DNA Happenings - SWOHDNA Update

 

It's been nearly a year since we were able to meet in person, and what a year it has been. Some of you may be aware that I have been largely "out of the picture" for the past six months due to significant health issues, including major surgery for breast cancer. I am doing MUCH better now and I'm ready to get back to my passion. For those of you who are interested in the "nitty-gritty" of my venture into the world of health care, I've included a couple of links at the end of this post. Please feel free to ignore.

Kelli Bergheimer

HCGS member and frequent speaker for our DNA Interest Group, Kelli Bergheimer, has a virtual DNA group. She has asked me to share information on how to participate in this group and access programs for February and March. I've copied her email below.

Email: In Feb and March, I'm working with my virtual DNA group on building lists of inferred matches. Blaine Bettinger and Jonny Perl (DNAPainter) have done some speaking and writing on this over the last 6 months or so. 

Blaine Bettinger did a great webinar on Advanced DNA Techniques: Deductive Chromosome Mapping.

https://familytreewebinars.com/download.php?webinar_id=1233

Jonny Perl (DNA Painter creator) wrote a great blog post about the basics of inferred matching.

More tips for inferred chromosome mapping | DNA Painter Blog

Over the weekend I'm going to send out some instructions and prep work for the group. If you want to ask anyone on your list if they want to come, it's free.

I have figured out a way to take my MyHeritage clusters with my siblings and build one spreadsheet of clusters that my sibs and I share. We will do a similar process with Ancestry Shared matches, FTDNA In Common With, and 23andMe match lists. 

2021 Meetings: Sundays from 5-7 pm EST on Zoom

Feb 21- Monopolizing on Inferred Matches- Part 1 [building your chart]

Mar 21- Monopolizing on Inferred Matches- Part 2 [customizing and teasing out clusters]

If your group members would like to be added to the list, they can email me! 

Kelli's email address is: kbergheimer@gmail.com

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Upcoming Talk:

I have been asked to give a talk to the San Diego German Interest Group on March 17th from 4:00 - 6:00 EST. The topic is: "Making German Connections Using Y-DNA." The first half of the talk will discuss an overview of the main DNA companies and the tools that may be used to make connections with other Germans in their database. The second half will be a discussion of how Y-DNA may be a better choice than autosomal. There will also be a discussion of why many Germans are reluctant to test. This part is based on emails from Germans who wanted to help me with this.

This is going to be a Zoom webinar. I will be sending out details in March as to how to register and participate. They have graciously agreed to allow our members to join. It will be very interactive. So take out your calendar and save a spot for all things German on the day we celebrate all things Irish. (The irony has not been lost on me).

As my health continues to improve, I hope to make other opportunities available to this group. So stay tuned. 

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So for the curious, I'm including links to my family blog where I have been recording my health care adventure since last April. I find it therapeutic to write about it and wanted to have a record of my experience in "real time" for my family. The two links below discuss my recent adventure with pulmonary embolisms followed up three weeks later with congestive heart failure. Know that I have some fantastic doctors and I am definitely on the road to recovery.

A Curve Ball - November 20th to December 28th

What Else Could Happen? - December 29th to January 20th

Submitted by: Kathy Reed

Email: dna.interest@hcgsohio.org

Reliability, Ethics and Privacy in the DNA Age with Kelli Bergheimer

What: Meeting of the Southwest Ohio DNA Interest Group (SWOHDNA)
Where:  West Chester Mid-Pointe Library
Who: Guest Speaker - Kelli Bergheimer
When: Tuesday, October 8th
Time: 7:00 - 8:45 pm

Directions: https://www.midpointelibrary.org/page/westchester

At this next meeting, Kelli Bergheimer will lead us in a discussion about some of the timely issues facing genetic genealogists. Topics discussed will include the reliability of DNA testing, ethics and privacy concerns. We will learn about the laws and terms of service that apply to this ever-changing field. Catch up on the DNA cases making the news.

In addition, Kathy Reed will discuss a proposed study that she plans to use as the basis of lectures for  the PALAM Conference – Palatines to America National Conference (June 17-20, 2020) https://www.palam.org/ and possibly the IGGP – International German Genealogy Partnership Conference (July 16-18, 2021) https://iggpartner.org/index.php. The focus of these talks will be on making DNA connections between Americans of German descent and their German ancestors. Find out how you can play a role. Don't have German ancestors? No problem. The techniques used will be applicable to any family study regardless of ethnicity.

We hope to see you at what promises to be a very interesting meeting. This meeting is especially appropriate for those new to DNA testing.

Submitted by Kathy Reed
dna.interest@hcgsohio.org

New Video Released on Using the Lazarus Project To Break Down Brick Walls

On August 13th, Kelli Bergheimer did a presentation for the Southwest Ohio DNA Interest Group.
As a group, we frequently discuss some of the tools that are part of Gedmatch.com. Although many of the tools are free, other tools are available with a Tier 1 membership at a cost of $10.00 per month.

One such tool is called the "Lazarus" tool. This tool allows you to use the DNA of relatives of a given ancestor, such as a grandparent, to construct a kit for that untested person. Kelli explains how this can be a "work in progress" until 1500 cM of DNA have been collected. This new kit can then be used to find additional matches within the Gedmatch database. It is a fascinating tool, and Kelli discussed several techniques for identifying potential matches that can be used in creating a new kit.

