OT - best DNA testing kits

Genevieve M · 11-25-18, 02:39 PM

(to the moderators, if this topic is not appopriate for this board, please accept my apologies!)

Hi All,

Happy belated Thanksgiving! Now that we are in the holiday season, I want to give my brother a DNA testing kit. Can anyone out there share their experiences about these kits? Which are good/not so good?

My niece tested her DNA and I really question the results. She went with 23andme (founded by Sergei Brin of Google's ex-wife, btw). The result of my niece's test were questionable. My niece's ancestry is 1/8 German/French/Bavarian. I know this because she has two German grandparents on my side. My grandfather's surname was unique and can be traced to an area of Lorraine province, France, which is on the German border.

I have even corresponded with second and third cousins, even one from that area in France.

But my niece's DNA test results showed no trace of French or German ancestry. My cousin also did a DNA test. She also has German on both sides of her family, and her results also showed no German heritage.

I discussed this with my bf, who is a biomedical engineer. He said that those results are incorrect if they show no trace of known, proven ethnicity. Both my niece and cousin were not adopted, btw. I held my niece the day she was born.

Please share any experiences with these products. Thanks!

bzar · 11-25-18, 03:42 PM

there was an article about this recently in the paper written by an MD. he went in with an open mind, but questioned the medical issues identified in his personal report, and he felt it was irresponsible for an organization to alarm someone with a false positive.

he went so far as to discuss the results with an MD geneticist who refuted the results. he also provided what a legitimate DNA test would entail.

i watched an old episode of Forensic Files where they did indeed correctly identify the ethnicity of the possible suspect using blood DNA from a crime scene. their procedure was much more scientifically based and withstood the cross examination in court.

therefore, the technology exists, but it would have to be from the right organization.

one of my nephews used one of these kits (not sure which one) to find his bio father - it was a happy ending, so i think they have their uses, and one needs to be open to being contacted by strangers who are in that database.

desderata · 11-25-18, 04:23 PM

My kids gave my husband a 23nMe kit last Christmas - his results seemed spot on based on the family history. He had 4% of an unexpected ethnicity, but it makes sense based on the geography of his ancestors. Personally, I wouldn't use it for genetic testing for medical issues.

LeslieM · 11-25-18, 04:28 PM

I'm a genealogist and I test my relatives at Ancestry and then upload results to Family Tree DNA and GedMatch. But I'm trying to solve ancestral brick walls, not determine ethnicity.

I tested my husband's grandmother's 1st cousin. He was the grandchild of Irish immigrants who came to America around 1850. He's as Irish as it gets and he tested out 100% Irish and Scottish. Where Ancestry gets the Scottish I don't know. Ancestry also periodically refigures ethnicity estimates based on updated data as more individuals test.

I'm a "dishwater" American--my people were here when the written records and census records were generated. The only immigration story I have is a many times great grandparent who came from Germany in 1733. My ethnicity shows 82% England, Wales and northernwestern Europe, 14%Ireland and Scotland and 4% Norwegian. You could plop me down in any of those area and I'd look like I belong.

The tests do not get terribly specific. With some of my husband's Irish relatives, Ancestry has indicated specific regions of Ireland where the DNA suggests ancestors lived. That's because Ancestry has pooled all their data.

It's great for determining relationships. Not an absolute answer for ethnicity.

muggle · 11-25-18, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bzar

one of my nephews used one of these kits (not sure which one) to find his bio father - it was a happy ending, so i think they have their uses, and one needs to be open to being contacted by strangers who are in that database.

This! A coworkers family was upended because of an out of wedlock child being born that no one knew about. You take the test, check your family tree, others add to it and so on. All because of the DNA test received as a gift. Im certainly not against them though. I’m curious to hear what results other people have gotten.

bzar · 11-25-18, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muggle

This! A coworkers family was upended because of an out of wedlock child being born that no one knew about. You take the test, check your family tree, others add to it and so on. All because of the DNA test received as a gift. Im certainly not against them though. I’m curious to hear what results other people have gotten.

saw this, written by a genetic biologist under a pseudonym:

With Genetic Testing, I Gave My Parents the Gift of Divorce

DCW · 11-25-18, 07:15 PM

My 2 cents for medical background.

I know many of my relatives including grandparents siblings and the causes of their deaths.

Like most Americans they died from strokes, heart attacks and cancer. Several had chronic health issues.

So I figure if I eat healthier, exercise regularly, see a good doc regularly, get plenty of good sleep, I am doing ok.

I can see where people want to know and get questions answered.

wlorrie · 11-26-18, 08:19 AM

I've had a a good experience with those tests. It was interesting to see by ethic breakdown. Plus, after my father passed away, I wanted to find out more about his father's side of the family since no one knew for sure who was my father's father. I got a 23&me kit for my brother to take since the males have the Y chromosome. 23&me only analyzed the X so I didn't get too much info about my father's father. However, I did get in touch with and eventually met a first cousin once removed from my mother's side of the family that no one knew existed. Apparently, her mother had a one night stand with my great uncle, and she was the product of that union.

I know of one incident where the tests can cause tension. A friend of mine who took a DNA test got contacted by a lawyer. Apparently, his brother donated sperm to sperm bank for "intelligent people." The child that was conceived by his brother's sperm had some mental/developmental issues. The couple wanted to sue the sperm bank for fraud, and the lawyer wanted to get more family medical information from my friend.

SpiritYogi · 11-26-18, 08:52 AM

I don't have any experience with DNA tests, but I found this article included in a weekly newsletter I subscribe to and thought you may find it informative / helpful.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/3322...estry-dna.html

Harivelo · 11-26-18, 10:11 AM

I've had really positive experiences with DNA kit. I received one from Ancestry.com for my last birthday. Then I was lucky enough to score a free kit from 23andme because I come from an underrepresented population. Finally, I uploaded my raw data on MyHeritage and got a free DNA report.
I come from Madagascar, therefore I have mixed Asian and African ancestry. I was very curious to know where exactly my ancestors came from. Of the 3 DNA reports, 23andme was the one that was closest to my estimates but the other 2 were only slightly different. Ancestry found some Polynesian genes that I found questionable but they vanished when their database was updated months later. The other 2 sites also updated their data around the same time so that my 3 reports are very much alike.
I learned something really interesting from doing those DNA tests. Historians say that the ancestors of Malagasy people came from Indonesia. As a matter of fact, Indonesian students at my college always mistook me for one of their own. According to the tests, my Asian genes come predominantly from the Philippines with Indonesia a close second. I also have a little Vietnamese and Chinese. All 3 tests confirmed my lifelong suspicion that I have some genes from India. My dad, my older brother and myself are often mistaken for Indians. On the African side (20-25 % depending on the site), I come from different nations but predominantly from Kenya. That makes total sense because that country is the nearest to us. My conclusion is that DNA testing works really well for non Caucasian people. Maybe because there are more of us trying to identify our genetic roots.

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11-25-18, 02:39 PM
Genevieve M Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Roslindale, MA	OT - best DNA testing kits (to the moderators, if this topic is not appopriate for this board, please accept my apologies!) Hi All, Happy belated Thanksgiving! Now that we are in the holiday season, I want to give my brother a DNA testing kit. Can anyone out there share their experiences about these kits? Which are good/not so good? My niece tested her DNA and I really question the results. She went with 23andme (founded by Sergei Brin of Google's ex-wife, btw). The result of my niece's test were questionable. My niece's ancestry is 1/8 German/French/Bavarian. I know this because she has two German grandparents on my side. My grandfather's surname was unique and can be traced to an area of Lorraine province, France, which is on the German border. I have even corresponded with second and third cousins, even one from that area in France. But my niece's DNA test results showed no trace of French or German ancestry. My cousin also did a DNA test. She also has German on both sides of her family, and her results also showed no German heritage. I discussed this with my bf, who is a biomedical engineer. He said that those results are incorrect if they show no trace of known, proven ethnicity. Both my niece and cousin were not adopted, btw. I held my niece the day she was born. Please share any experiences with these products. Thanks!

11-25-18, 03:42 PM
bzar Exchange Moderator Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: PalmTreeVille	there was an article about this recently in the paper written by an MD. he went in with an open mind, but questioned the medical issues identified in his personal report, and he felt it was irresponsible for an organization to alarm someone with a false positive. he went so far as to discuss the results with an MD geneticist who refuted the results. he also provided what a legitimate DNA test would entail. i watched an old episode of Forensic Files where they did indeed correctly identify the ethnicity of the possible suspect using blood DNA from a crime scene. their procedure was much more scientifically based and withstood the cross examination in court. therefore, the technology exists, but it would have to be from the right organization. one of my nephews used one of these kits (not sure which one) to find his bio father - it was a happy ending, so i think they have their uses, and one needs to be open to being contacted by strangers who are in that database. __________________ ~jeannine Miyagi: Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out the mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don't forget to breathe, very important. [walks away, still making circular motions with hands] ~ Pat Morita, The Karate Kid, 1984 disclosure: in the years 2002-2004 i had a professional relationship with a distributor of fitness videos; see profile.

