quote:

Pyker, I'm also fairly adept at researching the web and will help if you need it. (I've just done some work for rduckwor.)

flashguy

Again, thank you for your kind offer. At the moment I'm so new at this I wouldn't really know what to ask for. I've only really managed to go back to my great grandfather on my wife's side. My side of the family is really a mystery beyond my mother and father since my grandparents died when I was quite young, both my parents are deceased, and I have little to no knowledge of their grandparents or extended family.

I have done DNA testing at two companies. It wasn't my intent in doing so, but I was able to find my grandmother's biological family (she was adopted in the early 1930s). Most of my family has done it, except for my Grandfather who is an attorney. His reasoning for not doing it - is what I wanted to share. Which is that by putting your DNA into a database, even a commercial one, it could be a concern for future law enforcement issues if your descendants get on the wrong side of the law. We're a pro-law enforcement family, but that is a consideration that must be thought about since LEOs are now using commercial test companies to generate hits where CODIS does not.

The chances are good that one's doctor has already done some DNA testing, to determine what genetic problems one might have and the best ways to treat them. I know my doctor knows I have a genetic disorder and has prescribed specific meds to counter it.

flashguy

Yeah, I did one of those DNA things. I was told by my parents I was Polish and German on my mom's side, and English and German on my dad's side.
It came back, and said my ancesters were from northern European countries down to about Germany. So I gather it is correct.

I've never questioned my parents' statements about my countries of ancestry, and DNA indicates they were right. I use the documents on-line to establish my family tree, and DNA to resolve differences or ambiguities. The DNA is still very new to me--others in the web boards I frequent are much more advanced in using DNA than I am.

My ancestry is North Sea (UK, Netherlands, Belgium, France) on my father's side and German-Dutch on my mom's.

flashguy

My wife bought me the kit one year and I knew what the results would be, 100% Eastern European Jew, but I have re-connected with some 2nd and 3rd cousins that I knew existed but had no idea where they lived.

Timely thread. I'm thinking of doing it because late in life I seem to have become curious. I never knew anything about my dad's family because there was a rift or some bad blood on that side. I knew my grandmother when I was small but that's it. I never thought I'd have interest but I'd like to learn a little about my family tree.

Flashguy, I got your email. I'll try and put some info together over the weekend and get back to you.

Thanks again!


.

quote:

Originally posted by mark60:
Timely thread. I'm thinking of doing it because late in life I seem to have become curious. I never knew anything about my dad's family because there was a rift or some bad blood on that side. I knew my grandmother when I was small but that's it. I never thought I'd have interest but I'd like to learn a little about my family tree.

As I have said earlier, it is not necessary to do DNA to research your roots. A subscription to ancestry.com opens access to literally billions of on-line documents--birth and death certificates, marriage certificates, wills, land records, memorials and obituaries, Census records (up through 1940--1950 will be released next year, I think). One can do a lot just researching those documents.

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
As I have said earlier, it is not necessary to do DNA to research your roots. A subscription to ancestry.com opens access to literally billions of on-line documents--birth and death certificates, marriage certificates, wills, land records, memorials and obituaries, Census records (up through 1940--1950 will be released next year, I think). One can do a lot just researching those documents.

flashguy

Yes. Agreed. If providing DNA is a privacy concern for people, you can still learn immense amounts of information without sending in a DNA test.

My DNA test confirmed virtually all of the results of the genealogy research done through documents - except the small admixture of Norway. That is undocumented in genealogy going back to the early 1800's but presumably represents the influence of Vikings raiding the coast of Ireland in the old times.

The DNA testing is just a quick way to find out your ethnic background, which you can usually do through searching documents -- but it can fill in gaps and make things more interesting. If looking at your family background is appealing to you, you'll probably want to do both DNA testing and dig through the documents.

No sarcasms but my brother did it. Mine shouldn’t be much different.

quote:

Originally posted by Pyker:
Flashguy, I got your email. I'll try and put some info together over the weekend and get back to you.

Thanks again!


.

It's been a week and I've not seen anything. Did you send anything? (No hurry, I just want to know I've not missed it.)

flashguy

https://www.bloomberg.com/news...to-make-cancer-drugs

"Wojcicki’s plan back then was to turn genetics from the rarefied work of high-end labs into mainstream health and quasi entertainment products. First she’d sell tastemakers on her mail-in spit kits as a way to learn sort-of-interesting things about their DNA makeup, such as its likely ancestral origins and the chance it would lead to certain health conditions. Eventually she’d be able to lower prices enough to make the kits broadly accessible, allowing 23andMe to build a database big enough to identify new links between diseases and particular genes. Later, this research would fuel the creation of drugs the company could tailor to different genetic profiles. 23andMe would become a new kind of health-care business, sitting somewhere between a Big Pharma lab, a Big Tech company, and a trusted neighborhood doctor."

"Now that she’s got the data, Wojcicki is working on the drugs. Her company is collaborating on clinical trials for one compound (and nearing trials for another) that could be used for what’s known as immuno-oncology, treatments that attempt to harness the body’s complex immune system to beat cancer. 23andMe says it’s also exploring drugs with potential use in treatments for neurological, cardiovascular, and other conditions, though it declined to specify them. Last month the company bought Lemonaid Health, a telehealth and drug delivery startup that offers treatment and prescriptions for a select group of conditions, including depression, anxiety, and STDs."

You pay for information. They profit from that information.

My mom and my sister did the Ancestry.com thing. They enjoyed doing it. But when they wanted all of us to provide DNA to 23 and Me, I told them that unless Mom AND Dad are both lying about being our natural parents, my info will be pretty much the same as everyone else's. They didn't get it.

I was ostracized from the family for a while. But that's OK. I knew they would not bother me for their next 'project.'

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:

quote:

Originally posted by Pyker:
Flashguy, I got your email. I'll try and put some info together over the weekend and get back to you.

Thanks again!


.

It's been a week and I've not seen anything. Did you send anything? (No hurry, I just want to know I've not missed it.)

flashguy

I'm still working on it, had a few health issues I had to get sorted out in a hurry. I'll try and get it done pretty soon here.

quote:

Originally posted by Pyker:

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:

quote:

Originally posted by Pyker:
Flashguy, I got your email. I'll try and put some info together over the weekend and get back to you.

Thanks again!


.

It's been a week and I've not seen anything. Did you send anything? (No hurry, I just want to know I've not missed it.)

flashguy

I'm still working on it, had a few health issues I had to get sorted out in a hurry. I'll try and get it done pretty soon here.

Sorry about the health issues. No rush. I'll look at whatever you send, when you send it.

flashguy