“Geneticists analysing DNA from Neolithic burial sites in Sweden have made a surprising discovery. The genetic make-up of one individual — a female farmer known as Gök4 — bears a startling similarity to that of modern-day Mediterraneans. And the woman’s genome provides clues as to how agriculture spread across Europe.”

http://www.nature.com/news/ancient-swedish-farmer-came-from-the-mediterranean-1.10541

http://www.nature.com/news/ancient-swedish-farmer-came-from-the-mediterranean-1.10541//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

“These new data are the latest to strongly support the controversial Younger Dryas Boundary (YDB) hypothesis, which proposes that a cosmic impact occurred 12,900 years ago at the onset of an unusual cold climatic period called the Younger Dryas. This episode occurred at or close to the time of major extinction of the North American megafauna, including mammoths and giant ground sloths; and the disappearance of the prehistoric and widely distributed Clovis culture.”

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120611193657.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120611193657.htm//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

23andme has been very slow to understand that there is a connection between genetic testing and genealogy. There couldn’t be a more awkward way to manually track connections and possibilities.

It appears that’s about to change. The new tools they’ve announced for beta testing — if they pan out — could be just what we need.

http://www.yourgeneticgenealogist.com/2012/06/23andme-announces-beta-testing-of-new.html

http://www.yourgeneticgenealogist.com/2012/06/23andme-announces-beta-testing-of-new.html//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js

I keep losing my link to this, so I never have it when I need it. Going straight to the source solves the more complicated problem of writing a paragraph comparing an ancestor’s wealth with others on the same census.

• Dick Eastman, What Was Your Ancestor’s Property Worth? (June 3, 2012), Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter