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  #16   ^
Old Fri, Jun-28-19, 10:58
CityGirl8 CityGirl8 is offline
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Posts: 856
 
Plan: Protein Power, IF
Stats: 238/204/145 Female 5'8"
BF:53.75%/46.6%/25%
Progress: 37%
Location: PNW
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I do a lot of genealogy and often see people posting on forums that they just got their DNA tests back and are shocked to see xxxx ethnicity. But, the results are only rough guesses that are only as good as their testing pool. (If you test for health genetics at 23&Me, the results should be accurate though.)

I tested at Ancestry and uploaded my results to FamilyTree DNA and GEDMatch.
  • Ancestry says that I am about 90% Irish, Scottish, English and German (they break it down more), about 4% Scandinavian, and the rest trace stuff. This matches with the paper genealogy work I've done and I have DNA cousin matches to all these branches of the family.
  • FamilyTree DNA says that I'm 89% British Isles and 6% Iberian (Spanish and Portuguese). No German. However, some of my most recent immigrant ancestors were from Germany. Also, I am descended from Mennonites who were almost exclusively German. As I said, I DNA match to cousins in these branches, so the lack of German in the FTNDA results cannot be correct. But if I hadn't seen the Ancestry results, I might be shocked by FTDNA.
  • GEDMatch has nearly a dozen different testing pools I can compare against and the results are all different. One says I'm nearly 14% Russian and more than 11% Mediterranean. I expect to see some traces of non-Northern European mixed in--after all the Ottoman Empire controlled much of Europe until after my ancestors started immigrating to the US--but those numbers are abnormally high.

People also often get quite excited about small, unexpected results: "I'm 1.6% Native American!" But anything under about 2% is just noise. Autosomal DNA just isn't that accurate for ethnicity results at that distance.

If you're strictly from an endogamous community, you probably already know this and DNA isn't going to tell you much more. The biggest group this affects is Ashkenazi Jews. Your results are going to say you're Ashkenazi Jewish from Germany, Central Europe, Poland, Russia, etc. and everybody has the same results. The tests just can't parse the results better for communities where people are strict about marrying within the community.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zuleikaa
A lot of lighter skinned/straighter haired African Americans claim Native American heritage--it's a myth; a denial of the routine sexual abuse of slave women.
Claiming native ancestry was really common with white people for a long time, too, because they didn't want to admit they might have African ancestry. Part of my family is from the South. My DNA results tell me that I don't have African ancestry. But matches to distant cousins on Ancestry who are African American tells me I have an ancestor who's behavior I should be embarrassed by. I don't know who he was yet, but I'm sorry someone I'm related to was such an a-hole and assaulted women in that way.
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  #17   ^
Old Tue, Jul-09-19, 18:42
sk8termom's Avatar
sk8termom sk8termom is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 312
 
Plan: atkins
Stats: 274/267/170 Female 5'7"
BF:
Progress: 7%
Location: Cleveland OH area, USA
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For my son adopted from Guatemala it was amazing to get the results. We thought he was Hispanic/Asian. Turn out he is almost 100% Native American, in hi case Maya Indian. It really helped him learn more about his amazing heritage.
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  #18   ^
Old Wed, Jul-10-19, 08:20
Yesurbius's Avatar
Yesurbius Yesurbius is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 144
 
Plan: Classic Atkins
Stats: 275/272/165 Male 180cm
BF:
Progress: 3%
Location: Sherwood Park, AB Canada
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Quote:
Originally Posted by khrussva
My daughters bought me a 23andme Health and Ancestry DNA kit for my birthday a few weeks ago. I followed the directions precisely and sent in my saliva sample to be processed. A few days later they notified me that my DNA sample could not be processed. There was not enough DNA in my spit to meet their standards.


When I did my Big-Y700 test from FamilyTreeDNA they needed a very good sample .. the instructions said to lightly bite on the inside of your cheeks a bit, scraping it with your teeth .. and then to use the swab for at least 30 seconds ... as you swab move the swab up and down on the cheek while rotating the swap between your fingers .. this will get the best sample.

As far as the health report - you can use it as a tool to investigate further - but consumer DNA sequencing isn't the best. Talk to your doctor about any results that you are concerned about and they can get you some proper genetic testing done. Also remember that just because you have a marker - doesn't mean its activated ...

