Submitting your DNA to 23andMe or Ancestry.com

[StatGuy2000]

Hi everyone! I have seen a number of blog entries or Youtube videos of people submitting their DNA to companies like 23andMe or Ancestry.com to find out more about their heritage.

I had thought about submitting mine, and was wondering if any of you have submitted yours. If so, did you discover anything especially surprising or interesting about your genetic heritage (to the extent that these companies' tests can determine this) -- something you may not have known based on your knowledge of family history? I would love to hear your stories on this.

 

[BWV]

I did Ancestry.com. My lineage is pretty straightforward , on my mom's side one grandparent was all German US immigrants while the other was all Norwegian US immigrants. My father's side is all New England puritans going back to the 17th century. The ancestry test pegged me as roughly 75% UK and 25% Norwegian. The German was lost, not sure why - my ancestors were mostly all from the Mecklenburg region along the Baltic. Interesting thing was the test pinpointed the region in Eastern Norway from which my maternal grandfather's family came from. Not just Norway or Scandanavia in general, but the specific region.

 

[ZapperZ]

Hi everyone! I have seen a number of blog entries or Youtube videos of people submitting their DNA to companies like 23andMe or Ancestry.com to find out more about their heritage.

I had thought about submitting mine, and was wondering if any of you have submitted yours. If so, did you discover anything especially surprising or interesting about your genetic heritage (to the extent that these companies' tests can determine this) -- something you may not have known based on your knowledge of family history? I would love to hear your stories on this.

https://gizmodo.com/what-dna-testing-companies-terrifying-privacy-policies-1819158337

As a disclaimer, I did my DNA test with 23andMe, and have participated in their studies and surveys. I also know that I can, at any time, stop them from using my genetic info for their studies. But I'm not going to, because they have published in scholarly journals studies that they have done and continue to do.

Zz.

 

[StatGuy2000]

I did Ancestry.com. My lineage is pretty straightforward , on my mom's side one grandparent was all German US immigrants while the other was all Norwegian US immigrants. My father's side is all New England puritans going back to the 17th century. The ancestry test pegged me as roughly 75% UK and 25% Norwegian. The German was lost, not sure why - my ancestors were mostly all from the Mecklenburg region along the Baltic. Interesting thing was the test pinpointed the region in Eastern Norway from which my maternal grandfather's family came from. Not just Norway or Scandanavia in general, but the specific region.

It's possible that the German was lost given that the Anglo-Saxons (among the ancestors of the English people) originate from northern Germany, so there would be at least some genetic overlap between populations in England and Germany, and thus your German ancestry may end up being flagged in the Ancestry.com results as "UK".

 

[StatGuy2000]

https://gizmodo.com/what-dna-testing-companies-terrifying-privacy-policies-1819158337

As a disclaimer, I did my DNA test with 23andMe, and have participated in their studies and surveys. I also know that I can, at any time, stop them from using my genetic info for their studies. But I'm not going to, because they have published in scholarly journals studies that they have done and continue to do.

Zz.

I have read about the privacy policies of firms like 23andMe and Ancestry.com, and one of the reasons why I had not gone ahead with my DNA test is precisely because of the possible ownership these companies have over my DNA information. The link you provided also exposes the real issues with insurance companies getting access to genetic data provided to these companies (or being compelled by the insurance company to disclose that you have taken such a test), but these would only apply to those who live in the US -- I live in Canada, and Canada has different laws with respect to privacy rights.

 

[BWV]

It's possible that the German was lost given that the Anglo-Saxons (among the ancestors of the English people) originate from northern Germany, so there would be at least some genetic overlap between populations in England and Germany, and thus your German ancestry may end up being flagged in the Ancestry.com results as "UK".

Thought about that, but hard to believe the recent population genetics of Baltic area of Germany are that similar to the Germanic tribes that invaded Britain 1500 years ago. There is no way Ancestry.com would market a test that could not distinguish between Americans of British and German descent, as those are the two largest European immigrant groups in their primary target market. I don’t know how theses tests work, but assume it’s a statistical analysis across a limited number of markers and I may be missing whatever gene or genes they use as a proxy for ‘German-ness’

 

[StatGuy2000]

Thought about that, but hard to believe the recent population genetics of Baltic area of Germany are that similar to the Germanic tribes that invaded Britain 1500 years ago. There is no way Ancestry.com would market a test that could not distinguish between Americans of British and German descent, as those are the two largest European immigrant groups in their primary target market. I don’t know how theses tests work, but assume it’s a statistical analysis across a limited number of markers and I may be missing whatever gene or genes they use as a proxy for ‘German-ness’

Yes, but keep in mind that there is considerable genetic overlap across all Western European populations, based on what I have read about population genetics in Europe. So one shouldn't be all that surprised that your particular genetic traits may not be able to distinguish between British and German populations. I'm sure if you sample people from the UK, a sizable percentage would have traits that would be labelled "German" (or "Scandinavian", given the history of earlier Viking conquests, and the Norman conquest -- Normans being descendants of Vikings who settled in northern France), and vice versa in Germany.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I used 23andMe before they were hit by a massive lawsuit and shut down for like a year. Overall it was a bit interesting but I didn't learn anything that was worth the price.

 

[russ_watters]

I did Ancestry DNA. My mom got everyone in the family a kit for Xmas 2 years ago. Like Greg, I only found it mildly interesting, but at least I got my money's worth!

I found Ancestry itself to be more interesting.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Fun fact: the 23andMe CEO is the daughter of physicist Stan Wojcicki.