It's All Relatives - The Science of Family Ties

Explore the cutting-edge science of genealogy and genetic research in this 56-minute World Science Festival video. Discover how advancements in technology have revolutionized family tree research, making it faster, cheaper, and more accurate than ever before. Learn about connecting with distant relatives, uncovering ancestral ties to historical figures, and tracing family participation in major historical events. Delve into the fascinating world of evolutionary genetics, where researchers can now reconstruct ancestral appearances using face structure and skin pigmentation analysis. Join leading experts as they discuss how computational power and technological innovations are bringing us closer to understanding our interconnected human history. Topics covered include the role of companies like Ancestry.com, the vast amounts of genealogical data available, surprising heritage discoveries, the evolution of DNA sequencing, the intersection of science and history, facial reconstruction techniques, and the ethical considerations surrounding genetic data protection.

Participant Introductions.
What do companies like ancestry.com help people discover?
How much data are we talking about?
A surprise discovery of heritage.
From hobbyist to professional.
15 years and 3 Bil. dollars to sequence the first DNA... What about today?
Do science and history need each other?
Welcome Brenna Henn and Mark D. Shriver.
Tracing a skull from an under water cave.
What can a skull tell you about a person?
The one drop rule.
What is a composite face?
How do you protect the data of Genetic tests?