My Ancestry.com DNA test linked me with my birth-mom mid-last year, who was previously unknown to me.

I'm very pro-DNA test and genealogy, Regardless of the conspiracy theories about rumored potential implications of privacy or genetic categorizing, and subsequent denial of health insurance by insurance companies based on DNA results and likeliness of you getting a genetic condition, etc. etc.

My father-in-law works for Family Search, and can tell you so much more about DNA tests, but the tests vary, depending on if the company is doing a Maternal or Paternal test, or an Autosomal test. Ancestry.com's test is Autosomal, and is more complete, and connects you to other people who've taken the test as well as historical figures. how they get the historical figures is beyond me.

quote:

Originally posted by Scurvy:


This is true but the data is not connected to you in any way. They have no clue who is who.

They don't know who paid for it or who the results are being sent back to

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Originally posted by ensigmatic:
We know somebody whose sisters all did ancestry.com, I believe it was, and they all came back with different heritages

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Originally posted by egregore:
One of their commercials, with the white woman who had no idea she was 26% Native American, is curious. Twenty-six percent is one quarter, which means one grandparent was Native American. How do you not know this?

My best friend's wife's family was rocked with that about six months ago. Her mom and sister and all them did the same thing and found out my friend's mother in law was only a half sibling with the others. They confronted their parents, and they admitted she was a love-child. She's in her late 50's.

In answer to "How do you not know this?" it's infidelity that the parents hid. I dated a girl whose father told her he wasn't hers when she was 20 years old. Mom cheated when she was on station in Germany with some other guy and they decided to raise the child as their own. He just couldn't take it anymore.

I did Y-DNA with FTDNA. Sample was scrapings from inside the cheek. I didn't do the testing to determine ethnic origins, but to hopefully assist in making connection with distant kinfolk. I have made contact with a number of 5th Cousins, etc. using the results.

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by xwesler:

I'm curious and not a DNA expert by any means, but...would genes and traits affect the "percentages" in any way?

For example, like I pointed out my father is middle eastern, country TBD, and my mother is German with some Irish and Italian that we are aware of.

My sister inherited most of the traits from my mother's side - blue eyes, dark hair, fair skin, tall, etc. While I inherited the traits from my fathers side, the middle eastern traits. Dark eyes, dark skin, dark hair, etc. My sister and I don't appear related at first glance in any way.

So I wonder if she and I were to do it, if the %'s would be the same, or if I would have a higher percentage of "middle eastern heritage" while her Germanic numbers would be higher.

Again I have zero knowledge in this area, and my layman's brain seems to think that would make sense...

That's a great question xwesler. Hope somebody strolls by with an answer!

Well, I'm not an expert by any means, but since each child inherits half of its DNA from each parent (23 chromosomes from each) I'd say there is great latitude in the mix found in each child; therefore it's quite possible that different children could have different ethnic characteristics. The main exception would be brothers, who would have inherited the same Y Chromosome from their common father--characteristics controlled by that chromosome would probably be similar.

flashguy

My kid did Ancestry and 23 DNA. They came back quite close. I did ancestry. Ancestry traced and notified me and kid to be immediately close. DUH.

My eight Great Grand Parents are "from" based on ancestry tree and family lore:
3 Germans
2 Danish
2 Colonial, one with a lot of Irish tree branches
1 Colonial not sure from where

GGrandparents on father side
Danish+Danish=my Grandpa
Colonial+Colonial=Grandma

On mothers side
German+German=Grandma
German+Colonial(the unknown one)=Grandpa

The Danes came from Denmark middle 1800s to Utah
The Germans came across the pond 1870s mostly to Minnesota
One Colonial tree easily traces back to Ireland 1500s to the British invaders. I am related to Lord North by the ancestry tree AND family lore. Some Norths who came over early fought on our side.

My DNA is mostly Brit 49%, Scandinavian 36%, East Europe 10%, Irish 2%, and 3% of 4 trace amounts.

I kind of wish I was more Irish. A Norwegian girl once said I look VERY Danish.

quote:

Originally posted by RAMIUS:
I did it last year. My parents are both 100% Ukrainian, but I just wanted to see if there was a surprise in my genes.

Turns out I’m 100% Ukrainian.

I'm not doubting you. I'm interested in cultures. You're saying no other people group have mixed in with Ukranians??

I'm thinking where we are now in history, everybody's had some cross-polination unless it's some isolated tribe in an inaccessbile geography.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:

quote:

Originally posted by RAMIUS:
I did it last year. My parents are both 100% Ukrainian, but I just wanted to see if there was a surprise in my genes.