For those that did autosomal type tests at other companies (like AncestryDNA or FamilyTreeDNA's FamilyFinder test), you can download your DNA sequence in a file and upload it to https://promethease.com which will show you which DNA markers you have that match both postiive and negative health indicators.

-Dan
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  #19   ^
Old Wed, Jul-10-19, 10:26
CityGirl8 CityGirl8 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 856
 
Plan: Protein Power, IF
Stats: 238/204/145 Female 5'8"
BF:53.75%/46.6%/25%
Progress: 37%
Location: PNW
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yesurbius
For those that did autosomal type tests at other companies (like AncestryDNA or FamilyTreeDNA's FamilyFinder test), you can download your DNA sequence in a file and upload it to https://promethease.com which will show you which DNA markers you have that match both postiive and negative health indicators.

Good tip! I knew you could download your results elsewhere for genealogy stuff, but I didn't realize there was a company that would do it for health markers.
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  #20   ^
Old Thu, Jul-11-19, 12:14
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
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Posts: 25,842
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
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They can't sell your data to anyone where you, as an individual, are identified. They might sell en masse, a bunch of data, but without your personal info attached. https://www.23andme.com/privacy/

Laws protect your genetic information. However, you can download your raw genetic data and run it through analysis elsewhere that is totally anonymous. Kind of fun to do. https://promethease.com/

And if you want to help catch unsolved murders and such you can submit your DNA to a public database. Who know? Uncle Bill might be serial killer! https://www.gedmatch.com/login1.php

I was pretty excited to find I'm more Neanderthal that almost everyone!

Quote:
Third Party Sharing
We will not sell, lease or rent your individual-level information to any third party or to a third party for research purposes without your explicit consent. However, we do use and share aggregate information with third parties in order to perform business development, initiate research, send you marketing emails and improve our services.

Aggregate information has been stripped of your personal details (e.g., your name and contact information) and aggregated with the information of others so that you cannot reasonably be identified as an individual.

Last edited by Nancy LC : Thu, Jul-11-19 at 12:20.
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  #21   ^
Old Thu, Jul-11-19, 12:28
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
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Posts: 25,842
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
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Zuleikaa, it was interesting to read your story! I'm a pale-ass white person and I've got some W. African in me.

We're all African though, since our species originated there.
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  #22   ^
Old Tue, Jul-16-19, 10:39
khrussva's Avatar
khrussva khrussva is offline
Say NO to Diabetes!
Posts: 8,671
 
Plan: My own - < 30 net carbs
Stats: 440/228/210 Male 5' 11"
BF:Energy Unleashed
Progress: 92%
Location: Central Virginia - USA
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The 23andMe lab was able to process DNA out of the second sample that I sent in. I guess the cheek scraping helped. The DNA is all processed and I just got my report back. I have not had much time to review it, but here are the bullet points:

On the ancestry side there were no real surprises. It says that I am 97% western European, with the strongest regions being within England, Ireland and France. I suppose if there is a surprise it was France and not the Dutch & German I had expected. However, the gene pool hits were from northern France (Normandy and near the German border). The report says that Louis the 16th and I share a common ancestor. That's an interesting tidbit.

As far as the African & native American blood ancestry that has been the lore of my mom's side of the family, the African part appears to be true. The report said that I have one relative from within the past 200 years with roots to the Caribbean island of Barbados and a little further back west Africa. But there was no Native American blood to speak of. That part of the family lore was just a tall tale. And like Nancy shared (post above), I have more Neanderthal DNA than most.

On the health side I have not had time to do anything but browse through the huge laundry list of potential risk factors -- but it is interesting to note that they nailed the top 3 on the list. Diabetes, hyperinsulinemia, and hypercholesterolemia. Check, check, check. I was surprised about how long the list of potential health issues was. But I am one who believes that we have some control over these risk factors by eating a good diet and living an active, healthy lifestyle. So I'm not going to lose any sleep worrying about it.

I've barely scratched the surface on my results. I find this stuff fun and interesting. I look forward to diving in a little deeper.

