Susan Field - Genealogist

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Susan Field - Genealogist Genealogical research assistance with a cyber sleuth.

10/18/2026

This chart shows how much DNA siblings, half-siblings, and their children might share with you, on average. Do you find these estimates to be accurate?

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10/15/2026

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Science shows that even after birth, a child’s DNA can remain inside a mother’s body for years, sometimes a lifetime. These fetal cells travel through her blood, settle in her brain and organs, and become part of her. The phenomenon is known as fetal-maternal microchimerism.

Research led by Amy Boddy, associate professor at UC Santa Barbara, has found these cells in a wide range of maternal tissues. She describes it as “a small amount of genetically different cells or DNA in someone’s body.”

Some of these cells even take on new roles. For example, fetal cells that migrate to the mother’s heart can transform into cardiac cells, working alongside her own to help that organ function. It’s a biological connection that quite literally beats on.

Even after a miscarriage, fetal cells remain in the mother’s body. For women who experience pregnancy loss, “it’s not just in their head that they’re forever changed by that pregnancy,” Boddy says. “Those cells may exist and influence their biology.”

With so much we still don’t know about how these cells function, one thing is certain: motherhood leaves a mark that science is only beginning to understand."

10/10/2026

This headline refers to a landmark genomic study published in Nature by an international research team led by Alexander Ioannidis and Andres Moreno-Estrada, which settled one of the most hotly contested debates in anthropology.

​Key Findings of the Study

​Conclusive Genetic Proof: By analyzing genome-wide data from over 800 modern and ancient individuals across 17 Pacific islands and 15 Pacific coast Native American groups, scientists identified clear, shared Native American DNA segments among Polynesian populations.

​Precise Timeline (~AD 1200): Statistical modeling of DNA recombination pinpointed the initial contact and interbreeding event to between AD 1150 and 1230—nearly 300 years before Christopher Columbus reached the Americas in 1492.

​Origin in Present-Day Colombia: The specific Native American genetic signature found in Polynesians matches most closely with Indigenous populations from the Pacific coast of present-day Colombia.

​Point of Contact: The genetic mixing occurred in Eastern Polynesia (specifically around the South Marquesas islands). Descendants carrying this mixed genetic lineage subsequently traveled across the Pacific during early Polynesian expansions, eventually settling islands like Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Mangareva, and the Tuamotus.

​Why This Matters

​Solves the Sweet Potato Mystery: For decades, botanists questioned how the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas)—a plant native to South America—was cultivated across Polynesia prior to European arrival, often under the Quechua-derived word kūmara. The genetic evidence confirms human-mediated voyage and trade.

​Validates Pacific Seafaring Excellence: Rather than isolated island communities, Polynesian navigators were master oceanfarers using double-hulled canoes to cross thousands of miles of open ocean using wayfinding techniques.

10/10/2026

Genetic research confirms that every blue-eyed person on Earth shares a single common ancestor who lived approximately 6,000 to 10,000 years ago in the region surrounding the Black Sea.

​The Genetic Switch: A landmark 2008 study from the University of Copenhagen revealed that blue eyes are caused by a specific mutation in the HERC2 gene. This mutation acts as a switch that reduces the activity of the OCA2 gene, decreasing melanin (brown pigment) production in the iris and diluting brown eyes to blue.

​Single Common Ancestor: Before this mutation occurred, all humans had brown eyes. Because every blue-eyed individual tested carries the exact same genetic switch at the identical location in their DNA, geneticists concluded the trait traces back to one specific individual.

​Geographic Expansion: The mutation arose during the Mesolithic period or early agricultural expansion, as populations migrated from the Near East and the Black Sea basin into Europe.

​Ancient DNA Evidence: Archaeogenetic discoveries—such as the 7,000-year-old "La Braña 1" hunter-gatherer fossil found in Spain—confirm that early Europeans carried the specific HERC2 gene variant for blue eyes alongside darker skin pigmentation before modern European colorations fully evolved.

10/08/2026

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