DNA Testing

[westcoast]

Anyone had this done. or want to have it done? Were you surprised
by the results? I am thinking I would like to do this. There are
different testing places advertised, not sure which one is best.
Comments please.

[DonH57]

Anyone had this done. or want to have it done? Were you surprised
by the results? I am thinking I would like to do this. There are
different testing places advertised, not sure which one is best.
Comments please.

I had family finder done thru family tree dna since they are the largest company that does testing. If your interested in genealogy I recommend you check out the Villages Genealogical Society. Great outfit and lots of people who would answer your questions. I got quite an amazing amount of matches and unfortunately some didn't provide surnames, or any other info to help how they are related to me.

[graciegirl]

I am interested too. And don't know whether to use Ancestry.com or the other one advertised a lot....and don't know whether it is just a foolish hundred bucks thrown away.


We have a bunch of cousins who look very much alike and kind of Asian, although we are of German descent. I have always wondered whether Mongol invaders may have intertwined their DNA with my ancestors.


I really don't care about it for health reasons. I have had some DNA testing for a certain kind of breast cancer and don't want to know if some other kind of disease will leap on me soon.

[Record10ti]

You all of course know that you still will not know what it is you do not know? There is no actual scientific basis for the "results" other than going off of a "presumed" sample - that is directly disputed in the commercials for DNA testing. Simply thinking that X=1 is not pertinent in this dog fight because no one even knows what "1" is!

I have seen DNA testing on dogs where not only is the breed known, six generations of the breed going back over 40 years is known...and the DNA came back as a mini-dachshund (this in a lineage of well bred Golden Retrievers).

The only thing that the DNA purveyors need now is to have Dion Warwick as their spokes person...being as it is Snake Oil and preying on the people who dont know better.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EJZAPX3Bw3E/hqdefault.jpg

[Record10ti]

I have had some DNA testing for a certain kind of breast cancer and don't want to know if some other kind of disease will leap on me soon.

You seem to be a very wise woman. Live for today and not give yourself things to worry about tomorrow (as we can not control them).

Testing of the presence of a gene, as you know does not give a lineage of heritage. It only gives the presence of the said gene (that may or may not be directly or indirectly linked to a condition in a subset of samples prone to X or Y ;-) )

I would just go to the Dollar Store and pick up a "Magic Eight Ball" and shake it...then, you can comfortably stand in front of any Anglo-saxion person and guess "German" (at least SOMEWHERE in their family tree...

[graciegirl]

You all of course know that you still will not know what it is you do not know? There is no actual scientific basis for the "results" other than going off of a "presumed" sample - that is directly disputed in the commercials for DNA testing. Simply thinking that X=1 is not pertinent in this dog fight because no one even knows what "1" is!

I have seen DNA testing on dogs where not only is the breed known, six generations of the breed going back over 40 years is known...and the DNA came back as a mini-dachshund (this in a lineage of well bred Golden Retrievers).

The only thing that the DNA purveyors need now is to have Dion Warwick as their spokes person...being as it is Snake Oil and preying on the people who dont know better.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EJZAPX3Bw3E/hqdefault.jpg





Thank you for an expert opinion by an IT person. I will now call my friend who is the head of the genetics department at Mass General. Her name is Barbara Pober.

[Record10ti]

Barbara will agree with me. DNA is only as good as its starting information (just like computers). We simply do not know where the results of X=1 come from...then again, I can, I suppose to defer to my family that consists of Clinical Pathologists, Endocrinologists, as well as Oncologists (and one who is a research scientist over seas working with endangered species). "Heritage" testing is a far cry from that of a known genome that can "possibly" be linked to a genetic condition (ask Angelina Jolie).

The information known is SO limited that it is almost incomprehensible. But, humans like to hope on hope to know something, anything (part of the reason I did not finish Med School - but do work in Healthcare oddly).

But, if someone wants to get DNA testing to find out they are supposedly from Narnia...I hope they spent their life savings getting PowerBall on the way home from the post office mailing their SALIVA sample. What is even more fun is the "control of custody" as there IS NONE. You dont even have any real assurance that your sample is your sample...Simple N=1 test is for the same person to send in two samples and see if they get the same results. Oddly, they dont...then there are things like this...

