TEL AVIV, Israel & LEHI, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MyHeritage, the leading global destination for family history and DNA testing, announced today a major upgrade of its chromosome browser, making it easier for users to make the most of their DNA matches.
A chromosome browser is a graphical tool that represents a person’s chromosomes. It visualizes DNA segments shared by two people who have matching DNA, that may originate from one or more shared ancestors. By studying those segments and testing the DNA of additional relatives, it is possible to determine who the segments originated from and understand the relationship path between the two people.
In January 2018, MyHeritage launched an initial version of the chromosome browser which showed shared DNA segments between a user and any one of his or her DNA Matches — people who are likely to be relatives because there are significant similarities between their DNA. The upgrade released today enhances the chromosome browser from supporting comparisons of one-to-one, to one-to-many. It is capable of showing shared segments between a user and up to seven DNA Matches concurrently. For each shared DNA segment, the user can review the genomic position of the segment and its size.
The upgraded chromosome browser is available for free, and it is unique in the DNA testing industry in supporting automatic triangulation: showing segments shared between multiple people that all match each other, increasing the likelihood that the group of people are descended from the same ancestor. It also provides download capabilities of shared DNA segment information. In addition, the company announced today a new, convenient ability to download a list of all of a person’s DNA matches.
“DNA testing, family trees and historical records integrate seamlessly on MyHeritage to facilitate exploration of one’s family history, via genetic genealogy,” said Gilad Japhet, MyHeritage Founder and CEO. “We have made it one of our goals to create the best platform in the industry for genetic genealogy. Today’s release is an important step in this direction. By iterating the product frequently and listening closely to our user community, we’re making it easier than ever for our users to find new relatives, which is one of the main benefits of genetic genealogy.”
The new chromosome browser is a free feature, available to all users who have taken the MyHeritage DNA test or have uploaded DNA data from another service to MyHeritage, which is free. Additional tools for genetic genealogy will be released by the company soon.
About MyHeritage
MyHeritage is the leading global destination for family history and DNA testing. As technology thought leaders, MyHeritage has transformed family history into an activity that is accessible and instantly rewarding. Its global user community enjoys access to a massive library of historical records, the most internationally diverse collection of family trees and groundbreaking search and matching technologies. MyHeritage DNA is a technologically advanced, affordable DNA test that reveals ethnic origins and previously unknown relatives. Launched a little more than a year ago, MyHeritage DNA has already amassed more than 1.25 million people in its database. Trusted by millions of families, MyHeritage provides an easy way to find new family members, discover ethnic origins, and to treasure family stories, past and present, for generations to come. MyHeritage is available in 42 languages. www.myheritage.com