National DNA Day April 25, 2025

This year, National DNA Day falls on Friday, April 25, 2025. National DNA Day is a unique day when students, teachers and the public can learn more about genetics and genomics. Congress approved the first National DNA Day in April 2003 to celebrate both the completion of the Human Genome Project and the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA.

For family history researchers, DNA is an extremely helpful tool in adding to, verifying and filling in family trees. For those of African descent, for whom there can be many unknowns, investigating DNA is often a necessity. African Ancestry.com, offers an insight into why this science and research matters. Click the link below to read the article.

What is National DNA Day?

Ancestry.com has also published a blog post with background about National DNA Day and some suggestions for how to observe it. Click the link below to read their blog post.

How National DNA Day Celebrates the Secrets of Our Past

The Library of Congress offers a great introduction to how genealogists use DNA, with a breakdown of the types of DNA tests that are available. Click the link below to read the article.
Genetic Genealogy: DNA and Family History

Ready to explore or further investigate genetic genealogy? Here is a short list of resources to help you along with your discovery.

• DNA testing companies:
  • FamilyTreeDNA
  • 23andMe
  • AncestryDNA
  • African Ancestry.com
  • MyHeritage
  • LivingDNA
• Other Resources:
  • DNA Painter: Shared cM Project
  • What Are the Odds
  • GeneticAffairs
  • GedMatch
  • DNAGedcom
• Learn more:
  • FamilySearch.org – https://www.familysearch.org/dna-testing
  • FamilySearch Research Wiki – DNA in Genealogy Research.
  • RootsTech 2024 DNA Classes – RootsTech page for DNA Day.
  • International Society of Genetic Genealogy’s Wiki – https://isogg.org/wiki/Wiki_Welcome_Page
• DNA Books:
  • The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy – find a local copy at worldcat.org/title/1048445592
  • Genetic Genealogy in Practice – find a local copy at worldcat.org/title/959825550
  • Advanced Genetic Genealogy: Techniques and Case Studies – worldcat.org/title/1096435190
• Clustering:
  • AncestryDNA Color Coding
  • MyHeritage Color Coding
  • GeneticAffairs
  • Leeds Method: check out https://www.danaleeds.com/the-leeds-method or https://www.yourdnaguide.com/leeds-method
  • Click all checkboxes: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/click-all-checkboxes/fhlogpdbadmjfpndmaijnibflgnbnhof?hl=en-US
• DNA test family artifacts at https://www.totheletterdna.com/
• Hiring a DNA Testing Company