Title:
Two DNA tests on same person, but different results
Summary:
Same person, Ancestry.com DNA test and National geographic DNA test yielded different results
Content:
Hello, If there is a better email to send this question to, please advise. I cannot find it on your website. I have already called Ancestry.com and they did not have any explanation for the significant difference of results between Ancestry.com and National Geographic DNA Geno 2.0 test. The test I had done with Ancestry.com did NOT show any of the 21% Northern European DNA that the Nat'l geographic study did. I think that’s a significant difference. Can you explain why the Ancestry.com DNA study does NOT show ANY Northern European DNA in my results? Does the Nat'l Geo DNA test go further back in genetic history than the Ancestry.com test? Which test do I trust? I am female. Ancestry.com DNA test showed: Europe 82% including Italy/Greece 80% West Asia 17% Africa <1% ____ National Geographic Geno 2.0 kit study showed: Mediterranean 57% Northern European 21% (“Northern European - people from the UK, Denmark, Finland, Russia and Germany...”) Southwest Asian 19% Which test do I trust? Thank you for your help.

[jnieman]

I recently sent for the kit on Ancestry.com. When it came I just had to put some saliva in a vial, seal it up and send it back. They acknowledged by email that they received my sample and are working on it. They said it would be about 6 weeks for my result and they would notify me by email when it is ready. I did it to find out how much American Indian blood I have. I have always been told my great grandmother was full blood American indian. My brother and sister have been working on our geneology for years so this will help them also. It was $99.00. Quick and easy.

[OBXNana]

Watch what you ask for and be prepared for the results...

I went to my grandparents grave stone to put on the Christmas wreath and remove the fall wreath. A note was attached that had been put in a zip lock bag. The gentleman knew quite a bit about my grandmother and her brother. Both are buried at this plot with my grandfather and grandmothers brothers wife. The gentleman is now in his 90's and I emailed him immediately. Our son actively works on geneology and I knew he would know if the dates and locations were accurate that the gentleman told me. They were. When he responded to my email, he explained his parents were first generation Germans. He decided to have his DNA done and found he had more than German blood. His conclusion is that his mother had an affair with my grandmothers brother and he is Stan's offspring. He is asking for nothing, other than to see pictures of "his father" and any news type articles I might have. We were leaving for Florida when this was happening and I told him in May we could meet.

My theory is, there is no way to know for absolute certainty this gentleman's Stan's son, but to make a man in his 90's have peace that his father was a wonderful, upstanding man, does me no harm. I have a problem labeling him as upstanding if he in fact did have an affair, but that is my personal value. I have pictures to share, articles of Stan's achievements, and many stories my father told me about his Uncle Stan. I will share them with him to make him happy thinking his biological Dad wasn't the man that had abused him as a child.

As you think about having DNA checked, know there are all kinds of possibilities of the results. Having a long lost relative would have never crossed my mind.

[manaboutown]

After someone I knew received her results from the Ancestry.com saliva test I thought, what the heck, and sent in a saliva sample fully realizing the results might not be all that accurate. After all, what can they do for $99? A bottle of a recent vintage of Chateau Palmer sets me back over $250 at a wine store.

[flyerguy]

Nah, I happy knowing what I know and not interest in going back any further.

[Record10ti]

After someone I knew received her results from the Ancestry.com saliva test I thought, what the heck, and sent in a saliva sample fully realizing the results might not be all that accurate. After all, what can they do for $99? A bottle of a recent vintage of Chateau Palmer sets me back over $250 at a wine store.

That sir, in all seriousness is the BEST way to look at it :BigApplause:

It is a nice thought? Certainly. Based on real science? Heck, maybe. Then again, the earth being flat was once based on the best science.

I can only imagine the "junk" relatives to come out of this "junk science".."Ancenstry.com's non-scientific, non-controlled DNA testing told me that your mother was a tramp and you are my half brother...can I have a loan?"

[graciegirl]

Barbara will agree with me. DNA is only as good as its starting information (just like computers). We simply do not know where the results of X=1 come from...then again, I can, I suppose to defer to my family that consists of Clinical Pathologists, Endocrinologists, as well as Oncologists (and one who is a research scientist over seas working with endangered species). "Heritage" testing is a far cry from that of a known genome that can "possibly" be linked to a genetic condition (ask Angelina Jolie).

The information known is SO limited that it is almost incomprehensible. But, humans like to hope on hope to know something, anything (part of the reason I did not finish Med School - but do work in Healthcare oddly).

