Scientists say using math to sort through DNA could help investigators put stubborn cold cases to rest. The approach combines the relatively new field of forensic genetic genealogy – solving crime by charting out DNA-based family trees – with increasing computational power to speed up and simplify this complex form of investigation

In a new paper recently published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences, researchers from Stanford University, California-based Identifinders, and the DNA Doe Project explain how they developed a new mathematical model to help investigators greatly narrow down their giant pools of genetic candidates: 

”We formulate a program that – given the list of matches and their genetic distances to the unknown target – chooses the best decision at each point in time: which match to investigate, which set of potential most recent common ancestors to descend from, or whether to terminate the investigation.” 

By using a decision tree to optimize the candidate search, the researchers say their new process improves the existing process for forensic genetic genealogy by a factor of 10. They can also use this protocol to pull relevant matches even from large pools with a low likelihood of success. 

In fact, the new algorithm is so effective that researchers say it “can solve a case with a 7,500-person family tree around 94% of the time,” compared to only 4% of the time with the current method, according to a Stanford University press release. Basically, it’s a great way to speed up and enrich the research investigators are already doing – like turning your regular bicycle into an e-bike. 

You can read a lot more of the details in an article published in the 4StateNews web site at: https://tinyurl.com/3mnfwzbh.

I am sure you know by now that this newsletter is sponsored by MyHeritage. I was surprised (and delighted) this morning to learn that the company is now offering DNA tests at a very low price: $39 U.S. plus shipping. (The normal price is $89 plus shipping.)

Please note how simple the test is:

During those 4 weeks, MyHeritage will:

...search for people whose DNA matches yours: your relatives. Our DNA Matching technology reveals the percentage of DNA you share with your matches, showing you how closely related you are. You can connect with your newly found relatives to learn more about your family and discover shared ancestors.

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman. 

NOTE: This isn't really a genealogy article. However, genealogists are usually very familiar with the reasons for writing a will. Whether the information in this article applies to you or to a loved one, I will suggest that all genealogists and everyone else should be aware of this information. 

Do you own Bitcoins or other crypto-currencies? Do your parents or other family members own such digital assets? Even your adult children may have digital currencies and may not have considered inheritance issues in the case of their unexpected demise. If you or any relative who owns crypto-currencies should die unexpectedly, who gets the inheritance? Do the future heirs know how to claim and retrieve the crypto-currency?

Most crypto-currency experts agree that the safest method of storing digital currencies is in a hardware wallet, such as the very popular Trezor and Ledger devices. Use of these high security pieces of hardware almost guarantees that no one can hack in and steal the valuable assets that are stored within the hardware wallet. After all, hardware digital wallets are usually powered off and disconnected from any computer when being used to store assets. How can a hacker steal from a computer storage device that is disconnected and powered off? 

NOTE: The only exposure of hardware wallets is for the minute or two that the wallet is being used to add or remove assets on the device. All that is needed is to plug the hardware wallet into your computer's USB port, launch a program in the computer that was supplied by the manufacturer of the hardware wallet, add or remove funds, and then immediately unplug the hardware wallet. Even during that minute or two, it is unlikely that a remote hacker will be able to connect to the computer, determine that a hardware wallet is in use, figure out which brand of wallet is in use, figure out the required user name, password, and encryption keys, and then manage to transfer the funds to his or her own wallet. It would be practically impossible for any hacker to perform all those steps in the short time a hardware wallet is connected and powered on.

As secure as the hardware wallets may be, the wallets do create a problem for potential heirs. Not only are potential hackers locked out, but future heirs also are unable to access the funds if they do not know the instructions, user names, passwords, and encryption keys required. The decentralized and unregulated nature of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies means that nobody has any way to access funds without the keys to access the hardware wallet. 

Trezor, a popular and secure crypto hardware wallet

Unlike a bank or a stockbroker, obtaining a court order along with a copy of the death certificate is useless with a hardware crypto wallet. Nobody –  and I do mean NOBODY – knows how to access the funds if the deceased did not share that information or leave instructions behind. There is no backup copy at any corporation's offices or anywhere else. The company that built and sold the hardware wallet also is unable to see its encrypted contents. Indeed, the hardware wallets are VERY secure.

The remainder of this article is reserved for Plus Edition subscribers only. If you have a Plus Edition subscription, you may read the full article at: https://eogn.com/(*)-Plus-Edition-News-Articles/12978898.

