DNA family secrets - with Turi King

What's behind the rise in the use of DNA in genealogy and forensics? Find out with the BBC's favourite genealogist, Professor Turi King, including the first immigration case and her work identifying the bones of King Richard III.
Watch the Q&A with Turi here: • Q&A: DNA family secret...
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This lecture was recorded on 26 January 2022 at the Royal Institution.
The discovery of DNA, and indeed the ability for scientists to read the genetic code of organisms, live or dead, has caused a revolution in modern science. The applications of this runs the gamut from allowing researchers to hunt for genes associated with disease, to forensic applications, through to helping with animal and plant conservation. Turi King is an expert geneticist who has excelled furthering this research using an interdisciplinary approach, combining the field of genetics with history, archaeology, anthropology, and forensics.
Amongst Professor Kings notable projects include the use of DNA analysis to trace the origins of British surnames; the exploration of genetic legacy of the Vikings in the British Isles through a combination of genetic surveys of modern populations and historical records, such Henry VIII’s tax rolls, and the exhumation and identification of King Richard III of England, an achievement cited as one the biggest forensic DNA cases in history.
Starting in March 2021, Professor King co-presented BBC Two show DNA Family Secrets alongside Stacey Dooley. Each episode follows three people - two of these trying to find out about their family history or ancestry, and another who is seeking to find answers about a genetic disease in the family. Dooley and Professor King work with a large team of genealogists, social workers, and doctors to reveal unknown ancestry, find missing relatives and detect genetic disease before it's too late. They are currently in production of the third series.
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Turi started her career in archaeology, first in Canada and later reading for a degree in Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge. Graduating with a BA(Hons), she then went to study at the world-famous Genetics Department at the University of Leicester on a scholarship, to read for an MSc in Molecular Genetics.
She went on to study for a PhD in Molecular Genetics on genetic genealogy. Her award-winning PhD examined the relationship between the Y chromosome and British surnames combining forensic DNA techniques with history and genealogy, the first large scale study of its kind. Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys,who invented DNA fingerprinting, was one of her PhD advisors. Named as one of the world’s ‘rockstar genealogists’, her work since has covered not only family history but the use of genetic genealogy in forensics and historical cases.
She is working on a number of forensic/ancient cold cases including King Richard III, Robert the Bruce and others. She has been conducting genetic genealogical research for over 20 years. For some projects she is under a confidentiality agreement and unable to speak about them but is happy to talk about cases for which she is not under a CDA.
Professor Turi King is currently featuring in BBC 2/Minnow Films DNA Family Secrets.
Turi is also Professor of Public Engagement and Genetics at the University of Leicester, and carries out a great deal of media and television work, as well as public speaking. She is an Honorary Fellow of the British Science Association, a Fellow of the Society of Biology, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, an Affiliate Member of the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences and a Member of the International Society of Forensic Geneticists.
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[@TheRoyalInstitution]

Watch the Q&A with Turi for this talk here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJCTkpRoZbh7l8U. We're aware that there are some sound issues with this talk - we've done our best to improve the sound quality, and we hope you enjoy Turi's expertise.

[@pinkfloydhomer]

There is OFTEN audio problems with your talks. Really unprofessional. You are a renowned historical institution with excellent presentations. Can't you afford good audio equipment and good audio professionals? Such a shame.

[@TheRoyalInstitution]

@@pinkfloydhomer Despite our fancy name and long history, we're actually an independent charity working to a tight budget. We've recently been really short-staffed in our AV team which has put us in a tough spot and resulted in the sound issues on recent lectures. We know this can be very frustrating - but we will soon have a fully staffed team again so the sound issues should improve.

[@pinkfloydhomer]

@@TheRoyalInstitution sounds great 😃

[@kaythegardener]

Volume is ok, except for about the last couple of minutes!! Just pause & increase volume at that mark!! Just have to remember to tone down volume for next video!!

[@jeffbybee5207]

​@@TheRoyalInstitutionthe sound is fine to me. And your amount of time on the slides is almost good enough. I hate lectures that are mostly talking heads. It's great the speakers organization also

[@kushagrachadha4581]

Really really great content. This channel will inspire many more brilliant scientists to come

[@metalbird8992]

Fascinating! Turi has an engaging lecturing style and a wicked sense of humour!

[@glorydey5008glowlight]

Great information content! Video is perfect in audio and visual aspect. Thanks for sharing valuable knowledge! 🥰👍

[@DutchCreekRanch1]

Fabulous info. Thanks!

[@exponentzero]

As soon as Turi said "half" for the first time I knew she was an expat from North America. Very interesting speech affectation.

[@laratheplanespotter]

She’s Canadian

[@sgrannie9938]

King was born in Nottingham, England, as the eldest of three children born to Alan King, an engineer, and Daphne King, a housewife.[8] She moved to Canada at an early age and was brought up in Vancouver, British Columbia. She studied at the University of British Columbia and worked on archaeological sites in Canada, Greece, and England,[9] before moving to Jesus College, Cambridge[8] to read Archaeology and Anthropology.[10] There she was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree.[11] She won a scholarship to study for a Master of Science degree in Molecular Genetics at the University of Leicester, gaining a First with Distinction. In 2000, she started her doctoral research as a Wellcome Trust Prize Student at the University of Leicester, specialising in genetic genealogy and "in tracing migration patterns by using genetics."[8] Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, the inventor of DNA fingerprinting, was on her PhD supervisory panel.[12] (Wikipedia)

[@DragonKingGaav]

The audio sounds terrible!!!