But, if someone wants to get DNA testing to find out they are supposedly from Narnia...I hope they spent their life savings getting PowerBall on the way home from the post office mailing their SALIVA sample. What is even more fun is the "control of custody" as there IS NONE. You dont even have any real assurance that your sample is your sample...Simple N=1 test is for the same person to send in two samples and see if they get the same results. Oddly, they dont...then there are things like this...

Title:
Two DNA tests on same person, but different results
Summary:
Same person, Ancestry.com DNA test and National geographic DNA test yielded different results
Content:
Hello, If there is a better email to send this question to, please advise. I cannot find it on your website. I have already called Ancestry.com and they did not have any explanation for the significant difference of results between Ancestry.com and National Geographic DNA Geno 2.0 test. The test I had done with Ancestry.com did NOT show any of the 21% Northern European DNA that the Nat'l geographic study did. I think that’s a significant difference. Can you explain why the Ancestry.com DNA study does NOT show ANY Northern European DNA in my results? Does the Nat'l Geo DNA test go further back in genetic history than the Ancestry.com test? Which test do I trust? I am female. Ancestry.com DNA test showed: Europe 82% including Italy/Greece 80% West Asia 17% Africa <1% ____ National Geographic Geno 2.0 kit study showed: Mediterranean 57% Northern European 21% (“Northern European - people from the UK, Denmark, Finland, Russia and Germany...”) Southwest Asian 19% Which test do I trust? Thank you for your help.


I can tell you were in the gifted class, but I haven't often had a conversation with anyone about genetics who brought up psychics. I just want to know if there is some Asian blood in me because that would make me more interesting, to myself. And would give me a valid reason to change my décor.;)

[Record10ti]

I hear that Koyame is good...what I would do, get some pot-stickers and some shrimp lo mein - Then decorate any way you want (not certain there is any "Asian blood" in that unless the cook is careless with his cutlery). The other "little Asian" would require looking out for "loofa's" on the cars of Asians (mostly Honda I understand)...I am thinking that is another forum and even website however.

My best friend did purchase his Asian wife however (Seriously, he did in Iwakuni) - he always decorated with an Asian theme (I do hope to god he grew out of the Samurai swords on the wall thing...)

[rubicon]

When I first moved here I visited the town squares. Lo and behold a merchant had my family's code of arms and with it a flattery history of my ancestors. So I am certain that if I did DNA testing the company would reveal to me that royalty abound among my ancestors. I'll bet I am second or third cousin to some famous celebrities. :D

[graciegirl]

I hear that Koyame is good...what I would do, get some pot-stickers and some shrimp lo mein - Then decorate any way you want (not certain there is any "Asian blood" in that unless the cook is careless with his cutlery). The other "little Asian" would require looking out for "loofa's" on the cars of Asians (mostly Honda I understand)...I am thinking that is another forum and even website however.

My best friend did purchase his Asian wife however (Seriously, he did in Iwakuni) - he always decorated with an Asian theme (I do hope to god he grew out of the Samurai swords on the wall thing...)






DNA Tests Can (http://vitals.lifehacker.com/dna-tests-can-t-really-tell-your-true-ethnicity-1759138178)
This supports your argument.


However I was kidding about changing our décor.


I like the faux snob we have now.

[Barefoot]

My girlfriend had genetic/medical testing done at www.23andme.com (http://www.23andme.com).
For me, I'd rather keep my head buried in the sand. :mornincoffee:

[Record10ti]

My girlfriend had genetic/medical testing done at www.23andme.com (http://www.23andme.com).
For me, I'd rather keep my head buried in the sand. :mornincoffee:

I still dont get it. "Buried in the sand"? More over, not worrying about things that you can not control. As humans (and every other living creature on this planet right down to volcano's)...we are mortal. There will be an end. Now, if we do or do not get a peptic ulcer in waiting for the end is our decision.

A good for instance. I will never get a prostate check. IF a person has prostate cancer it very rarely metastatic. The "resolution" is a life of adult diapers, ****ing ones self and the ability to freebase Viagra with no effects...no thanks...I will take quality over quantity of life any day. If "ignorance is bliss", consider me blissful :MOJE_whot:


I might suggest "The serenity prayer" for those who are hell bent on worrying about such trivialities.


God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.

[rexxfan]

This is a copy of a post I made to a paid-membership Irish genealogy site (at forum.youririshheritage.com) that I am a member of that describes my experience with genealogy-focused DNA testing. The only update to this is that subsequently, I discovered I could upload my ancestry.com DNA raw data to gedmatch.com in order to see if I could find any additional matches in their database. It turned out I did find two 3rd cousins I was previously unaware of (and was able to exchange emails with them). And yes, I do plan to get involved with genealogy groups here in TV sometime.

