Sorenson Genomics Announces Merger of its IDENTIGENE and GeneTree DNA Testing Business Units
Merger Brings Together Two Pioneering DNA Testing Market Leaders: IDENTIGENE, the First Company to Utilize STR Technology for Commercial DNA Testing; and GeneTree, the First Company to Offer Online DNA Paternity Testing Services

SALT LAKE CITY and HOUSTON (October 9, 2007) - Sorenson Genomics, a leading global provider of DNA-related testing services, today announced the merger of two of its leading business units: IDENTIGENE and GeneTree. The new organization will retain the IDENTIGENE name, and will continue to provide DNA testing and analysis services from its laboratory facilities in Salt Lake City, Utah and in Houston, Texas.

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Ancestry.com Enters DNA Genealogy Field Through Exclusive Partnership With Sorenson Genomics
Combines Three Major Pillars of Family History Research - Historical Records, DNA and Family Trees

PROVO (June 18, 2007) - A new partnership seeks to reunite families through science. The Generations Network, parent company of Ancestry.com, has announced it will combine its unrivaled collection of online family trees and historical documents with Sorenson Genomics' precision ancestral DNA testing. This unique partnership promises to revolutionize family history by allowing people to trace their roots and connect to distant cousins through DNA at the click of a mouse.

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Sorenson Genomics adds IDENTIGENE

SALT LAKE CITY (June 12, 2007) - Salt Lake-based Sorenson Genomics, known for its DNA ancestral testing, announced Monday it had acquired IDENTIGENE, a Houston-based DNA testing laboratory.

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Seattle Woman has Surprising Success Researching Her Ancestral Grandmothers by Using New Sorenson mtDNA-Genealogy Database
Discovering an exact match on Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation's newly released online mtDNA-ancestry database helps amateur genealogist learn her likely overseas region of origin and surnames, a result unthinkable only a few years ago. Now easy and widely available, personal mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) testing gives women direct access to the world's largest integrated genetic and genealogy information collection for the first time and allows them to go deeper than ever before in their family history research

SALT LAKE CITY and SEATTLE (Dec. 4, 2006) - Imagine searching for 13 years using traditional genealogical techniques to learn four generations of your maternal grandmothers' names and where they lived. For Cynthia Wilson, an administrative assistant living in Seattle, this meant spending her vacations in Virginia and North Carolina courthouses and libraries poring over old deeds, probate records and birth registries.

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Sorenson Genomics Launches New Advanced Sorenson Forensics Division
Salt Lake-based Sorenson Genomics, known for its DNA ancestral testing, announced Monday it had acquired Identigene, a Houston-based DNA testing laboratory.

SALT LAKE CITY (October 3, 2006) - Sorenson Genomics, a leading global provider of DNA-related testing services, announced today at the 2006 American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Symposium that it has expanded its core business offering with the addition of an advanced forensics division.

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Relative Genetics Announces Advanced Maternal Lineage DNA Testing Services
Expanded and Enhanced Testing Services Offer Most Complete Mitochondrial DNA Sequencing Results Commercially Available, and Significantly Improve Accuracy of Maternal Lineage Matches

SALT LAKE CITY (September 18, 2006) - Relative Genetics, the leading provider of DNA testing services for individuals and families researching ancestry, today announced the availability of enhanced mitochondrial DNA testing services that dramatically improve the accuracy and reach of maternal lineage information.

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Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation and Relative Genetics Team Up to Reward Participants in Non-profit DNA-Ancestry Database

SALT LAKE CITY (November 14, 2005) - Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), a non-profit research organization dedicated to fostering global family history research and family connections by building the world's largest database of correlated genetic and genealogical information, and Relative Genetics, a leading global provider of genetic testing solutions for private companies, individuals, family organizations and genealogists, have joined forces to reward family history hobbyists who submit DNA samples and ancestry records for inclusion in the Foundation's rapidly expanding database.

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Relative Genetics Launches New Free Online Y-Chromosome Haplogroup Predictor Service
Service Will Enable Users to Identify and Understand their Particular Genetic "Branch" of the Human Genealogical "Tree"

SALT LAKE CITY (October 31, 2005) - Relative Genetics, a leading global provider of genetic testing solutions for private companies, individuals, family organizations and genealogists, today announced that it has launched a Y-chromosome haplogroup predictor service on the company's Web site, www.relativegenetics.com. The new free service will allow users to learn from which deep genetic ancestral group (haplogroup) they may have originated.