[@Rosarium2007]

No problem on my end. Probably your speakers or headphones.

[@randomsam83]

@@Rosarium2007 Get your ears checked.

[@glorydey5008glowlight]

No audio problem I can listen perfectly on my mobile playback 🥰👍

[@boogieknee3781]

Audio is crackly,but at least I can understand her. I have to continually look for the transcript because the uploader never checked the volume of their audio.

[@RottnRobbie]

@Jan Anderson So you mean to say you don't hear a difference in volume between "... so that was a pretty quick one to do" at 44:30, and "I thought we might still be looking..." at 44:40? If so, that would be evidence that you had it on mute...

[@laratheplanespotter]

I was at this in the auditorium ❤❤

[@lgparker4726]

Always fascinating lectures by Tori. I too love that all the science was done by wlmen. Go girls.

[@marionrosannaanna4590]

Matthew Morris Uni of Leicester did a fascinating video which included isotopes etc to do with fluid and food consumption after tests of the skeleton, and other aspects. Sadly this was not even mentioned in a book about the dig.

[@Paul-nr6ws]

I used to love the Christmas lectures as a kid

[@dianespears6057]

She is always interesting.

[@rev.valeriehamann4049]

Professor Turi, what happens in the case of blood transfusion when someone has an accident? Do they inherit the DNA of te donor? How does this affect DNA testing?

[@suchalooser1175]

Cool!

[@biddiemutter3481]

27:23 for a dead king maybe. There have been a few searches for a king before!

[@philipmurphy2]

Great content, KZbin killed the TV star.

[@eagle-eye29]

Audio OK here

[@lisahinton9682]

Fascinating, but I really wish you'd take this down, fix the audio, and repost. I couldn't so much as take a deep breath without not being able to hear the speaker at the ends of her sentences (where she consistently drops her volume to almost nil).

[@Rosarium2007]

I don’t notice that at all.

[@lisahinton9682]

@@Rosarium2007 Most people don't pay attention to even anything that is right in front of them. You're most likely one of those people.

[@markxxx21]

Actually they have found in some instances fathers can pass mitochondrial DNA as well as mothers.

[@yourhomeisyourbusiness2221]

Dr Colleen Fitzpatrick used Y DNA to solve the Phoenix Canal Murders in 2015. The surname of the murderer was Miller.

[@rogerharley8692]

John of Gaunt Verses history.

[@aaronrobertcattell8859]

like a tree that spread it seed with air then next trees around the first tree so that why name have common place to the name more people move around the world the less that will happen

[@geoswan4984]

Doctor King asserts, at around the 7 and a half minute mark, that Normans brought Surnames to Britain. Wait! Weren't inherited Surnames a fad that swept through Europe, starting around 75 years after the Norman invasion? To quote from the Wikipedia... "According to Christopher Daniell, in From Norman Conquest to Magna Carta, 1140 marked what might be the first recorded use of a modern surname, inherited by multiple generations. The sons of a Norman named Robert used a modern inheritable surname, FitzGerald, in honour of an earlier relative, named Gerald." Even kings didn't have surnames, which is why Kings were disambiguated by their nicknames, like Edward the Confessor, or William the Conqueror. The Tudor and Windsor dynasties are known by the surname of the dynasty founder. But this isn't true for William the Conqueror's dynasty, because he didn't have a surname.

[@eagle-eye29]

Well aren’t you a smarty 😂

[@Schiffsfahrer]

@@eagle-eye29 Technically speaking royalty still doesn't have a surname. It's Queen of... King of... Prince of... or from, for a reason. I mean, look no further than Prince Philipp, he didn't have a surname.

[@cherylbrooks7005]

❤😊❤

[@Hugo_Overthere]

I'm saying that Richard III had neurofibromatosis.

[@Charok1]

the guy was breeding his own soccer team

[@pinkfloydhomer]

Audio terrible, as it often is with RI 🙄

[@Rosarium2007]

Sounds fine to me.

[@pinkfloydhomer]

@@Rosarium2007 you might need to go to the doctor then

[@hankdonaldson]

I cannot understand you. You talk way to fast.

[@travelinman70]

since you admitted to "coming to this country" and your accent, I surmise your American. And, you've chosen to adopt certain British enunciations. Have you done a study as to why people choose to adopt these idiocracies? Is it to differentiate from other Americans in Britain or attempt to "fit in"? Because it's not an entire word that adopting, a word that isn't used in American, but a partial enunciation. Britican or Ameritish?

[@laratheplanespotter]

She’s Canadian, not American.

[@interneteditor5258]

I'm going to guess you've never moved to another country, or even different part of your own country, or you'd know it's not usually a conscious choice nor an affection, it's normal to pick up an accent or language differences in a new place. You sound rude and ignorant.

[@CharleneCTX]

Why would she have done a study about this? It's not her field. The study is linguisitcs and the search term you're looking for is "linguistic mirroring."

[@user-fq8rs7rz3i]

@@laratheplanespotterShe’s British born but raised in Canada.