http://goo.gl/2CH7n http://goo.gl/2CH7n from NYtimes: "One of the descendants, Michael Ibsen, is the son of a 16th-generation niece of King Richard’s" which m

http://goo.gl/2CH7n http://goo.gl/2CH7n from NYtimes: "One of the descendants, Michael Ibsen, is the son of a 16th-generation niece of King Richard’s" which means 18th generation descendant of the King. Each generation has roughly half the DNA of the ancestor (Y Chromosome and mitochondrial (female only) DNA excepted. Thus an 18th generation descendant would have just 1/2^18 or about 1/256,000 of the King's DNA. Of course this amount would actually be larger since other ancestors to the King would have been his ancestor as well. In the Talmud there is a famous expression, "He who saves a life is as if he saves and entire world and he who destroys a life is as if he destroys an entire world." and this relates to the meaning of this statement.