genealogy

Two distant cousins connect online, only to learn that one is a militant leftist and the other is in a right-wing militia. Their story shows the complexities of a timely question: Who's an extremist?

A majority of Americans of European descent could be linked to third cousins, or closer relatives, using genealogy databases, a study finds. Soon it may be possible to identify nearly everyone by DNA.

Think of family trees and you probably think of dusty letters and black-and-white photos of great-grandparents. The latest trend, though, is using DNA testing to explore your ancestry.