Let’s Face It, We’re All Related

As an amateur genealogist, I have an interest in DNA. My family and I have all taken DNA tests. The results are interesting, to say the least. Along with the six of us (hubby, our four sons, and I) my sister and our first cousins on Mama’s side, who are the twin daughters of Mama’s identical twin sister, have taken the Ancestry DNA test.

SIMPLE EXPLANATIONS OF cM AND SEGMENTS

DNA for comparison purposes is measured in centiMorgans, or cM.  In plain terms, cM are a unit of genetic measurement. They describe how much DNA you share with your relatives. It gets complicated from this basic definition and goes back all the way to meiosis. I promise not to give biology lessons here. Google it if you’re that curious or you don’t remember.

Chromosomes are the string-like threads, or strands, inside the nucleus of each cell. They carry our DNA. In doing DNA testing, we use the number of segments of a DNA strand to determine our genetic closeness. Again, it just gets too complicated to explain here. On Ancestry and other genealogy sites, one’s relationship to DNA matches is explained by cM and segments.

HOPEFULLY, A HELPFUL CHART

Here is a bit of an example:

My late sister and I share 55% common DNA. We’re full sisters. We share 2,697 cM across 51 segments. One gets half their DNA from each of their parents just as Sissy and I did.

I have four sons, and we share respectively:

3,458 cM across 25 segments with son number 2.

3,458 cM across 25 segments with son number 4.

3,457 cM across 28 segments with son number 1.

3,440 cM across 29 segments with son number 3.

Each of these sons got 50% of their DNA from me and 50% from my husband, their father.

Now, here’s a weird thing. See that sons 2 and 4 have the exact number of cM and segments shared? Their DNA looks totally different! If you’d like to see a chart of our shared DNA from Ancestry, email me and I’ll share that with you. I know. It doesn’t make sense to me either, but I know things about DNA that I won’t share here. It’s just too complicated. Again, if you’re interested, PM me and maybe we can talk one day. A lot easier than emails and texts.

If you recall from above, my mother had an identical twin sister. That sister had fraternal twin girls. Their Ancestry test shocked all of us.

Here are those results:

Twin 1 and I share 1,773 cM across 45 segments with 25% shared DNA.

Twin 2 and I share 1,753 cM across 49 segments with 25% shared DNA.

Even Ancestry refuses to allow us to call ourselves anything besides half-sisters! Genetically, we are, but not in the way one always says one is a half-sister. My mother is not their mother. Mama’s identical twin is their mother.

Notice that I share many more segments with my full sister and the twins than with my own sons. I can’t explain this as I’m no scientist. But I share many more cM with my sons. Believe me. I’m off to learn about that.

NOW, THE BIBLICAL POV

If I haven’t lost you yet, I’m leading to this. I love learning about all this. It fascinates me. But from a Biblical point of view, I’ve said since the beginning of my genealogy hunts that there is not one person on the face of this earth who is not related to me in some way. We all come from Adam and Eve. Then from Noah and his sons after the Great Flood.

I’m going to go ahead and say this. There is but one race on this earth—the human race. But we come in a variety of colors. We are all cousins of varying degrees. If we could wrap our heads around that, we may have a more peaceful world in which to live.

THE CREATION MUSEUM AND THE ARK ENCOUNTER

One of the most amazing trips my husband and I ever took was to The Creation Museum and The Ark Encounter. If you’ve not been, by all means, try to do so one day. It is a mind-boggling experience and so much fun!

Ken Ham who is behind The Ark Encounter has a webcast called Answers In Genesis. Within this, he has a series of webcasts called A New History of the Human Race. I watched two episodes recently and found them fascinating. They aren’t bogged down in a lot of science like this post. They are far more entertaining. I just wanted to show you some basic science behind what you will learn. There are 25 episodes of this series and as many Q&A sessions. I think you will find them informative and interesting, but especially so if you’re into genealogy and DNA. It explains so much!

Go to YouTube and search for the title above. I do hope you have fun learning.

Blessings, y’all!

In case you’re wondering, yes, tears in my eyes. I’ve sung this sooo many times. Back in the day, I could do the high notes like Kathleen on the right. These days, I’d sound much more like Jessye because those high notes are a thing of the past. But oh, my! This gives me chills every time. I love listening to this almost as much as singing it. I do pray it is a blessing to y’all. This entire concert is available on YouTube, and it is FABulous!