Romanov Mystery

1. Who were the Romanovs and why are we interested in studying their remains?

2. How many children did the Tsar and tsarina Alexandra produce?

3. What was the disorder that Alexii suffered from?

4. What is the name of the type of chart scientists use to trace genetic disorders?

5. What were the Bolshevik soldiers told to do on that fateful evening of July 16, 1918 in the Ipatiev house?

6. Who did Anna Anderson claim to be?

7. Analyze handwriting, ear and face structure of Anna Anderson. Do you think there is a possibility that she is who she claimed to be? Do these methods seem accurate?

8. In What year were scientists allowed to uncover the burial site in Yekaterinburg, Siberia?

9. Why did the Russians need help from the Americans?

10. How doscientists determine race, gender and age of skeletal remains?

11. How many skeletons were shot and how many bodies were found buried in the supposed grave of the Tsar and Tsarina?

12. If these are the remains of the royal family and their staff, then who is missing?

13. What is DNA, where is it located in the cell and what information does it carry?

14. What is the difference between nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA and why might it be more useful to use mitochondrial DNA in genetic testing?

15. From whom did the Romanov children receive their mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)?

16. From whom did Tsarina Alexandra receive her mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)?

17. Does Tsar Nicholas II have the same mtDNA as his children?

18. How can the identity of the skeletal remains be proven?

19. Do you know who the most recent maternal relative is for the Romanov family?

20. How can that maternal relative aid scientists in confirming the skeletal remains belong to the Royal Family?

21. What can we conclude about the skeletons

22. What can we conclude about skeleton #9?

23. Is there a maternal relative alive that can be used for amtDNA comparison? If so, who?

24. Is there a skeleton that matches the Tsar's family? If so, which skeleton number?

25. What conclusions can we draw about the other male skeletons?

26. Could we use the same mtDNA technology to reveal Anna Anderson's true identity? How?

27. Whom should Anna Anderson's mtDNA be compared to, if she was, in fact, Anastasia Romanov

28. If, on the other hand, Anna Anderson was FranziskaSchanzkowska, the missing factory worker,
whom should her mtDNA be compared to?

29. Use the Bioservers to compare DNA from Anna Anderson's intestinal tissue to a maternal relative of Anastasia (Prince Philip) as well as to a maternal relative of Franziska (Carl Maucher). What do the findings suggest?

30. What two types of DNA samples were analyzed for Anna Anderson? What did the evidence show?