If you are not yet a Plus Edition subscriber, you can learn more about such subscriptions and even upgrade to a Plus Edition subscription immediately at https://eogn.com/page-18077.

Do you live in or near Fairfield, Iowa? Are you interested in joining  local genealogy group? If the answer to both questions is "Yes," check out the article  by Alecs Schmidt Mickunas published in the Southeast Iowa Union web site at: https://tinyurl.com/bdfthrcr.

From slashdot.org:

The software that runs voting machines is typically distributed in a kind of black box -- like a car with its hood sealed shut. Because the election industry in the U.S. is dominated by three companies -- Dominion, Election Systems & Software and Hart InterCivic -- the software that runs their machines is private. The companies consider it their intellectual property and that has given rise to a roster of unfounded conspiracy theories about elections and their fairness. New Hampshire's experiment with open-source software is meant to address exactly that. The software by its very design allows you to pop the hood, modify the code, make suggestions for how to make it better, and work with other people to make it run more smoothly. The thinking is, if voting machines run on software anyone can audit and run, it is less likely to give rise to allegations of vote rigging. 

The effort to make voting machines more transparent is the work of a group called VotingWorks. [...] On November 8, VotingWorks machines will be used in a real election in real time. New Hampshire is the second state to use the open-source machines after Mississippi first did so in 2019. Some 3,000 voters will run their paper ballots through the new machines, and then, to ensure nothing went awry, those same votes will be hand counted in a public session in Concord, N.H. Anyone who cares to will be able to see if the new machines recorded the votes correctly. The idea is to make clear there is nothing to hide. If someone is worried that a voting machine is programmed to flip a vote to their opponent, they can simply hire a computer expert to examine it and see, in real time.

Comment by Dick Eastman:

I am a big fan of Open Source software. I have lots of Open Source software installed on my computers (including the software I am using to post this message). The big advantage of Open Source software is that it is easily auditable and verifiiable by anyone who cares to do so. Use of Open Source software should resolve all the problems caused by "the big lie" in the 2020 U.S. election.

Discover thousands of new additions stemming back to the 16th century.

It's time to dive into your Scottish roots this week, with new and exclusive additions across two collections. Plus, discover three brand-new newspaper titles from England, Scotland and Wales. 

Read more here for a rundown of everything that's new.

The following announcement was written by Findmypast:

From an article by Karen Longwell published in the insauga.com web site:

The Canadian Heritage Photography Foundation (CHPF) has more than 150,000 historic images in its archives but the organization is a risk of closing.

Founded in 2001 in Mississauga by Canadian photographer George Hunter, the foundation has a large collection of his historic images with subjects ranging from early highway photos to anglers trying their luck along the Credit River.

Hunter died in 2013 and bequeathed more than 100,000 prints, negatives, slides and to the foundation establishing the largest collection of George Hunter’s work in the world.

“The Hunter collection is an invaluable resource of rich Canadian historical photographs, including his ground breaking aerial photography from the 1950s, and his iconic images of Canadian industry, First Nations communities and Canadian life and times,” the foundation says on their website.

But in recent months the foundation has struggled, like many charities, in the current economic climate, Nicole Plaskett, executive director of the foundation tells insauga.com.

“CHPF is at risk of closing without help from the public,” Plaskett says.

They have launched a GoFundMe to sustain the foundation.

You can read more at: https://tinyurl.com/yc7zpmpr

The Canadian Heritage Photography Foundation web site may be found at: https://www.thechpf.com/ while the The George Hunter Collection may be accessed directly at: https://www.thechpf.com/the-george-hunter-collection.

A woman whose unwed mother was sent to Australia and then gave her up as a baby has told of her joy at finding her long-lost British family after 60 years apart.

Suzy Fraser, 64, was given up for adoption after her pregnant mother was packed off from Portsmouth, Hants, Down Under to give birth to her in 1958.

Her mother Janet Hall had asked not to be contacted but determined Suzy broke the rules to track her down and found out she had two half-sisters and a half-brother through her father in the UK.

And she used a DNA search through MyHeritage.com to trace a cousin in Gibraltar who then put him in touch with her unknown two half-sisters and brother.

And Suzy has now been met sisters Sharon Day, 57, and Eileen Bond, 54, and brother Steve Bond, 61.

They had a recent emotional meeting after they all flew into Bangkok, Thailand, to meet each other.

You can read more and view numerous photographs of the reunion at: https://tinyurl.com/3kz5kw36.

From an article written by Robert L. Santos, Director of the U.S. Census Bureau and published the the Bureau's Blog: