The project uses high technology DNA analysis to determine whether families share a common ancestor. The male chromosome is passed down virtually unchanged from father to son. So, two male Rudolph 7th cousins would have virtually the same male DNA pattern. This scientific fact is useful in genealogy when one does not have documentary records to show a family connection despite circumstantial evidence that suggest a family connection. If the DNA of the descendants of the branches one is trying to connect do not have the same DNA pattern, then one knows they are not closely related. If the pattern does match, then there is a common ancestor at some point in the past lineage. The technology can’t pinpoint how many generations back the ancestor is, but it can tell us if there is a common ancestor.