Y Chromosomes Allow Us to Trace Ancestry Back Generations

Did you know that your Y chromosome can be identical to those of your ancestors from hundreds of years ago? In this video, Alex Dainis explains how Y chromosomes are passed down through male lineages, and barely recombine with X chromosomes. This means that they can remain virtually intact through generations. Some people can trace their lineages via Y chromosomes directly to some very famous great-great-great… grandfathers, such as Genghis Khan or the Uí Néill dynasty. Scientists have been able to find these prolific ancestral lineages thanks to advancements that have made DNA sequencing faster and cheaper in recent decades, allowing us to sequence the genomes of hundreds of thousands of people and find similarities in Y chromosomes that point to shared ancestors.