Megan Smolenyak has been very busy the past couple of weeks sharing her research of Michelle Obama's genealogy. Genealogy Insider posted this video of Megan on the CBS Early Show on October 8th.  The YouTube video is described as: "The New York Times traced Michelle Obama's five generation path from slavery to the White House. Harry Smith spoke to Megan Smoleyak the genealogist who uncovered the first lady's family tree."

A much more in-depth video is available from the always interesting RootsTelevision at "Michelle Obama's Roots."

Congratulations Megan, and great work!

Last week my Google alert for "genetic genealogy" went crazy, and it took me a few days to realize that Ancestry Magazine recently made all their archives available for free online.  Although I'm not sure how far back their archives go, there appears to be hundreds of genealogy articles on the site.

A quick search of "DNA" at the site, for instance, reveals MANY articles relating to genetic ancestry testing. This is a great resource for anyone interested in genetic genealogy.

I see that Schelly at Tracing the Tribe had the same Google alerts frenzy last week. As she notes, some of the articles are rather old, so be sure to check the dates before you read them; the information might require some updating!

The first rumblings about DNA and the Book of Mormon came about 10 years ago, according to Perego, a senior researcher at Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation.

Critics cobbled together data from a variety of early DNA studies and came to the unsurprising conclusion that the studies indicated an Asian origin for Native Americans.

This, the critics argued, proved that the Book of Mormon was false. They claimed that the book says the continent was empty and if it was empty, then all Native Americans should have Lehi's Israelite DNA, not Asian DNA.

Ugo Perego, well-known in genetic genealogy circles, talks with the journalist about the compatibility of our current understanding of Native American origins and the Book of Mormon.  According to Perego, there are possibilities solutions to this apparent conundrum:

"Try to ask this question to a population geneticist: 'Is it possible that a small family from Israel could have arrived in America, to a largely populated continent, and that no genetic evidence would survive after 2,600 years?'" Perego says. "Why don't they ask that question? That is exactly the question they need to ask."

Read the article to learn more.

The article is part 1 of a 4-part series.

I must admit that I have always been a bit embarrassed to admit that I cannot prove the origins of my own surname. I have been researching my family tree for more than thirty years and have found most of my ancestors back into the 1700s with quite a few families traced even further back. Yet there has always been one glaring exception: the origins of my EASTMAN ancestors.

So begins this interesting article by Dick Eastman (of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter fame). Dick had researched the brick wall in his paternal line for years without much luck, but recently peered through the brick wall with the help of genetic genealogy.  The answer to his mystery was hiding in every cell of his body.

After learning of Dick's brick wall, Katherine Hope Borges of ISOGG volunteered to start the Eastman DNA Project to help him and others learn more about the surname. Through that project, Dick learned that he is related to "the others who are known descendants of Roger Eastman, the 1638 immigrant." Although the exact line of descent is unclear, he is now able to focus his research to save both time and money.

In addition to Dick's article, Katherine has a write-up of the story at the Southern California Genealogical Society.

I just received word that the genetic ancestry testing company Geogene has gone out of business. From the website:

1 OCTOBER 2008: We are very sorry to announce that, due to ongoing technical issues and increasing competition from National Geographic's similar 'Genographic Project', GeoGene is unable to continue trading. If you are interested in finding out about your genetic ancestry, we recommend you use National Genographic's service instead.

The headline screams "7 Million People Direct Descendants of Smooth-Talking Ancestor" -- see the article here in the Science and Technology section of The Onion. It sounds right up the genetic genealogy alley, doesn't it? Megan, Blaine, Emily - why haven't you written about this guy? Are 7 million descendants not enough?

"This is one of the largest diasporas known to have descended from a single progenitor," said head researcher Lawrence Ghilcrest, adding that DNA evidence now corroborates stories about the Welshman that historians once dismissed as myth. "To have propagated his genetic material so effectively, and across so much territory, we can only infer Gwilym was quite the charmer."

Biomatrica today announced that the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF) will use Biomatrica's SampleMatrix room temperature storage technology to archive its DNA samples.

SMGF will use the SampleMatrix technology in place of ultra-low-temperature freezers for the long-term storage of all newly collected samples. In addition, SMGF will move its collection of previously archived samples from freezers to room temperature storage.

"SMGF has an extremely valuable collection of DNAs, and we have been very concerned about the long-term storage and preservation of the collection," said Scott Woodward, executive director of the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation. "Biomatrica has developed a product that we feel addresses our concerns in a very practical, economical and secure way."