MyHeritage and the evolution of Ethnicity Estimates

 

Over the past few years, I have seen the impact of DNA testing on genealogical research. One of the first things that brought DNA testing to the attention of the larger family history or genealogical community was the Ethnicity Estimates provided by the large online genealogy family tree and database companies. Inevitably, these early Ethnicity Estimates began to change over time as a natural consequence of the increased number of DNA test results available and the huge increase in both the available online records and online family trees. I am more surprised at the reaction of the people to the increased focus of the Ethnicity Estimates than I am to any of the changes that come from the increase in information. 

Here is an analogy. When digital cameras were first introduced, they had sensors that contained less than 1 Megapixel of information. The images were small and if you tried to look at any detail, the whole image became blurry. Fast forward to today. Now we have image sensors and techniques that can produce over 320 Gigpixes of resolution. See "The World's Highest Resolution Photographs Made Here."

What MyHeritage.com is doing is almost the same thing. They are looking at ancestral relationships with higher and higher resolution and are able to see more detail. Here is a blog post with some new information about this increase in detail. 

Genetic Groups — New User Interface Improvements

If you have a DNA on the MyHeritage.com website, you might want to seriously consider adding information to your family trees using the Record Matches so that you can begin to see more detail in your own DNA estimates.