We tried to contact close family for a DNA test but with no reply we turned to genetic genealogy and I built out the family trees for her based on her DNA matches to provide the genetic proof of her parentage. 3/5
Her father was no longer alive to take a DNA test and her solicitor and barrister needed a way of proving who her father was so she came to me. 2/5
Oooo! @waterstones.bsky.social is running a big pre-order promotion of various books including mine! Running until 23:59 on Feb 20th, you can get 25% off by using FEB26 at the checkout! Book out May 28th!
Every now and again I get asked, βbut didnβt a DNA test in 2007 prove that those werenβt her remains in the cellar?β If you have the same question, I would urge you to read @turiking.bsky.social assessment of the (problematic) findings in the white paper, in the appendix of Story of a Murder.
Nice article in @thetimes.com by @hackblackburn.bsky.social about my unusual career path and how I came to be involved leading the genetic analysis of Hitler's DNA.
This him not having the understanding of a geneticist.
Saturday c4 at 9pm for Ep1. Can then watch the second ep right after on 4 on demand
The news is out! Really nice piece by Jack Blackburn of @Times about the genetic study been leading into Hitlerβs DNA. Itβs been a massive group effort as part of a documentary with the team Blink Films & a huge number of experts! We have to put the caveats in and the article does that nicely.
A new paper [2023] based on long-lost documents confirms that DNA discoverer Rosalind Franklin should be credited for discovering the double helix.
www.livescience.com/health/genet...
the expertise and contributions of so, so many people to make the project the success it was. 3/3
vast majority of the project or have the expertise to lead and run either the excavation or the post excavation analysis anymore than I have the expertise to do your root canal for you. π But this in no way diminishes her part in it. No one individual could have carried it out. It took
2/3
An interesting piece in @timeshighered.bsky.social about the recent settlement. The project was a huge collaboration. I'm always at great pains to say that Philippa instigated the project & fund-raised for part of it - but she didn't pay for the
1/3
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/will-co...
further to this, here's a thread (sorry, from Over There) by Mike Pitts, who followed the whole process closely, on some of the, um, discrepancies in the film (via @turiking.bsky.social) x.com/pittsmike/st...
Good article by Steve Boggan about Richard Taylor about the impact on Richard & his family as a result of him being defamed in The Lost King. It's taken years to resolve. A judge ruled the film was defamatory last year but settlement only this week.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
There were a whole bunch of really cool women who led various aspects of the project all of whom were mysteriously absent from the story. οΏΌππ
I am SO pleased to see this! Richard Taylor has quite rightly won his case. I was shocked at how the project and people, Richard T in particular, were so falsely portrayed in the film. Good to see itβs being put right. Do see Richard Tβs X thread below. π
x.com/richardtaylo...
Podcast with me and @turiking.bsky.social for the @milnerevolution.bsky.social series, on plasmid evolution over the last 100 years, talking about our ( @cazares-adr.bsky.social , Nick Thomson, @sarah1alexander.bsky.social & co) recent paper www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
youtu.be/Mzr3TD4ijs0?...
Um. Thereβs a woman presenting this too.
Happy Thanksgiving, fellow Canadians! ππ¨π¦
I did! After going to three stores on my βturkey-questβ!
So, I've been rather quiet of late as been working incredibly hard on something fairly big with BlinkFilms and @channel4.bsky.social
deadline.com/2025/10/chan....
Heading back to the University of Leicester for a celebration of the Adrian Building (which was basically my second home) ahead of its closure & celebrating 40 years since invention of DNA fingerprinting! An afternoon of interesting talks. Free to attend! Deets here le.ac.uk/news/2025/se...
My amazing kids got me a Book Spa gift at Mr Bβs Emporium of Reading Delights in Bath. What a treat! The lovely team there fed me tea & cake, nattered to me about my book tastes & then brought me a stack of books they thought I would like! Heaven! Reader, I bought several!
mrbsemporium.com
Super proud of this! Still top 10 on Audible. It follows two families brought together by an unexpected discovery that changes everything they thought they knew about their father & takes us into the stories of the Home Children.
Listen now on Audible: adbl.co/orphansmith
Super proud of this! Our Audible @bbcstudios.bsky.social
podcast series, Orphan Smith, is in the top ten! We tell the story of the Home Children in Canada through the moving experience of one family. Get your tissues!
You can listen here π§
www.audible.co.uk/.../Orphan-S...
An Early View: Dr @nancybird1.bsky.social , Prof @turiking.bsky.social, & Prof Hellenthal examine the methodological advances and interpretive limits of genetic ancestry inference. The authors emphasize the need for a stronger focus on conveying uncertainty to mitigate risks of over-interpretation.
Hang on, Iβm getting whiplash! We were GGB when I left! π
Lovely article by @edhollox.bsky.social in the @gensocuk.bsky.social magazine about the University of Leicester's Department of Genetics reaching the grand old age of 60! π§¬π
So lovely to be part of Orphan Smith: My Father's Secret. We follow two families brought together by an unexpected discovery that changed everything they thought they knew about their father! Narrated by the fab Megan Follows & hosted by me. On Audible adbl.co/orphansmith
Happy #CanadaDay to all who celebrate! ππ¨π¦π
