Website Glossary

One's line of descent through their ancestors. One's family or ethnic descent. The origins of a person. 

Having to do with any of the 22 numbered pairs of chromosomes found in most human cells - of, belonging to, located on, or transmitted by an autosome

If someone deep dives into something, they conduct a thorough investigation and analysis of it.

Deoxyribonucleic acid (abbreviated DNA) is the molecule that carries genetic information for the development and functioning of an organism. DNA is made of two linked strands that wind around each other to resemble a twisted ladder — a shape known as a double helix.

A test that examines DNA and that is used to identify someone or to show that people are relatives. Also a medical test that can identify mutations in your genes, chromosomes or proteins. DNA tests can also identify your risk for developing a certain condition, passing on a genetic disorder. In the case of Akram Ancestry,website, it is solely used for ancestral data

Genetics is the study of genes. Our genes carry information that gets passed from one generation to the next. For example, genes are why one child has blonde hair like their mother, while their sibling has brown hair like their father.

Genetic distance is a measure of the genetic divergence between species or between populations within a species, whether the distance measures time from common ancestor or degree of differentiation. Populations with many similar alleles have small genetic distances. This indicates that they are closely related and have a recent common ancestor.

A haplotype is a group of alleles in an organism that are inherited together from a single parent, and a haplogroup (haploid from the Greek: ἁπλοῦς, haploûs, "onefold, simple" and English: group) is a group of similar haplotypes that share a common ancestor with a single-nucleotide polymorphism mutation.

Mitochondrial DNA tests trace people's matrilineal (mother- line) ancestry through their mitochondria, which are passed from. mothers to their children. Since everyone has mitochondria, people of all genders can take mtDNA tests. - Ancestry.co.uk

An outlier is a single data point that goes far outside the average value of a group of statistics. Outliers may be exceptions that stand outside individual samples of populations as well. In a more general context, an outlier is an individual that is markedly different from the norm in some respect.

SNP, pronounced 'snip' is a DNA sequence variation that occurs when a Single Nucleotide in the genome sequence is altered and the particular alteration is present in at least 1% of the population. Also called Single Nucleotide Polymorphism.

Y - Chromosome testing uncovers a person's Y - chromosome haplogroup, the ancient group of people from whom one's patrilineage descends. Because only one's male-line direct ancestors are traced by Y-DNA testing. Females (nor thermal ancestors) from whom a male descends are encapsulated in the results. - Ancestry.co.uk (17 Jan 2024)