I have been working to update and merge my online DNA bibliography and the bibliography I provide to students attending the DNA courses at institutes, but it is still a work in progress. The following list is far from comprehensive, but lists some selected resources that provide useful information.
I tried to find public links for all of these, but some may require you to login to the website to access the papers. All URLs were accessed 10 October 2017.
Any Topic Related to Genetic Genealogy
Whenever I want to learn more about any topic related to genetic genealogy, I check the following sources first. These are all currently active and written by experienced genetic genealogists who also have scientific or engineering backgrounds.
- ISOGG Wiki (https://isogg.org/wiki/).
- Blaine T. Bettinger, The Genetic Genealogist (http://www.thegeneticgenealogist.com/).
- Leah Larkin, The DNA Geek (http://thednageek.com/).
- Roberta Estes, DNAeXplained - Genetic Genealogy (http://dna-explained.com/).
Probability and Statistics
- An easy-to-understand introduction to Bayes Theorem and probability:
Dan Morris, Bayes' Theorem Examples: A Visual Introduction For Beginners, Independently published, 2016 (https://www.amazon.com/Bayes-Theorem-Examples-Introduction-Beginners/dp/1549761749/).
- I have not read this book yet, but the Nutshell books have been my go-to source for over thiry years for anything to do with computers and math:
Sarah Boslaugh, Statistics in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference 2nd ed. (Sebastopol, California: O'Reilly Media, 2012; https://www.amazon.com/Statistics-Nutshell-Desktop-Quick-Reference-ebook/dp/B00A8SNELG/)
Biology and Genetics
Newer editions of these are available. I wanted it for the basics of biology and genetics so this older version covered everything I needed and was more economical.
- Robert J. Brooker, Genetics: Analysis & Principles 4th ed. (New York: McGraw Hill, 2012; https://www.amazon.com/Robert-J-Brooker-Genetics-Principles/dp/B008UBBDDY/)
- Robert J. Brooker and Johnny El-Rady, Student Study Guide / Solutions Manual to accompany Genetics: Analysis & Principles 4th ed. (New York: McGraw Hill, 2012; not available on Amazon when I checked recently).
23andMe
- Eric Y. Durand, et al., "Ancestry Composition: A Novel, Efficient Pipeline for Ancestry Deconvolution," White Paper 23-16, 23andMe (https://permalinks.23andme.com/pdf/23-16_ancestry_composition.pdf).
- "Ancestry Composition: 23andMe's State-of-the-Art Geographic Ancestry Analysis," 23andMe
(https://www.23andme.com/en-int/ancestry_composition_guide/).
- C. B. Do, et al., "A scalable pipeline for local ancestry inference using thousands of reference individuals," 23andMe, Poster (http://blog.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/20121027_ancestry_painting_methods_poster.pdf).
- "Relatives In Common Tool," 23andMe, Customer care (https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/221689668-Relatives-In-Common-Tool).
AncestryDNA
- Catherine A. Ball, et al., "Ethnicity Estimate White Paper," AncestryDNA (https://www.ancestry.com/dna/resource/whitePaper/AncestryDNA-Ethnicity-White-Paper).
- Catherine A. Ball, et al., "AncestryDNA Matching White Paper," AncestryDNA (https://www.ancestry.com/dna/resource/whitePaper/AncestryDNA-Matching-White-Paper).
- Anna Swayne, "Behind The New AncestryDNA Feature: Amount of Shared DNA," AncestryDNA (http://blogs.ancestry.com/techroots/behind-the-new-ancestrydna-feature-amount-of-shared-dna/).
- Anna Swayne, "DNA Matching Just Got Better," AncestryDNA (http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2014/11/19/dna-matching-just-got-better/).
- Catherine A. Ball, et al., "Genetic Communities™ White Paper: Predicting fine-scale ancestral origins from the genetic sharing patterns among millions of individuals," AncestryDNA (http://www.ancestry.com/cs/dna-help/communities/whitepaper).
- Catherine A. Ball, et al., "DNA Circles White Paper," AncestryDNA (https://www.ancestry.com/dna/resource/whitePaper/AncestryDNA-DNA-Circles-White-Paper).
- Julie Granka, "The Science Behind New Ancestor Discoveries, AncestryDNA Blog, 2 April 2015 (https://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2015/4/2/the-science-behind-new-ancestor-discoveries/).
- Anna Swayne, "Exploring Your DNA Circles," AncestryDNA (http://c.ancestry.com/cs/media/exploring-your-dna-circles.pdf).
Family Tree DNA
- Razib Khan, "MyOrigins Methodology White Paper," The Family Tree DNA Learning Center BETA (https://www.familytreedna.com/learn/user-guide/family-finder-myftdna/myorigins-methodology/).
- "Family Finder – Family Matching System," The Family Tree DNA Learning Center BETA (https://www.familytreedna.com/learn/ftdna/ftdna-family-matching-system/).
- "How much genetic sharing is needed for two people to be considered a Family Finder match?," The Family Tree DNA Learning Center BETA (https://www.familytreedna.com/learn/autosomal-ancestry/universal-dna-matching/genetic-sharing-considered-match/).
- Blaine Bettinger, "Family Tree DNA Updates Matching Thresholds," The Genetic Genealogist, 24 May 2016 (https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2016/05/24/family-tree-dna-updates-matching-thresholds/).
MyHeritage
- Esther, "Introducing Our New DNA Ethnicity Analysis," MyHeritage Blog, 1 June 2017 (https://blog.myheritage.com/2017/06/introducing-our-new-dna-ethnicity-analysis/).
- Esther, "DNA Matching Enhanced with New Features," MyHeritage Blog, 17 January 2017 (https://blog.myheritage.com/2017/01/dna-matching-enhanced-with-new-features/).
- Esther, "Introducing the DNA Match Review Page," MyHeritage Blog, 22 August 2017 (https://blog.myheritage.com/2017/08/new-review-match-page-discover-how-you-are-related-to-your-dna-matches/).
- Leah Larkin, "MyHeritage Matching," The DNA Geek, 21 July 2017 (http://thednageek.com/myheritage-matching/).
And, of course, I recommend the book that Blaine T. Bettinger and I co-authored:
Blaine T. Bettinger and Debbie Parker Wayne, Genetic Genealogy In Practice, published in September 2016 by the National Genealogical Society (NGS).
To order the print version, click here, then click the cover image on the displayed page or go directly to the online store. Price is $30.06 for NGS members, $36.05 for non-members. The print version is best for working the exercises.
For the Kindle version ($9.99), click here.
Note: As an author I receive royalties on sold copies of Genetic Genealogy In Practice. I receive no incentives from any other entities named in this post.
11 October 2017: Corrected spelling of the name of one author.
To cite this blog post: Debbie Parker Wayne, "Selected References for Math, Biology, and DNA Testing Company Algorithms and Features," Deb's Delvings, 10 October 2017 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).
© 2017, Debbie Parker Wayne, Certified Genealogist®, All Rights Reserved