for tracing an individual’s direct maternal line. The atDNA are responsible for making us different from the rest of the human population, it determines our character and appearance.
DNA test are not as costly as they used to be. You can purchase a home DNA test kit for between $100 and $400 online. Basically, you take a cheek culture (swab your cheek inside your mouth), then send the samples in to a lab through the mail. In about a month, you get the results back to you.
DNA Tests Do Not Replace Family Tree Research
Remember, genealogy and DNA tests can not replace “normal” family tree research. They are simply tools to aid you in determining family relationships.