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DNA Testing Allows African-Americans to Trace Ancestry

To help African-Americans trace their ancestry, companies are selling DNA-based genealogy tests which claim to pinpoint where a client's ancestors came from in Africa. Several celebrities have taken the tests, including talk show host Oprah Winfrey, director Spike Lee, actor Isaiah Washington and now ABC News' Ron Claiborne.

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Relative Genetics Refines Web site to Make Genetic Genealogy Accessible to Anyone Interested in Genetic Genealogy, Family History
New, Enhanced Relative Genetics Web site Features Comprehensive Learning Center, Expanded Online Product Listings and Fully Interactive Family Search Features

SALT LAKE CITY (September 12, 2005) - Relative Genetics, a leading genetic genealogy testing company, today announced the release of its new, refined Web site. The site, found at www.relativegenetics.com, combines significantly enhanced functionality with increased usability.

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Relative Genetics Introduces Leading Edge DNA Testing Method for Genealogy to Singapore
New Approach to Genealogical Research Helps Shepherdson Families in Singapore Confirm Centuries-Old Genetic Relationship

SALT LAKE CITY and Singapore (August 2, 2005) - Relative Genetics today announced that it will introduce to Singapore its global-standard method for using DNA analysis to support and verify genealogical research. The company will present its genealogical approach to Singaporeans at an exhibition entitled "Who Am I? The Joy of Discovering Your Family History," the first-ever family history exhibition in Singapore. The event, which is co-organized by the Singapore National Library Board and Singapore’s Shepherdson family, will be held from August 2-August 28 at the new National Library premises.

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Using DNA to Trace Family History is Focus of Online Genealogy Conference
DNA Testing is Newest Tool for Tracing Ancestry and is the Subject of Upcoming Internet-based 'Family Link Expo 2.' Genetic Genealogy Theme is Expected to Attract a Worldwide, At-home Audience of Professional and Amateur Family History Buffs

SALT LAKE CITY (May 23, 2005) - Family Link Network today announced registration is open for Family Link Expo, an online genealogy conference June 7-July 7, 2005. This year's conference theme, "What You Need to Know about Genetic Genealogy" includes six audio-visual presentations by experts on a research tool that is transforming the way ancestry research is done. Using inexpensive, readily available DNA test results along with Internet-based genetic-genealogy databases, those researching family history can now trace pedigree through the unbreakable links revealed by the science of molecular genealogy.

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For Utah Billionaire, Search for Roots Is Blooming Field
--- Mr. Sorenson's DNA Tests Tie People to Their Forebears; Battle for Biggest Database --- Finnish Genes Found in Idaho

Wall Street Journal

SALT LAKE CITY -- James Sorenson loved his 1999 trip to Norway retracing the steps of distant ancestors. When he got home, he invited geneticist Scott Woodward to his office and told him: "Let's analyze all of Norway's DNA!" The scientist gulped. Both men recall that Dr. Woodward stared across a conference table and declared: "That would cost $500 million. I don't think you can afford it." Mr. Sorenson shot back: "Oh, yes I can."

Utah lab gets first IDs of the tsunami victims
Sorenson Genomics: The researchers are matching DNA swabs to the teeth of the dead in Thailand

Salt Lake Tribune

After more than two months of painstaking testing, Sorenson Genomics researchers have tentatively matched the DNA of 50 victims from December's Indian Ocean tsunami.

It has been about 10 weeks since a dozen Sorenson employees, led by chief scientific officer Lars Mouritsen, undertook the grisly task of comparing DNA swabs taken from tsunami survivors with teeth pried from the unidentified dead inside a makeshift morgue at the Wat Yaang Yao Buddhist temple near Phangnga in extreme southern Thailand.

On Wednesday, Mouritsen estimated the work is about two-thirds completed. In all, the South Salt Lake company received and tested 1,291 specimens - 198 bone samples, 27 hair samples, 321 teeth, 248 tissue samples of skin or muscle and 497 [oral DNA] swabs taken from survivors hoping to identify loved ones.

Sorenson Genomics to Identify Tsunami Victims in Thailand
Utah Laboratory Assisting Thai Government to Perform DNA Analysis of Victims Most Difficult to Identify

Sorenson Companies

Salt Lake City - Sorenson Genomics and Pacific Rim Consulting announced today that they are partnering to assist the Thai government in determining the identities of victims of the tsunami that struck the coastlines of Thailand and 11 other countries on December 26, 2004. The number of estimated victims in Thailand is 5,300 and growing.