Last edited by khrussva : Wed, Jul-17-19 at 07:10.
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  #23   ^
Old Tue, Jul-16-19, 10:47
Meme#1's Avatar
Meme#1 Meme#1 is offline
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Posts: 12,456
 
Plan: Atkins DANDR
Stats: 210/194/160 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Texas
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The French German border would move back and forth which I found out a few years back when I saw he was listed in the census here in TX as French but was probably born in Baden Baden Germany.
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  #24   ^
Old Tue, Jul-16-19, 23:57
Verbena Verbena is offline
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Posts: 1,056
 
Plan: My own
Stats: 186/155/150 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 86%
Location: SW PNW
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Early on when DH and I were still new in our relationship, he went off on a teasing little rant about "You Americans! Always talking about being 1/4 this & 1/16 that & 1/64 the other. Now we Germans, we're just German!" His mother overheard him, and said "You DO realize don't you that my maiden name is Czech?". Oops! He still thinks it a little funny that Americans are so preoccupied with their ancestors, but isn't so vocal about it anymore :-). I haven't had my DNA checked, and doubt that I will, but it does sound like an interesting delve into the past.
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  #25   ^
Old Wed, Jul-17-19, 10:18
CityGirl8 CityGirl8 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 856
 
Plan: Protein Power, IF
Stats: 238/204/145 Female 5'8"
BF:53.75%/46.6%/25%
Progress: 37%
Location: PNW
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Verbena
Early on when DH and I were still new in our relationship, he went off on a teasing little rant about "You Americans! Always talking about being 1/4 this & 1/16 that & 1/64 the other. Now we Germans, we're just German!" His mother overheard him, and said "You DO realize don't you that my maiden name is Czech?". Oops! He still thinks it a little funny that Americans are so preoccupied with their ancestors, but isn't so vocal about it anymore :-). I haven't had my DNA checked, and doubt that I will, but it does sound like an interesting delve into the past.
The tests are only sort-of accurate if all you're interested in is finding out an ethnicity break-down. It's entertaining, but not really solid science. They are good for getting health markers or for helping discover matches and getting through genealogy brick walls or if you're adopted and trying to find a bio-family. But the testing companies sell a lot of test kits on the premise that the ethnicities results are accurate. I guess they know they'd sell a lot fewer if their market was just people interested in the health stuff and genealogy nerds like me.
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  #26   ^
Old Wed, Jul-24-19, 12:04
Yesurbius's Avatar
Yesurbius Yesurbius is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 144
 
Plan: Classic Atkins
Stats: 275/272/165 Male 180cm
BF:
Progress: 3%
Location: Sherwood Park, AB Canada
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Hey Ken - just a further note on the genealogy aspect (not health):

A lot of people (SO MANY PEOPLE) ... think that the DNA tests offered by Ancestry and 23andMe are the end all be all ..

Those are autosomal tests .. they find cousins .. but they don't go very far back .. for example for 5th cousins .. only 15% of all samples are going to show enough common DNA to match .. and at those levels you run the risk of simply matching others by chance.

But there are two other main types of DNA tests: Y-DNA and mtDNA tests.

Y-DNA is for men only and traces the paternal line. father to son .. It uses markers. It doesn't carry any of the health information that everyone wants to protect... and it can go back 25 generations ...

MtDNA is for women only and traces the maternal line .. mother to daughter .. its very similar to Y-DNA...

For both Y and mt DNA testing - you can join a surname project .. where people that have tested list their names .. and are grouped according to their DNA - which means that you are all related .. even if distantly ..

For example - the Russell surname project is here:
https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/russell

And you can see the Y-DNA results of those that have tested here:
https://www.familytreedna.com/publi...rame=ycolorized

Doing a test would put you in one of those subgroups.

Generally FamilyTreeDNA is the best for doing Y-DNA or mTDNA tests .. although there are other testing facilities - they have the largest databases and memberships.


Its kind of funny the way we pass our surnames down based on the father .. If we followed the genetic method then sons would carry their fathers surnames and daughters would carry their mother's surnames .. then we would have male and female surnames .. and no more names like John Smith-Allen-Rose
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  #27   ^
Old Wed, Jul-24-19, 14:28
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,842
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
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Hey, that's cool! I'm going to check that surname database out.
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