“You do not really
understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.” –
Russian saying
There is a genetic genealogy website called DNA
Painter, which allows you to map DNA segments to your ancestors. The website is
very user-friendly and it has several tools which enable you to plug in the
shared centimorgans (a unit of DNA used to measure genetic distance) and help
you identify unknown matches.
For example, if I had a relative who matched me
at 1765 centimorgans, I could plug this information in the Shared CM tool on
the DNA Painter website. When I do this, it will show me the probability of
relationships. In the screenshot, you can see that there is a 100% chance that
this match is a grandparent/grandchild match, aunt/uncle match, niece/nephew
match, or a half-sibling. In this case, it is a grandparent match to me. This
is a great tool to use if you have a DNA match and you are not sure how they
fit in to the tree. The amount of centimorgans that you share with them can
give you an idea of how you are related and you can use this information to
test out different theories in your tree.
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| DNA Painter Shared CM tool |
Besides the Shared CM tool, there are several
other great features of the website including ‘What Are the Odds’, which
is a resource that can help you figure out how you are related to a family
group of matches who have taken a DNA test. There is also a Cluster Formatting
Tool.
Under the ‘Help’ tab,
the website also has a robust information section and frequently asked
questions section. There is also a DNA Painter Facebook group, which is a great
resource if you are having trouble with any feature of the website, or if you just
want to interact with others who are using the site. Also, I would highly recommend
checking out YouTube and searching for ‘DNA Painter’. There
are many videos where people demonstrate the features of the website. Blaine
Bettinger has also done a video on this, which I will link below. As I
mentioned in another post, if you are like me and not science-minded, I think
it can be easier to watch and listen to someone explain how to use the features
of the website.
I hope you consider checking out the DNA
painter tool to explore your genetic family!
DNA Painter website:
DNA Painter Facebook group:
Video of Blaine Bettinger explaining DNA Painter
Features:
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