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2 Utah firms helping identify tsunami victims
They collect corpse tissue, then try to match the DNA with survivors

Deseret News

The massive tsunami that struck the coastlines of Thailand and 10 other countries on Dec. 26 left thousands of unidentified bodies in its wake. Now, two Utah companies, using DNA analysis, are helping the Thai government identify some of the estimated 5,384 people who died in that country.

Salt Lake-based Sorenson Genomics, owned by Utah billionaire James LeVoy Sorenson, together with Park City-based Pacific Rim Consulting Group have collected and are analyzing hundreds of tissue samples. Those samples, flown to Salt Lake City, are being matched against DNA profiles of survivors unable to find their loved ones.

Genetic ancestry and the search for personalized genetic histories

Nature Magazine

Public demand and the development of large public and private databases of genetic information across human populations has encouraged the development of the new and rapidly growing field of genetic ancestry testing. Both the promise of the science that underlies this field and a lack of a full understanding of its limitations have fuelled the increased public interest in genetic ancestry testing.

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Sorenson Genomics, LLC Awarded ISO Certification
State-of-the-Art Genetics Laboratory is Now the Only Facility Accredited by the National Forensic Science Technology Center to do DNA Testing for Genealogical Purposes

BioSpace Press Releases

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 16, 2004-- Sorenson Genomics announced today it been awarded ISO-IEC 17025 certification by the National Forensic Science Technology Center (NFSTC). ISO (International Organization for Standards) certification is awarded to companies that demonstrate adherence to comprehensive management and quality control guidelines recognized worldwide.

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Relative Advance: DNA Testing Helps Find Family Roots

Wall Street Journal

Jim Wells, a longtime University of Kentucky mathematics professor, went to bed one night pondering a maddening and fruitless decades-long search for the origins of an ancestor. He woke up the next day to have his history handed to him in an e-mail. "It's astonishing," says the 70-year-old Mr. Wells of the recent revelations regarding his fifth great-grandfather, John Wells, who turned out, as Mr. Wells had suspected but could never prove, to be a Pennsylvania Quaker with British roots.

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SCIENCE AND COMMERCE: Tangled Roots? Genetics Meets Genealogy
In the latest commercial frontier of the genome revolution, genealogists are discovering the new high-tech tools of genetic analysis. But the commercial marriage between genetics and genealogy is raising some concerns. The genetic tools, most agree, are still rudimentary, and interpreting genetic data can be vexing.

Science Magazine

Genealogists are discovering the new high-tech tools of genetic analysis, but they may hope for more history than current techniques can deliver.

Genealogy meetings are usually familiar affairs. Family historians swap stories and standard tools of the trade-- faded maps, old census data, hot Internet sites. But the 700 participants who showed up for the 10th annual GenTech conference in Boston last month got a glimpse of the future.

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The Tree of Me
DNA testing is revolutionizing the field of genealogy. Are we ready for what we might find?

The New Yorker

Why is it that in the United States, the first country in the world to overthrow the accident of birth, people are so fascinated with their ancestors? According to a recent Maritz poll, a hundred and twenty million Americans are interested in family history.

The National Genealogical Society estimates that family history is now the second most popular hobby in the United States, after gardening. Genealogy is also the second most searched-for subject on the Web. (Porn, of course, is No. 1.) FamilySearch.com, a database maintained by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, has had more than five billion hits since it was launched, less than two years ago. Many of the Web-based family-history sites combine rich genealogical resources with naked hucksterism. At www.familyheritageshop.com, for example, you can get a detailed history of your surname, but only if you buy it on a piece of parchment, such as the "Family Name History Masterpiece Scroll," for nineteen dollars and ninety-five cents. As the family Web site gradually takes the place of the family Bible as the standard repository of family history, the controlling structure for the family seems to be evolving from a tree into something more like a root system, hairy with adoptive parents, two-mommy families, sperm-bank daddies, and other kinds of family appendages that don't fit onto trunks and branches.

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Where We Come From
Scientists are tracing human lineages and migrations by means of biotechnology: maternal mitochondrial DNA, male Y chromosome markers, and nuclear DNA.

US News & World Report

Andy Carvin is a pioneer on the strange frontier of DNA genealogy. The 29-yearold Internet policy analyst had built his family tree back to ancestors in Busk, Ukraine, but that's where the trail went cold. Then he read about research tracing the Y sex chromosome, which is passed intact from father to son, all the way back to the time of Aaron, the single progenitor of the priestly cohen caste 3,000 years ago. More than once, his father had told him their family was cohanim. "I was really curious," Carvin says, "to see if there was even a small possibility that the oral tradition was true."

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