The video presentation is now available on the this link, on the HCGS site, or on YouTube. Be sure to check it out.

Submitted by Kathy Reed
dna.interest@hcgsohio.org

Understanding Your DNA Health Reports

In December 2018, Kelli Bergheimer of the Central Ohio DIG, once again agreed to share her expertise with her southwest Ohio brethren. It seems like more and more of the DNA companies we have used to explore our ethnicity and to identify "cousins" have begun to offer a health component.

Before you take the plunge into this fledgling field, it is important that you educate yourself about what you can and cannot expect from health reports. Are they reliable? Do they take the place of what you might expect to get from a medical professional?

Kelli did a wonderful job of spelling out the pros and cons. You can access this video through the Hamilton County Genealogical Society website or by clicking on this link: https://vimeo.com/313559534 You can also view it on the HCGS YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/MrP22390wiQ.



Submitted by Kathy Reed
Southwest Ohio DNA Interest Group
dna.interest@hcgsohio.org

Kelli Bergheimer - Understanding Your DNA Health Reports

Who: Kelli Bergheimer, Central Ohio DIG
What: Understanding Your DNA Health Reports
Where: MidPointe Library West Chester
When: Tuesday, December 11th, 2018
Time: 7:00 - 8:45 pm
Directions: MidPointe Library West Chester




Kelli Bergheimer, Chair of the Central Ohio DIG,  has agreed to return to the Cincinnati area to discuss how to interpret your health reports from 23andMe and/or Promethease. Learn that it's a "tendency toward" not a "diagnosis of" possible conditions. Find out what the Human Genome Project has discovered about specific genetically linked traits and diseases. What can the tests tell you and what can they not tell you. Discover how to talk to your doctor about the results. Kelli presented this topic at the Ohio Genealogical Society Conference in May 2018.

Kelli's Bio:

Kelli Bergheimer is a writer, teacher, editor, and national genealogical speaker. Kelli holds a Bachelor’s in Biology, a Master’s in Education: Curriculum and Instruction, and a Master’s in Business Management. Kelli is a math and science supervising editor for Smart Education—a K-12 textbook company located in Dubai writing textbooks for the MENA region—Middle East Northern Africa. Kelli runs two small businesses—Geo-Centric Learning and Mess on the Desk, a genealogical organization company with an accompanying blog, YouTube channel, and online store. Kelli is the Central Ohio DNA Interest Group facilitator. Kelli is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, International Society of Genetic Genealogists, and the Genealogical Speaker's Guild.

Submitted by: Kathy Reed
SWOHDNA Chair
dna.interest@hcgsohio.org

Southwest Ohio DNA Interest Group Updates

At the last meeting of SWOHDNA in December 2017, Kelli Bergheimer of the Central Ohio DNA Interest Group, returned to discuss "Using Tools to Organize Your DNA Results." It has now been recorded and uploaded to our website. Kelli also created a document to accompany this presentation that describes step-by-step how to create an excel spreadsheet that can be used in conjunction with the presentation.

Our next meeting is scheduled for April 10th, 7:00 pm at the MidPointe Library. Information about the library, located just off I-75 in West Chester, can be found at this link. At this meeting, we will discuss the program DNAGedcom. If you are on the mailing list for The Southwest Ohio DNA Interest Group, you will receive additional information in advance of the meeting. If you want to be added to the mailing list, email your name and email address to Kathy Reed, Program Director, at programs@hcgsohio.org.

Submitted by
Kathy Reed
SWOHDNA

Understanding X-Inheritance Patterns - SWOHDNA - October 10th, 7:00 PM - MidPointe Library

Kelli Bergheimer

Do you know that x-chromosomes have different inheritance patterns than other DNA? Learn about the differences in x-chromosome inheritance in men and women. We will learn about DNA recombination. We will talk about using fan charts to narrow down which ancestor may or may not have contributed to your x-DNA. Then we will talk about how to use this information within GedMatch to find our largest segment matches on the x-chromosome and how to organize the results using spreadsheets.

Bio:

Kelli Bergheimer is a writer, teacher, and editor. Kelli holds a Bachelor’s in Biology, a Master’s in Education: Curriculum and Instruction, and a Master’s in Business Management. Kelli is a math and science editor for Smart Education—a K-12 textbook company located in Dubai writing textbooks for the MENA region—Middle East Northern Africa. Kelli runs two small businesses—Geo-Centric Learning and Mess on the Desk, a genealogical organization company with an accompanying blog, YouTube channel, and online store. Kelli is the Central Ohio DNA Interest Group facilitator. Kelli is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and the Genealogical Speaker's Guild.

Want to be better prepared?

Read Chapter 7 from Blaine Bettinger's book The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy pp. 123-136. The chapter is entitled "X-Chomosomal (X-DNA) Testing. You can also go to http://GedTree.com and create an X-inheritance chart for both females and males. Basic charts are free of charge.

Submitted by: Kathy Reed
Co-Chair, Southwest Ohio DNA Interest Group