DNA For Dummies

Peter Calver of Lost Cousins has written a very interesting article explaining a bit about DNA and what the benefits of DNA testing are.

Millions of DNA tests have been sold to people who know nothing about genealogy, yet the vast majority of seasoned family historians have yet to test themselves, let alone their cousins.

Long before civil registration began, long before parish registers were kept, even before humans could write, our ancestors were keeping genealogical records They didn’t know it, but in their DNA they carried remnants of their own ancestors’ DNA, just as their descendants would, in turn, inherit theirs. And yet, ignorant as they were by today’s standards, all parents knew instinctively that their children would inherit some of their own characteristics – they just didn’t know how it worked.

The thing is, we don’t necessarily need to understand how DNA works for it to be useful.

The entire article can be read at  https://www.lostcousins.com/newsletters2/xtrafeb18news.htm#Dummies