Ancestory DNA testing

[erc]

So when you get an email from a complete stranger claiming to possibly be a half-sibling from your father's secret affair 50 years ago, please keep an open mind. Stuff happens.

 

[Ciao Mickey]

How accurate are they and which one would you use?

Has anyone seen this?

 

[erc]

How accurate are they and which one would you use?

I submitted both my Ancestry and Family Tree tests results to Gedmatch and Gedmatch determined that they were identical and I was my own closest relative.

 

[tvguy]

So when you get an email from a complete stranger claiming to possibly be a half-sibling from your father's secret affair 50 years ago, please keep an open mind. Stuff happens.

A co-worker refused to check the "suggest relatives" box because, as he put it, "my dad was in the Navy and I don"t want to know about any half siblings"

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

We did AncestryDNA for Christmas gifts last year. We all enjoyed the process. In addition to finding out our nationality there ere a few cool things that came out of it.

1. Confirmed that my twin sister is my identical twin rather than fraternal (we thought so as we look a lot alike).
.....

Same for me - my twin and I never knew we were identical until we both did 23andme.

I also found a first cousin no one in the family knew about (she was the result of a secret pregnancy and had been put up for adoption) and that some of my family's rumored ancestry was completely false. Because 23andme provides health information, I also found out I am not a carrier for any of the bad genetic diseases.

 

[kid-at-heart]

Sorry for being wordy but I do a lot of genealogical research, not only for my family but for others.

I would suggest, if you can afford them, to order your tests from 23andMe over Ancestry. Reasons listed below, paragraph 3, 4, etc.

If you order DNA tests, remember, you inherit 50% of your DNA from each parent. If you have siblings, they may not have inherited the exact same DNA so if you can convince your siblings to order tests also, you will have a more complete picture. Ditto if you have older relatives, biological parents, biological aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.; having their DNA tested will help complete the picture. My mother, sister and I all had our DNA tested via Ancestry (ditto spouse and daughter; and then I, spouse and our daughter had ours tested with 23andMe). Via Ancestry, my sister's and my results were slightly different. Same biological parents and biological relatives, both sides, so nothing fishy going on.

Also, different ethnicity tests may show different ethnicity estimates (but you would think they should be similar???). Ancestry has me at 91% Great Britain and less than 1% Irish but 23andMe has me down as 59.7% British & Irish(???) and a bunch of other ethnic groups. (23andMe supports my ancestry research more so than Ancestry).

Ancestry did not show mine nor my daughter's Native American ancestry but 23andMe did (our family was created by adoption, our daughter's birthmother said her father was Native American and her phenotype characteristics supported her statements.) Go figure...

I think the 23andMe is a more accurate and in-depth test than the one offered by Ancestry (again, per my ancestry research). 23andMe charges more for their tests which can be an issue. I did gift my sister an Ancestry test years ago and some day I will "gift" my sister another DNA test via 23andMe or some other DNA testing group.

I am so glad we had my Mom's done. She is now ninety so our opportunity for testing her generation is limited. I wish we had other relatives from my Mom's generation to test but sadly they are all deceased now.

As others have said before, be aware that you may encounter information that you were not expecting. So far we have not.

 

[bearzabout]

I went to a college seminar on dna testing and the professor was a bit hesitant to use her own name for the test. She used her dog's name instead. It is a good option for those who are leary about having their DNA in a database. Imagine what could happen if insurance companies got a hold of the data.

 

[erc]

Also, different ethnicity tests may show different ethnicity estimates (but you would think they should be similar???). Ancestry has me at 91% Great Britain and less than 1% Irish but 23andMe has me down as 59.7% British & Irish(???) and a bunch of other ethnic groups. (23andMe supports my ancestry research more so than Ancestry).

Ancestry did not show mine nor my daughter's Native American ancestry but 23andMe did (our family was created by adoption, our daughter's birthmother said her father was Native American and her phenotype characteristics supported her statements.) Go figure...

