GAIA by MyHeritage

Yesterday MyHeritage announced GAIA (Genealogy AI Agent) as a new feature for its growing set of research tools. I have not yet tried this on my own account, but am planning to try it out over the weekend.

MyHeritage's GAIA.

MyHeritage says this tool is built specifically for genealogy, approaching research like a professional genealogist. It is also built into MyHeritage's databases and tools, and is integrated with the MyHeritage family trees. Having worked with other AI-tools focused on genealogy, such as at YourDNAGuide, the idea of a genealogy-specific tool built into MyHeritage has a lot of promise. I'm interested to see what it can uncover that I have not seen on other platforms. 

DNA in the news: Tracing the spread of Germanic and Celtic languages using ancient genomics

New studies released in Nature (28 October 2026) dive into research on the spread of Germanic languages by examining ancient genomes from populations who migrated across Scandinavia and Western Europe. A second study focused on the spread of Celtic languages using ancient genomics (4 November 2026).

Dia de los Muertos

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Kobe, Japan. 12 Mar 2019.

Research Progress November 2026

October was a slow month for my family history research. I had a lengthy trip to Asia via Los Angeles, and primary obligations led the way leaving little additional spare time for research.  Last month's update is here. For November, I am hoping kick start work on some of those long time questions:

1. Portillo DNA matches and the mystery Guerrero-Leyvas
2. Amado DNA matches and continuing the build on the genetic map of the Amados
3. Campuzano YDNA

I'm currently reading Hunger and Hope by Christine Kinealy, Jason King and Mark G. McGowan. This is a book on the Irish famine migration from Strokestown, Roscommon in 1847. Thomas and Timothy Hanley, brothers of my 4th-great-grandmother Maria Hanley, were part of that famine migration group who made their way to Quebec in 1847. I'm in the process of learning more about their journey and am hoping to share more on their stories in November.

Under the palm trees

Photo by Patrick Jones. Bali. 15 Oct 2026.