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Archiver > GENEALOGY-DNA > 2007-10 > 1191880406


From:
Subject: Re: [DNA] 60 Minutes Genetic Genealogy Segment
Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2007 17:53:26 EDT



In a message dated 10/8/2007 4:17:32 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
writes:

I wonder if they have multiple matches, like
Family Tree DNA did, if they report multiple matches or if they just report
the "best" match as their tribe.


Based on Kittles responses to questions at the end, I suspect that
AfricanAncestry internally generates a list much like the FTDNA list and then uses the
observed frequencies to predict the "most likely." There is nothing, from a
scientific standpoint, that is "misleading" or "erroneous" about this,
provided the differences are statistically significant. I wonder if FGS might
eliminate some of them :)

I specifically commented to CBS about this aspect of their show, as it was
the part that bothered me the most -- presenting it as if the companies do not
know what they are doing.
My comment to CBS was essentially this: The differing results are no more
mysterious than why I have maternally related cousins all over the US today --
the descendants of the common ancestress have migrated in the hundreds of
years since she lived.


As an aside, my husband, who is not trained in either genetics nor
statistics and only knows a little from listening to me blather on about what I'm
doing, watched the 60 Minutes show with me, and as soon as they got to that part
of showing the different results, he said "OH GEE! ALL those countries are
in the same part of Aftrica, can't they see that?" (Fortunately, he's not
geographically challenged).

Anne



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