ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

International Society of Genetic Genealogy

Hi there! So, there's this group called the International Society of Genetic Genealogy, or ISOGG for short, and they're a bunch of people who are really interested in figuring out where their families come from by studying their genes.

You see, every living thing has DNA, which is like a recipe book that tells your body how to grow and work. But your DNA is also a record of your family history, because it gets passed down from your parents to you, and from you to your kids, and so on. This means that if you study your DNA, you can learn a lot about your ancestors, like where they lived, what languages they spoke, and even what kind of food they ate!

Now, the ISOGG is a group of people from all over the world who are really interested in this kind of stuff. They share information and research with each other, and work together to try and solve mysteries about family history. Some members are experts who teach other people how to study their DNA, while others are just regular people who are curious about their past.

One thing that the ISOGG is particularly interested in is something called "genetic genealogy", which is a fancy way of saying that they use DNA to trace family trees. They look for specific markers, or patterns, in people's genes that can help them identify where their ancestors came from. For example, if someone has a lot of markers that are common in people from Ireland, it might mean that their ancestors were from Ireland too!

Anyway, that's the basics of the International Society of Genetic Genealogy. They're a group of people who really love to learn about their family history, and they use DNA to do it. Who knows, maybe you'll be a member someday too!