Turns out I’m 100% Ukrainian.

I'm not doubting you. I'm interested in cultures. You're saying no other people group have mixed in with Ukranians??

I'm thinking where we are now in history, everybody's had some cross-polination unless it's some isolated tribe in an inaccessbile geography.

One of my cross polination trace DNA less than 1% is Melanesian. Never can tell who was in behind the shed

Story from last year


DNA Testing Companies Like 23andme Admit Adding Fake African Ancestry To White Profiles In Order To “Screw With Racists”

^^^^ Did you even read the article to see what a piece of trash it is? Companies "like" 23andMe?

After referencing this - Remember when white supremacist Craig Cobb found out that he was 14% black? Well as it turns out, there’s a possibility that those numbers could have been fudged with. - a misleading factoid that has nothing to do with lying on their results, they then go on to talk about an un-named "near N-bomber" racist that they threw in <1% African because they knew they wouldn't be lying.

All of this from a no name company, not Ancestory.com or 23andMe. Those companies should sue this shitbird for putting their names in the same article.

Rubbish.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:

quote:

Originally posted by RAMIUS:
I did it last year. My parents are both 100% Ukrainian, but I just wanted to see if there was a surprise in my genes.

Turns out I’m 100% Ukrainian.

I'm not doubting you. I'm interested in cultures. You're saying no other people group have mixed in with Ukranians??

I'm thinking where we are now in history, everybody's had some cross-polination unless it's some isolated tribe in an inaccessbile geography.

There were 2 or 3 other things at >1%, like ashkenazi Jew and sub Saharan Africa.

It was basically all Eastern European pinpointed to the area that is now the Ukraine.

My wife and I used 23andme, found out I have Jewish ancestry.

quote:

Originally posted by Ackks:

quote:

Originally posted by Scurvy:


This is true but the data is not connected to you in any way. They have no clue who is who.

They don't know who paid for it or who the results are being sent back to

Yup, they say that - so it must be true.

Our neighbor adopted 3 children from South Korea back in the 80's. The middle child was incredibly loyal to his Korean heritage, and even went so far as to get tattoos, in Korean, that say things like, "Korean Family", etc etc.

The mom was over at our house on New Years Eve and told us that he just did the ancestry.com test and it came back 50% Chinese / 50% Japanese.


Zero point zero percent Korean.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
We know somebody whose sisters all did ancestry.com, I believe it was, and they all came back with different heritages

I've tested with Ancestry, MyHeritage, and 23and Me.

They all agree on ethnicity but with different percentages, which is probably due to the different databases they are comparing against.

By making the results public, I've ID'd a lot of 2nd & 3rd cousins X removed, but still unable to make direct links to parents or grandparents.

quote:

Originally posted by RAMIUS:
I did it last year. My parents are both 100% Ukrainian, but I just wanted to see if there was a surprise in my genes.

Turns out I’m 100% Ukrainian.

Interesting, did it just list Ukrainian? I ask as my wife wants to get our 5yo done and expects it to basically list all the owners/invaders of Ukraine and Kiev Rus as it has never really been its own country.

Her Grandmother grew up in the Western UA in a village that spoke .....Turkish.

Just curious.if you are willing to share?

quote:

Originally posted by WaterburyBob:

quote:

Originally posted by Ackks:

quote:

Originally posted by Scurvy:


This is true but the data is not connected to you in any way. They have no clue who is who.

They don't know who paid for it or who the results are being sent back to

Yup, they say that - so it must be true.

Uncle sugar has my DNA so I am not overly concerned....yet

quote:

Originally posted by Veeper:
Our neighbor adopted 3 children from South Korea back in the 80's. The middle child was incredibly loyal to his Korean heritage, and even went so far as to get tattoos, in Korean, that say things like, "Korean Family", etc etc.

The mom was over at our house on New Years Eve and told us that he just did the ancestry.com test and it came back 50% Chinese / 50% Japanese.


Zero point zero percent Korean.

Mother has akways said my father and I posess Asiatic features, my father did not resemble his brothers. So last year, I used Nat Geo's Helix DNA , and found, yes indeed I have Some Asian ancestery, however from the middle east(Balkans) and also a surprise, figured I was English, by my surname, but my ancestory was Slavic, and French.

Nat Geo's testing (Helix) aims are a little different than other testing kits companies.