Ethnicity estimates are not an exact science. Each testing company uses their own algorithms. Gedmatch actually allows you to try different algorithms with the same set of raw DNA.

 

[kadrachb]

I've done 23andMe, and I'm also in the molecular biology field (which, deals with DNA the most - since that's almost the only thing we ever work with!).

Ancestry for me wasn't my main reason for doing 23andMe, I was more interested in their other genetic tests, and a year or two ago they finally got FDA approval. My ancestry didn't show anything surprising (we have a long family history book from my mom's side), but I did find out I carry for a genetic disease. We later figured out it was from my mom's side.

I also got 23andMe for my boyfriend since he was adopted, and didn't really know anything about his ancestry (other than being Korean) and he actually has a chronic condition that may be genetic.

I've never looked into Ancestry.com's testing, so I can't speak on that.

Imagine what could happen if insurance companies got a hold of the data.

Nothing could happen, due to the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008.

 

[KarenAylwood]

Sorry for being wordy but I do a lot of genealogical research, not only for my family but for others.

I would suggest, if you can afford them, to order your tests from 23andMe over Ancestry. Reasons listed below, paragraph 3, 4, etc.

If you order DNA tests, remember, you inherit 50% of your DNA from each parent. If you have siblings, they may not have inherited the exact same DNA so if you can convince your siblings to order tests also, you will have a more complete picture. Ditto if you have older relatives, biological parents, biological aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.; having their DNA tested will help complete the picture. My mother, sister and I all had our DNA tested via Ancestry (ditto spouse and daughter; and then I, spouse and our daughter had ours tested with 23andMe). Via Ancestry, my sister's and my results were slightly different. Same biological parents and biological relatives, both sides, so nothing fishy going on.

Also, different ethnicity tests may show different ethnicity estimates (but you would think they should be similar???). Ancestry has me at 91% Great Britain and less than 1% Irish but 23andMe has me down as 59.7% British & Irish(???) and a bunch of other ethnic groups. (23andMe supports my ancestry research more so than Ancestry).

Ancestry did not show mine nor my daughter's Native American ancestry but 23andMe did (our family was created by adoption, our daughter's birthmother said her father was Native American and her phenotype characteristics supported her statements.) Go figure...

I think the 23andMe is a more accurate and in-depth test than the one offered by Ancestry (again, per my ancestry research). 23andMe charges more for their tests which can be an issue. I did gift my sister an Ancestry test years ago and some day I will "gift" my sister another DNA test via 23andMe or some other DNA testing group.

I am so glad we had my Mom's done. She is now ninety so our opportunity for testing her generation is limited. I wish we had other relatives from my Mom's generation to test but sadly they are all deceased now.

As others have said before, be aware that you may encounter information that you were not expecting. So far we have not.

I've done 23andMe, and I'm also in the molecular biology field (which, deals with DNA the most - since that's almost the only thing we ever work with!).

Ancestry for me wasn't my main reason for doing 23andMe, I was more interested in their other genetic tests, and a year or two ago they finally got FDA approval. My ancestry didn't show anything surprising (we have a long family history book from my mom's side), but I did find out I carry for a genetic disease. We later figured out it was from my mom's side.

I also got 23andMe for my boyfriend since he was adopted, and didn't really know anything about his ancestry (other than being Korean) and he actually has a chronic condition that may be genetic.

I've never looked into Ancestry.com's testing, so I can't speak on that.



Nothing could happen, due to the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008.

I looked up the 23andme website and I think the health one sounds really cool!! I want to get this for my husband for his birthday, I think he'll be really surprised and excited. Have any of you seen any deals on the 23andme? $199 is expensive but I'll pay it if they don't do sales.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I looked up the 23andme website and I think the health one sounds really cool!! I want to get this for my husband for his birthday, I think he'll be really surprised and excited. Have any of you seen any deals on the 23andme? $199 is expensive but I'll pay it if they don't do sales.

