Your DNA Guide

When you take a DNA test for genealogy, it’s more than just getting those test results. Your testing company needs to be able to deliver three essential elements: the people, the trees, and the tools—tools that are going to make your family history journey easier. So which DNA test is best for genealogy? It depends. It depends on what you’re hoping to get out of your DNA test. But there’s a framework that will help you make the right choices for your specific family history research goals.

Identifying branch points with your DNA matches can be a useful strategy in your DNA research. Understand what branch points are and how you can use them with your matches. Determining how you are related to the significant number of DNA matches you have on different testing sites can be overwhelming. You may not understand at first how certain matches are related to you, but an often overlooked principle in figuring this out has to do with understanding some simple principles of DNA inheritance.

YDNA and autosomal DNA test results can be used to fill in missing gaps in your genealogy research. Read how Brian used YDNA and autosomal DNA to find his wife’s 3x great-grandparents. Brian’s story of working on his wife Dorothy’s genealogy is a great example of how combining what you learn from YDNA and autosomal DNA testing may be just the thing you need to fill in some missing gaps in your genealogy research.

Mark Davis wasn’t looking in his DNA test results for a new birth grandfather, so he didn’t see one–until he started looking at his results in the way Diahan Southard teaches in Your DNA Guide–the Book. ma”I’ve been involved in genealogy for about 45 years, and I thought I knew my family really, really well,” Mark says. But his confidence–and knowledge–was challenged when he attended one of Diahan’s presentations at RootsTech 2024.

FamilyTreeDNA recently announced the new mtDNA Discover tool and a greatly expanded mtDNA Tree of Humankind. Learn more about these updates and how they can help your genealogy research. Mitochondrial DNA, also known as mtDNA, is the DNA that you inherit from your mother. (You can read more about mtDNA testing for family history here.) FamilyTreeDNA recently released several updates to the mtDNA Tree of Humankind and more reports with mtDNA Discover™.

MyHeritage DNA’s new tool, Ancient Origins, compares your DNA to ancient DNA samples. Keep reading to learn more about the new tool. Learning about your ancient origins is just one of the fascinating things you can do with your DNA. MyHeritage DNA now offers this option with their new tool, Ancient Origins. MyHeritage DNA Ancient Origins Ancient Origins comes from a partnership between MyHeritage and Illustrative DNA, a startup company focused on ancient ethnicity analysis.

The long-awaited MyHeritage Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 update has nearly doubled their reported ethnicities. Learn more about the Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 update and what that means for your DNA results. MyHeritage is kicking 2025 off to a great start for your DNA research with their new ethnicity estimate release! After more than two years of extensive research from the MyHeritage Science Team, they’ve released an update to their Ethnicity Estimate.

DNA crucial to solving a century-old mystery: who was Kris’ great grandfather? “I FOUND HIM!!!!!!!” That’s the subject line for one of my favorite emails from last year.

Family history storytelling is an important yet sometimes neglected skill for genealogists. Read these 3 inspiring tips for telling your stories even more powerfully. Recently I was reading a book about how to tell the story of your business. I was surprised to find myself thinking of you, my dear fellow genealogists. Sure, this is a business book for business people. But really, it is a book for anyone who has a story to tell, and a deep desire to touch others with their story.

Ancestry Pro Tools is Ancestry’s newest subscription option. We’ll highlight each Ancestry Pro Tools feature and how they are useful for genetic genealogists. Ancestry Pro Tools Ancestry.com now offers an upgraded experience for those who are willing to shell out a bit more cash for their monthly membership in a package they call Pro Tools. But do you need Ancestry Pro Tools?