Storing data in DNA for a million years

Over the last few years you will have heard people discuss how our DNA stores the data of our ancestry, whether Y-DNA information from our paternal ancestors (used for surname lines), mitochondrial DNA to preserve a time line through our maternal ancestors, or autosomal DNA which preserves DNA information from each of our parents and several lines going back on all fronts.

Here's an interesting thing though - how about embedding a copy of our family tree into DNA and using it as a hard drive for the next million years? In fact, how about embedding all data ever collated into DNA? Science fiction? Not in the slightest, apparently...

Scientists have successfully experimented with preserving data in DNA in Zurich. For the full story visit www.sciencealert.com/a-dna-hard-drive-has-been-built-that-can-store-data-for-1-million-years, with the press release available at www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150212154633.htm

Personally, I still like having a CD collection and a bundle of thumb drives...! :)

(With thanks to Helen Smith via Facebook)

Chris

For details on my range of genealogy guide books please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. To commission me for genealogical research, please visit my research site at www.scotlandsgreateststory.co.uk.

Caledonian copulation kicked it off...

The history of Scotland has never been made more central to everyone of us around the world researching our family trees!

It transpires that in the last day or so, white coated boffins from Flinders University in South Australia have revealed that the origins of each of us having to have two parents behind the act of our creation in fact goes back to an ancient Scottish loch somewhere 385 million years ago. It was then that small vertebrate creatures called placoderms first learned the art of copulation, as opposed to spawning - and wait for it, these placoderms are more technically known as Microbrachius dicki (I kid you not). The full story is available at http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/10/19/us-health-sex-idUKKCN0I80O320141019.

Wha's like us? Well, err, it now seems to be everyone... :)

Incidentally, just to maintain the art of accuracy, these particular placoderms also apparently lived in Estonia and China. But just to clarify, I have no idea if this is evidence of an early Scottish diaspora, or simple coincidence!

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians, whilst my new book British and Irish Newspapers is also now out. And please consider purchasing the great new version of Caledonia by The Libations at 79p via www.caledonia2014.com - all profits go to help fund Scottish foodbanks

Board of Longitude archive goes online

The Guardian newspaper has an interesting story today about the launch of the digitised archive of the Board of Longitude at Cambridge University Library, which contains the work of former astronomers, letters and papers of artisans, inventors, expeditionary astronomers and maritime explorers.

The full story is at www.guardian.co.uk/science/the-h-word/2013/jul/18/navigating-science-board-longitude-archive.

(With thanks to Vivienne Dunstan @vivdunstan for spotting the story)

Chris

My new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, is now available from Pen and Sword. My Scottish land and church records ebooks are available at http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html, whilst my next Pharos Scottish course, Scottish Research Online, starts Sep 4th - see http://pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Time to smash a few brick walls...!

Family history equips kids better for challenges in life

This is interesting - a New York Times article looking at how children who have previously gained some sense of their family history can in fact be somewhat better equipped to do with challenges or crises in their lives - and there's actually some science involved!

The full story is at www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/fashion/the-family-stories-that-bind-us-this-life.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

(With thanks to @TraceMag)

Chris

My new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, is now available from Pen and Sword. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.