Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation's Free DNA-Ancestry Database Tops 4
Million Records
World's Most Extensive Archive of Linked Genetic and Genealogy Data Now
Offers Family History Researchers Maternal and Paternal Line Searches from a
Database of More Than 4 Million Total Ancestors from 107 Countries. Scope of
Database is Resulting in Remarkable Personal Genealogy Success Stories, such
as African-American Woman in Los Angeles Who Found Exact DNA Match to Kin in
Villages of Mali, Africa.
http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2007/4/emw517899.htm
SALT LAKE CITY (BusinessWire EON) April 10, 2007 -- Sorenson Molecular
Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), a research organization with the world's most
comprehensive database linking human genetic and genealogical information,
today announced its collection has now exceeded 4 million records of
DNA-family history data.
* free SMGF database is unique in that it can link an individual's
genetic profile to specific ancestors by name going back six to eight
generations or further. The non-profit foundation was established by biotech
billionaire James LeVoy Sorenson to foster goodwill and fellowship among
humankind by showing scientifically how closely related each person is to
every other.
* foundation uses the relatively new science of molecular genealogy to
establish connections among individuals and families back through time by
using information encoded in DNA. This genetic tool is transforming the
popular hobby of family history research because it is like a global
positioning system fix, establishing ancestry and relationships via
genetic-genealogy databases.
* visitor to the SMGF Web site (http://www.smgf.org) can enter the
numerical values from their own DNA profile and search for likely forebears
on a database of more than 4 million total ancestors representing linked DNA
samples and pedigree charts from 107 countries, or more than half of the
nations of the world. A DNA profile is obtained through a readily available
cheek-swab genetic test offered by many laboratories and genealogy services.
* Sept. 2006, SMGF added an mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) search feature to
the database permitting maternal line research in addition to its existing
Y-chromosome paternal line search capability. "This was impossible just a
few years ago, and it is a huge step forward," said Dr. Scott Woodward, who
is executive director of the foundation and one of the world's leading
researchers in molecular genealogy. "Mitochondrial DNA is a powerful tool
for tracing maternal ancestry for both men and women because it is inherited
exclusively by children from their mothers." The mtDNA search feature also
means that women can research their ancestry on the database directly using
their own genetic test results rather than having to use a male relative's
Y-chromosome DNA profile.
* foundation's database is multi-cultural and multi-racial and
collaborates with many universities around the world. In 2006 the foundation
went to Iraq, India, Thailand, Mongolia as well as South America to collect
DNA samples and their corresponding pedigree charts. One result is that
genealogy projects of people whose ancestry is difficult to trace--like
Americans descended from enslaved Africans imported to the U.S.--are making
family connections by querying the database.
* example, Myrna Hill of Los Angeles, Calif., compared her mtDNA profile
to those on the foundation database and found exact matches to people in
villages of Mali, Africa. "I started researching my family history five
years ago," said Hill. "My mother's side was mysterious because she had been
orphaned at age 6 and she and her siblings had died, so facts were difficult
to find."
* Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation database helped Hill leap that
barrier. "I found two exact matches on the mtDNA database from Mali and most
of my other matches are from Mali, as well," she said. "And since
discovering my Mali family connection, my reaction to news about Malians is
more personal. I recently read about a fire in a New York apartment that
killed several Malian immigrant children, and I thought 'Those were our
children!' Now I research villages associated with my African ancestors and
I wonder if there is some way I can help them personally."
* foundation Web site includes three new interactive world maps for an
overview of the database. On Y-chromosome and mtDNA world distribution maps,
a visitor can choose a year and then click on a specific country to reveal
how many paternal or maternal ancestry lines in the database correspond to
that particular time and place. In addition, a sample-collection world map
shows the number of samples obtained in each country by clicking on a map
location.
Participation in the foundation's mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome DNA
databases is free, convenient and private. Simply request a kit on the SMGF
website and then submit a DNA sample and an accompanying four-generation
pedigree chart. Any individual can query the SMGF database for
genetic-genealogy information for free by obtaining their DNA profile from a
commercial genomics laboratory and entering the results into the Web site's
database search menu.
About Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation
Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation is a non-profit research
organization with the mission: To collect DNA samples within a genealogical
context for creating the world's most comprehensive correlated genetic and
genealogical database. To provide the funding necessary to construct genetic
tools from the information contained within the database for the purpose of
family history research. And, to maintain the integrity of the database
content to ensure it is used for purposes that will promote peace,
compassion and fellowship among humankind. Visit http://www.smgf.org.