Here’s a quick reminder that
there are just two days remaining in the Family Tree DNA holiday sale. If
you’ve been thinking about ordering a DNA test kit for yourself or someone
in your family, you might want to take advantage of these special
prices, good through midnight CST on December 31, 2013:
Family Finder: $99, including a Restaurant.com voucher worth $100. Family Finder is an autosomal
DNA test, which looks at your genetic makeup “to provide you a breakdown of
your ethnic percentages and connect you with relatives descended from any of
your ancestral lines within approximately the last 5 generations,” according to the company's website. It’s good
for both males and females. The voucher, which can be delivered immediately via
email or shipped with the test kit, brings your net cost down to zero—a great
deal if you like to eat out! (The test price itself will continue to be $99 after January 1.)
Y-DNA 37: $119 (discounted
from $169). Available only for males, Y-DNA tests give results regarding the
ancestral origins of your direct paternal line (father, father’s father,
father’s father’s father, and so on). If you’re a female, you can ask your
father, brother, father’s brother, or male cousin or nephew with your surname to take the
test. Check to see if there’s a surname project you can join (they’re
free) for help with finding genetic cousins.
Full mtDNA: $169
(discounted from $199). Both males and females can use the mtDNA test to reveal
the ancestral origins of their direct maternal line (mother, mother’s mother,
mother’s mother’s mother, and so on) deep into history.
Combination tests are also on sale, as are upgrades if you’ve tested
previously but want to refine your results. If you tested your autosomal DNA
with another company and would like to upload your data to Family Tree DNA, the
cost is now only $49. I did this with my Ancestry.com test results.
Family Tree DNA test kit (from website) |
If you’d like to know more about genetic genealogy, I suggest you follow The Legal Genealogist, written by Judy G. Russell, to keep up with DNA news and other genealogy-related issues. She's summarized recent developments in "2013 Look-Back: DNA." Her blog is a wealth of information, and always an excellent read.
--Shelley