OK. I still am not totally sure how that works. I wondered about the mitochondrial DNA since the supposed Native American blood goes through me, my mom, her dad, then his mom. For some reason I got the impression that the mitochondrial stuff might trace back through me, my mom, her mom, etc. down that line. But that doesn't make a lot of sense either, since it would leave out my mom's dad's side. I need to read more about genetics so I understand this stuff better. They had me send 2 samples, I should read the book they sent with my kit more carefully, maybe that would help. Or maybe if someone here has studied that part of genetics they could enlighten me when they have time. I just read an interesting tidbit in the August National Mensa Bulletin. They have a bit from Science Now online, May 24, 2005. "Americas Peopled by One Tribe?" (PLoS biology online) Experts think the American continents were first populated around 14,000 years ago. But who did it? And, how many of them were there? Using DNA samples from modern Native Americans and Asians, a new computer model suggests a founding group as small as 210 people with only 70 breeding individuals. These numbers make many researchers skeptical, because such a small group would have been in danger of extinction. Also, studies based on blood markers suggest a breeding population of 100 to 1,000 individuals in the founding group. Chuck Hards <chuckhards@yahoo.com> wrote: Remember that mitochondrial DNA is passed-on unchanged through the female line- you should be able to get a definitive answer. --- South Jordan Mom wrote:
Hopefully my DNA is not dilluted enough already for those markers to be picked up by this project if they are there at all.
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