Here's that post:

To date I have taken two DNA tests, The first was in 2005 via familytreedna.com. I chose that provider because IBM, my employer, was sponsoring a joint project between familytreedna, National Geographic and IBM to advance the science of DNA testing. As employees, we were given the opportunity to participate at a greatly reduced cost (to kick start the project). I had always been interested in my family origins and so I decided to participate.

At the time I had only a vague notion of where my family had come from. My paternal line, the Cronin's, were clearly from Ireland, although details were hazy at best. My maternal line, the Spurr's, were known (with much greater certainty than my paternal line) to have emigrated from Normandy to England around the time of the Norman Conquest, way back in 1066. So I expected to find that I had mostly Irish and English ancestors.

The results on familytreedna are very detailed, so its difficult to provide a succinct summary, but the chart at the following link gives a reasonably good overview of the probabilities based on an analysis of the matches I have with other test takers in their database. As expected, England, UK and Ireland are prevalent (with some France, which makes sense given the Norman origins of my maternal line). I was a bit surprised by the number of German matches at first, but then I remembered that my paternal Grandmother (named Smith, aka Schmitt) was likely from there, so I guess that makes sense as well.

All in all I was satisfied with the results, at least in terms of the confirmation they provided of the general ideas I had about where my ancestors came from. The results were not very useful in narrowing things down to specific areas (e.g. counties, townlands, etc.) , and that was a bit frustrating, but given the vast computational challenges involved (not to mention the relative dearth of detailed test results for any significant percentage of the population), understandable I suppose.

https://goo.gl/77qcMK

I took the second test in 2013, this time with ancestry.com. In the intervening years between my first and second tests, I had gotten more active trying to narrow things down, particularly on my paternal line. I joined ancestry.com and spent a few years researching my Cronin line.

To make a long story short, I traced my Cronin's back from my childhood home in Massachusetts, USA to my great grandfather's birthplace in Johnville, NB Canada and from there back to my 2nd great grandfather in Ireland. I found his baptism record (from Killarney in 1815) but not much else. There I hit a frustrating brick wall (in terms of finding other Irish ancestors anyway, I was able to find a fair number of Canadian and American relatives, some of whom I have communicated with directly, and that was satisfying).

At that point I decided to try one more DNA test to see if maybe I could narrow things down further. However, the results from the ancestry.com test were nowhere near as detailed as what I had found through familytreedna and that was disappointing (although they did confirm the general patterns found earlier, and that was a small comfort). For what its worth, here's what ancestry.com came up with.

https://goo.gl/0FssRt

All in all, my experience was reasonably satisfying in terms of providing a fairly crisp understanding of the general areas my ancestors were from, but beyond that I've not found them particularly useful to get any specifics. Both services did provide a matching service to identify others whose test results were similar to mine, but none of those has turned up any actual direct relatives. So, while it was interesting to see who they were and where they were from, it was not of any use in helping break through my brick wall.

For the moment I've given up on that. I need some kind of breakthrough. I am considering travelling to Ireland and spending some quality time in the general areas I believe my 2nd great grandfather's family to have been from (but even then, given the paucity of records from that time period in Ireland, I'm not particularly hopeful that I'll find much, but at least I'll get to see the area).

I hope this has been useful to you all.
--
Bob C

[Record10ti]

Very cool to read. My question is however, what did the DNA tell you that you could not have found by interviewing family members, friends and doing searches on birth records?

I think that the Internet has been far more key in finding our lineage than what we knew from across the room (your of Euro/Anglo-Saxion decent). Unless your family members also had their DNA recorded and indexed, there was no sample to compare to, such as with a paternity chromosomal test (that is where things get really scary with "Big Brother").

[BobnBev]

To heck with DNA. Want to find all of your missing relatives, win big in powerball, they will find you. You have more distant relatives than you ever thought possible.:MOJE_whot::1rotfl::clap2::boom:

[Nucky]

My girlfriend had genetic/medical testing done at www.23andme.com (http://www.23andme.com).
For me, I'd rather keep my head buried in the sand. :mornincoffee:


I'm with you. I don't want to know more than what I've been told. It might explain why I have such good rhythm though?? :duck:

[asianthree]

[QUOTE=Record10ti;1213696]You all of course know that you still will not know what it is you do not know? There is no actual scientific basis for the "results" other than going off of a "presumed" sample - that is directly disputed in the commercials for DNA testing. Simply thinking that X=1 is not pertinent in this dog fight because no one even knows what "1" is!

