Archive for May, 2006
Monday, May 29th, 2006
Just an ice cream
Tonight I was sitting on at a plastic picnic table, watching the E-man while my wife ordered some ice cream. As I was sitting there in the warm summer sun, my son’s wavy blond hair smelling like the beach because of the sunscreen, I realized that this is the best life has to offer. Sometimes we have a hard time making ends meet, our student loans are ridiculous, and we’re tired of renting an apartment instead of having a house, but compared to the treasure that we have those problems seem trivial. Every so often I realize that moments like yesterday are fleeting, and time passes so quickly. The E-man is walking like he’s been doing it forever, and his personality is developing with each and every day. I wanted to stay in that moment forever, but at least I was able to lock it away in my memory.
We had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. On Saturday we took a road trip to explore some areas we haven’t been to in quite a while, including the secluded 10,000 acre Winona State Forest which is former farmland reclaimed in the 1930s and 1940s. It’s truly beautiful and has tons of trails. On Sunday, the E-man’s cousin had her 1st birthday party. The weather was perfect and everyone had a great time. She’s such a cute baby! Today the E-man’s aunt and grandmother drove down to spend the day with him. We BBQ’d and set up the baby pool, then went out for the aforementioned ice cream! It was a great day. I hope everyone else had a great weekend too!
2 Comments » - Posted in The E-man, Life by blaine_5
Thursday, May 18th, 2006
Genetic Genealogy
I haven’t posted as much this month as I would have liked, but I’ve been working on a little side project.
I’ve always been interested in genealogy, and as a scientist I’m eagerly watching the many advances in the field of Genetic Genealogy. What is Genetic Genealogy you say? Wikipedia defines it as “the application of genetics to traditional genealogy. Genetic genealogy involves the use of genealogical DNA testing to determine the level of genetic relationship between individuals.” There are four types of DNA tests for genealogical purposes:
1. Autosomal DNA Testing: This test looks at markers in the non-sex chromosomes. All humans have 46 chromosomes in each and every cell. 2 of those are sex chromsomes, and 44 are non-sex chromosomes. Researchers have identified markers in the autosomes that are indigenous to certain populations. For instance, all Europeans might have a certain marker at a certain location. If you have this marker in your genome (your genetic makeup), then you probably have some European ancestry. Autosomal tests are by nature rather vague and are only a very rough estimate of your overall ancestry. It can be very error-prone, since DNA undergoes random shuffling between generations, meaning that the genes you inherit from you parents is totally random.
2. Y chromosome DNA Testing: The Y chromosome is what gives males maleness. Men have one Y chromosome and one X chromosome. Because there is only 1 Y, there is no random shuffling between generations (or at least, very little). Thus, a son inherits his father’s Y chromosome with very little variation. The Y chromosome can be traced back through the family tree following the son’s surname. For instance, my Y chromosome comes from the original immigrant of my surname from Germany to America about 1770. My chromosome will have only a very few variations from the original immigrants Y chromosome (on average, there is less than 1 mutation per generation! And that’s after replicating 51 million base pairs!!!) The results of the Y test will tell me about the origin of the chromosome. All Y chromosomes fit into a limited number of family groups, called haplogroups, because there were a limited number of male ancestors who have direct male descendants living today. Thus, based on my results, I can get a rough idea of where my Y chromosome came from. Another useful purpose is in identifying relationships. If there is someone in Germany who has my last name and is wondering if he’s related to me, he can get the same test and the results will definitively prove our relationship one way or the other.
3. X chromosome DNA Testing: This test is in the very early stages. I won’t go into too much detail except to say that many people are still doubtful that this test will be feasible. Since women have two X chromosomes, there is a great deal of shuffling between each generation. A daughter’s X chromosome, the one she inherits from her mother, will be very different from the one her mother has. We’ll have to see how this field develops.
4. Mitochondrial DNA Testing: This is the test that I just received results from. Inside each of our cells are hundreds of a tiny organelle called the mitochondria. It produces energy from the cell and has its own tiny circle of DNA. Mitochondria, and thus the mtDNA, as it is called, are only passed down from mother to child. I received my mtDNA from my mother, and it will stop with me (although it will continue with my sister). My son inherited all of his mtDNA from my wife. So if you look at a family tree, the lineage of the mtDNA is the mirror image of the lineage of the surname. Once again, the results of the mtDNA test will reveal the origin of my mitochondria based upon which haplogroup they fit into.
So my mitochondrial DNA comes from the Cayman Islands in the 1840’s. That’s as far back as I can trace it. Interestingly, my mtDNA fits into Haplogroup A. The founders of Haplogroup A originated in East Asia and traveled across the Bering land bridge to settle the Americas roughly 25,000 years ago. Thus, my variation of Haplogroup A is characteristically Native American. This means that through my ancestor in the Cayman Islands I have inherited mitochondria from indigenous people of the Americas. To learn more about Haplogroup A, check out the website I set up to share information (www.HaplogroupA.com).
In other news, we had a fun and relaxing Mother’s Day. The E-man made a gift for Mommy at daycare using some construction paper to make a flower and then using finger paint on his hands to shape the flowers. It probably took him about 10 minutes to do the whole thing. I, meanwhile, had to go to the grocery store, the florist, and the local Hallmark store. I spent Sunday morning arranging flowers and cooking a mean breakfast. But without a doubt, the E-man’s gift beat me out hands down. He even signed a Mother’s Day card with some scribbles, the little kiss up.
Comments Off - Posted in Genealogy by blaine_5
Monday, May 8th, 2006
The E-man turns 1!!!
On Wednesday, the E-man celebrated his very first birthday! I can’t believe that 365 days have passed since we were in a hospital waiting to meet our little guy. It’s been 20 months since we first found out he was on his way. 20 months! That sounds like such a long time, but it’s gone my in the blink of an eye. Although he’s an affectionate and cuddly baby, I still miss the tiny bundle we brought home. Luckily everyday is a new adventure with him and we have so many years to look forward to. The past year has been absolutely incredible. My whole life has been turned upside-down and I wouldn’t change any of it. I never could have imagined where my life has taken me.
On Saturday we had a birthday party here at our apartment for the E-man. It was a Curious George-themed party, and all the family was able to come down to celebrate it with us - about 25 people total. It was so much fun! It was a little stressful and a lot of work, but worth all of it. The first birthday is all about the parents and the family, and everyone had a good time. We baked our own cakes, decorated an empty formula can to turn it into a time capsule (to be opened on his tenth birthday in 2015), and even had a Guess How Many Cheerios Are In The Glass Jar game (a big hit because we seem to have very competitive families!). By the way, it was 827 cheerios. Guess who had to count all those!
A big thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us, to everyone who brought a gift or sent a card, or to anyone who’s supported us over the past year!
Here’s a few pictures from the party:
We made two cakes, a small just for the E-man and a big one for everyone:
And finally, the aftermath:
2 Comments » - Posted in The E-man by blaine_5
Monday, May 1st, 2006
Monday Morning
Another monday morning. I wasn’t able to catch up on sleep over the weekend, of course, so I’m still pretty tired. It was a nice weekend though, especially with the incredible weather. Yesterday we bought some supplies for the E-man’s birthday party on Saturday. On Wednesday, he turns 1 year old! It seems so unbelievable to me.
Sometime this week, I’ll be finalizing some big blog news! I’ve been in the process of moving my blog to a new site. As you might know, this blog is currently being hosted by Typepad, and I’ve had great success with them. I would highly recommend them to any new blogger. I’m stretching out a little to try some new things, to get a little bit more control over my blog too. Later this week, when I’ve finalized the move, I’ll give you the new site!