Yes, 23andMe often has sales for $149, especially around holidays.

 

[kadrachb]

I looked up the 23andme website and I think the health one sounds really cool!! I want to get this for my husband for his birthday, I think he'll be really surprised and excited. Have any of you seen any deals on the 23andme? $199 is expensive but I'll pay it if they don't do sales

As a pp said, there are sales around the holidays. But, I only know of them selling for $149 if you've previously bought a kit. For my original one, I'm pretty sure I paid $199. I really loved the genetic health one, and they even give you your raw data, so if you know what you're looking for, you may be able find it. Also, the scientific insights are explained very well even if you've never been into science, or have limited knowledge on genetics, which I found very useful when my mom wanted to see my health stuff for fun, that way I wasn't explaining everything to her.

 

[LadyD]

Ethnicity estimates are not an exact science. Each testing company uses their own algorithms. Gedmatch actually allows you to try different algorithms with the same set of raw DNA.

This a thousand times. DNA ancestry sites to link up family trees genetically is a great resource for filling out your family tree, but take any ethnicity information with a grain of salt. Unless your family comes from a very specific region with a similar genetic profile, any ethnicity algorithm based on your DNA is essentially going to be an educated guess. Don't take it for fact.

A great example, my super pale, blonde hair, blue eye roommate in college was deemed most genetically similar to those of Samoan descent. She had a well flushed out family tree clearly demonstrating her family on both sides immigrated from Ireland and had been in Ireland for quite a time.

 

[afan]

Chatting with another member before our genealogy society meeting starts in a few minutes and she said that family tree dna just opened it up for ancestry and from my search 23and me to upload their DNA to family tree to match with more. There's info here https://www.familytreedna.com/autosomal-transfer

Still good to use ged match but a good alternative since a lot don't use ged match.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

I'm glad I stumbled on this thread as I've been on the fence out doing this as well. My mom and I said we'd both do it in the spring so we are close to committing I've narrowed my research down to choosing 23andme and seems several of you like them too. Question and this likely applies no matter who you go with - can you input the data received and determine such a "silly" thing as being immune to the Noro Virus? I'm probably not wording that in the best scientific words however I remember reading they did this in the past and provided this information and I think it would be fascinating among many other things, to find this out. If you do upload your results to another site for more medical info, can you please share who you use?

Thanks,
Heather

 

[Dakota731]

After watching the above video I don't know if I'd pay for this service. When several sets of identical triplets come back with different results then I have a hard time trusting the companies involved.

 

[12jdc]

Having your DNA tested through Ancestry, 23andMe, or Family Tree DNA is worth the $ if you are doing more than ethnicity searching. If you are struggling with a genealogical brick wall or want to see what you might be genetically predispose to then it is worth the price. Like the others posted earlier Ancestry usually has a 30% sale around Black Friday. And like posted earlier you can then upload your DNA results to GEDMATCH.com for free to see more information. There is also a site called Promethease where you can pay $5 and upload your DNA results and they will give the most extensive genetic medical information about yourself that I have come across. It is worth reading reviews on DNA testing and check out reviews on Promethease before you decide. Also, interesting tip I learned from Ancestry - Having Native American show up on your list can mean that you are descendant from any of the Native American tribes from Canada to tip of South America they do not distinguish anymore than that.
Warning genealogy can be addictive.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

After watching the above video I don't know if I'd pay for this service. When several sets of identical triplets come back with different results then I have a hard time trusting the companies involved.

Do you have a legitimate source for this claim? 23andme correctly identified my identical twin and all my other family members.

 

[Dakota731]

Just watched the video previous poster attached where three sets of identical triplets had very different results so like anything I'd take it with a grain of salt.

 

[Alesia]

Just watched the video previous poster attached where three sets of identical triplets had very different results so like anything I'd take it with a grain of salt.

But is it actually verified that they're identical? Many twins who look alike assume that they're identical, but often DNA testing reveals that they actually aren't - they're fraternal twins that look identical.