The only thing that the DNA purveyors need now is to have Dion Warwick as their spokes person...being as it is Snake Oil and preying on the people who dont know better.



Damn we and the government spent $250,000 on our oldest education. . .he is a physical anthropologist with DNA back to 4000 BC in Egyptian, Mexico, native Alaskan. He is been the youngest to be published by the Smithsonian at age 23 and then again at age 25. There are a lot of people in his field that he is highly respected in his education and DNA background that it clears up a tremendous amount of issues of bones that of been removed from site and not properly labeled. Guess I'm gonna have to tell him that he's wasting his time doing DNA studies and 14 lectures that he has this summer and the amount of time that the government sends him back-and-forth to Alaska and the UK and Mexico.

[DonH57]

I'm with you. I don't want to know more than what I've been told. It might explain why I have such good rhythm though?? :duck:

I didn't know these companies could supply testing for medical reasons again. I was under the impression they were stopped from doing it because it was considered practicing medicine. I don't remember where I heard or read it. Maybe they are now doing that.

[Barefoot]

To heck with DNA. Want to find all of your missing relatives, win big in powerball, they will find you. You have more distant relatives than you ever thought possible.

Or buy a home in The Villages.
You will suddenly have a plethora of friends and relatives who feel it's imperative that they get to know you better.

[Record10ti]

Or buy a home in The Villages.
You will suddenly have a plethora of friends and relatives who feel it's imperative that they get to know you better.

My friends all know I dont golf...and they want to come and golf....

[rexxfan]

Very cool to read. My question is however, what did the DNA tell you that you could not have found by interviewing family members, friends and doing searches on birth records?

I think that the Internet has been far more key in finding our lineage than what we knew from across the room (your of Euro/Anglo-Saxion decent). Unless your family members also had their DNA recorded and indexed, there was no sample to compare to, such as with a paternity chromosomal test (that is where things get really scary with "Big Brother").

Regrettably I have no living family members to interview. I wish I'd gotten interested in the subject earlier. As to DNA, you're right, in my case it added very little extra information. Just a few 3rd cousins I was formerly unaware of. Most of the rest of what I learned came from websites like ancestry.
--
Bob C

[Record10ti]

That is sorta what I figured. Money wasted? Certainly not - but, it did not offer the things that the claims "claim", such as "I found my great grandmother who was on a flight to Tallahassee and hooked up in the bathroom" - not ging to happen until the point that we have genomes from every human on earth (and a suspect to compare things to).

That is awesome you can find folks - for me, I try to avoid the family ;-)

[Walter123]

To heck with DNA. Want to find all of your missing relatives, win big in powerball, they will find you. You have more distant relatives than you ever thought possible.:MOJE_whot::1rotfl::clap2::boom:

LOL!!!! That's a great one, and true too!

I don't need a DNA test. My Mother told me I have royalty in my blood because she always said I was a royal pain in the ass!

[manaboutown]

When I have visited Sweden and Germany, even when I was among a group of Americans speaking English among ourselves, locals almost always addressed me in their native tongues.

When I visited Minnesota people thought I was a local which I am not.

Physical appearance apparently says a lot.

[Nucky]

LOL!!!! That's a great one, and true too!

I don't need a DNA test. My Mother told me I have royalty in my blood because she always said I was a royal pain in the ass!

Same thing from my mother!!! :1rotfl::1rotfl:

[DonH57]

Sometimes I believe there is something to DNA testing since I remember some former coworkers I bet I could prove were descended from neanderthals. Now I believe more so by passing some in golf carts by the way they drive!

[LuckySevens]

You seem to be a very wise woman. Live for today and not give yourself things to worry about tomorrow (as we can not control them).

Testing of the presence of a gene, as you know does not give a lineage of heritage. It only gives the presence of the said gene (that may or may not be directly or indirectly linked to a condition in a subset of samples prone to X or Y ;-) )

I would just go to the Dollar Store and pick up a "Magic Eight Ball" and shake it...then, you can comfortably stand in front of any Anglo-saxion person and guess "German" (at least SOMEWHERE in their family tree...

Oh, now that is FUNNY! I used to have an 8-ball but it probably went in the moving garage sale. :-)