Sources: DNA Basics Explained
It is an oxymoron to state that DNA is complex. Fortunately, if you focus on the area that is important to you and if you use some of the many excellent resources that are available, you can understand what you need and apply it effectively.
Well that’s the theory. Stumbling is both frustrating and richly rewarding. After all, it is only about life and death, and so we might as well enjoy the ride.
As we come across resources that are reliable and have helped me, we will add them here.
It is also worth noting that we cannot assume that any “fact” or interpretation will be definitive for all time. DNA research is growing new knowledge at an exponential rate. The increasing number of people having their DNA analyzed is contributing to that.
It is also worth noting that what appears to be bona fide interpretation and analysis may not be reliable. Enthusiastic amateurs like me, without the rigour of peer review, can post anything and make it sound credible. Others post “analysis” which is really opinion or speculation. Still others, like me, conduct their research from a particular interest base which either corrupts their findings or states them in a way which is misleading because they do not take the time to qualify their findings or to put them in the appropriate context. Alas and, occasionally, mea culpa.
All of the retail DNA labs that I have checked out seem to have very good explanatory information. some of it is not so easy to find. There are other organizations, like the ones that I will list below, which provide great services as well, but many of them are hybrid blog/peer review so be careful about how you use information that you find there if it is critically important to you. Verify.
Retail Labs
23andMe (mine)
FTDNA
Information Sources
ISOGG International Society of Genetic Genealogy http://www.isogg.org/