BURBANK, Calif. & HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Geni, home of the World Family Tree, announced today the addition of DNA test results into the family tree, and a new product integration with its partner Family Tree DNA. This move will improve the accuracy of the World Family Tree and provide new insights for millions of people interested in their family history.
DNA will enhance the World Family Tree by separating fact from fiction: it will help people confirm family relationships and will highlight situations where the documented genealogy does not match the biological evidence presented by DNA. DNA results will also be used for matching, in order to discover previously unknown relatives. Geni's World Family Tree will then allow users to establish and visualize the precise family tree connection with relatives found by DNA matching.
Users can add three types of DNA tests to Geni’s World Family Tree: Y-DNA (from the Y chromosome, which is passed down from father to son), mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down from a mother to her children), and autosomal DNA (from all ancestors, pertinent for matching within the last five generations). DNA results can be automatically inferred by Geni from relatives across the family tree; by having a small percentage of the Geni users tested, a great deal of information on the World Family Tree can be verified.
The integration with Family Tree DNA is authenticated and secure, allowing one-click transfer of DNA results from Family Tree DNA to Geni, by users who wish to do so. Currently, this is available to users who have tested their own DNA on Family Tree DNA, and who have a profile on Geni. Only marker data of Y-DNA and mtDNA tests is transferred. There is no manual entry of DNA information, preventing human error.
In addition, Geni has used public online information from Ysearch and Mitosearch — public services operated by Family Tree DNA, for uploading and comparing Y-DNA and mtDNA submitted voluntarily by test takers from various services. Geni has loaded this public data, and its team of curators has merged the data into the World Family Tree. As a result, Geni celebrates its DNA launch with DNA data points on more than 228,000 people, making it the most DNA-rich collaborative family tree in the world, from day one.
Access to all DNA features on Geni is free. Users’ privacy is strictly maintained, and DNA raw data or marker information is never displayed on Geni. Additional settings allow users to control every aspect of the way Geni handles their DNA information.
Users who have not had their DNA tested, or want to take a higher resolution DNA test, can purchase discounted DNA tests powered by Family Tree DNA, on Geni’s DNA Tests page.
“This partnership and integration greatly increases the value of DNA for genealogy,” said Family Tree DNA founder and CEO, Bennett Greenspan. “It’s great to work with Geni and its parent company MyHeritage. DNA and family trees complement each other and come together perfectly on the World Family Tree.”
Mike Stangel, General Manager of Geni, said: “Adding DNA to the World Family Tree increases its accuracy and strengthens its position as the de facto resource that shows how everyone is related to everyone else. We are very happy to take our partnership with Family Tree DNA to the next level. Stay tuned for more great DNA features coming up soon on Geni.”
Information on linking Geni accounts to Family Tree DNA and uploading DNA results to Geni is available here: http://www.geni.com/dna-tests/faq.
About Geni
Geni.com is the leader in collaborative family history. As home of the World Family Tree, with more than 100 million profiles, Geni is creating the largest and highest quality single family tree of the world. Millions of users collaborate to improve the tree daily, in a Wikipedia-like model, aided by a team of 200 volunteer curators. Geni is owned and operated by MyHeritage and is based in Burbank, California. Visit www.geni.com.
About Family Tree DNA
Founded in 2000, Family Tree DNA is the genetic genealogy division of Gene by Gene, Ltd. Family Tree DNA pioneered the use of DNA testing for genealogy and has the most comprehensive array of DNA tests in the field, including Y-Chromosome, Mitochondrial DNA and Autosomal DNA. All tests are processed in its own state-of-the-art laboratory headquartered in Houston, Texas, and are available at www.FamilyTreeDNA.com. For more information, please contact media@familytreedna.com.