11-25-18, 04:23 PM
desderata Join Date: Oct 2007	My kids gave my husband a 23nMe kit last Christmas - his results seemed spot on based on the family history. He had 4% of an unexpected ethnicity, but it makes sense based on the geography of his ancestors. Personally, I wouldn't use it for genetic testing for medical issues.

11-25-18, 04:28 PM
LeslieM VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Illinois	I'm a genealogist and I test my relatives at Ancestry and then upload results to Family Tree DNA and GedMatch. But I'm trying to solve ancestral brick walls, not determine ethnicity. I tested my husband's grandmother's 1st cousin. He was the grandchild of Irish immigrants who came to America around 1850. He's as Irish as it gets and he tested out 100% Irish and Scottish. Where Ancestry gets the Scottish I don't know. Ancestry also periodically refigures ethnicity estimates based on updated data as more individuals test. I'm a "dishwater" American--my people were here when the written records and census records were generated. The only immigration story I have is a many times great grandparent who came from Germany in 1733. My ethnicity shows 82% England, Wales and northernwestern Europe, 14%Ireland and Scotland and 4% Norwegian. You could plop me down in any of those area and I'd look like I belong. The tests do not get terribly specific. With some of my husband's Irish relatives, Ancestry has indicated specific regions of Ireland where the DNA suggests ancestors lived. That's because Ancestry has pooled all their data. It's great for determining relationships. Not an absolute answer for ethnicity. __________________ "No one rises to low expectations" Les Brown

11-25-18, 07:15 PM
DCW Registered User Join Date: Dec 2016	My 2 cents for medical background. I know many of my relatives including grandparents siblings and the causes of their deaths. Like most Americans they died from strokes, heart attacks and cancer. Several had chronic health issues. So I figure if I eat healthier, exercise regularly, see a good doc regularly, get plenty of good sleep, I am doing ok. I can see where people want to know and get questions answered.

11-26-18, 08:19 AM
wlorrie Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Central Mass	I've had a a good experience with those tests. It was interesting to see by ethic breakdown. Plus, after my father passed away, I wanted to find out more about his father's side of the family since no one knew for sure who was my father's father. I got a 23&me kit for my brother to take since the males have the Y chromosome. 23&me only analyzed the X so I didn't get too much info about my father's father. However, I did get in touch with and eventually met a first cousin once removed from my mother's side of the family that no one knew existed. Apparently, her mother had a one night stand with my great uncle, and she was the product of that union. I know of one incident where the tests can cause tension. A friend of mine who took a DNA test got contacted by a lawyer. Apparently, his brother donated sperm to sperm bank for "intelligent people." The child that was conceived by his brother's sperm had some mental/developmental issues. The couple wanted to sue the sperm bank for fraud, and the lawyer wanted to get more family medical information from my friend.

11-26-18, 08:52 AM
SpiritYogi Join Date: May 2002 Location: Spiritual Bliss	I don't have any experience with DNA tests, but I found this article included in a weekly newsletter I subscribe to and thought you may find it informative / helpful. https://www.pcworld.com/article/3322...estry-dna.html

11-26-18, 10:11 AM
Harivelo Join Date: Jan 2005	I've had really positive experiences with DNA kit. I received one from Ancestry.com for my last birthday. Then I was lucky enough to score a free kit from 23andme because I come from an underrepresented population. Finally, I uploaded my raw data on MyHeritage and got a free DNA report. I come from Madagascar, therefore I have mixed Asian and African ancestry. I was very curious to know where exactly my ancestors came from. Of the 3 DNA reports, 23andme was the one that was closest to my estimates but the other 2 were only slightly different. Ancestry found some Polynesian genes that I found questionable but they vanished when their database was updated months later. The other 2 sites also updated their data around the same time so that my 3 reports are very much alike. I learned something really interesting from doing those DNA tests. Historians say that the ancestors of Malagasy people came from Indonesia. As a matter of fact, Indonesian students at my college always mistook me for one of their own. According to the tests, my Asian genes come predominantly from the Philippines with Indonesia a close second. I also have a little Vietnamese and Chinese. All 3 tests confirmed my lifelong suspicion that I have some genes from India. My dad, my older brother and myself are often mistaken for Indians. On the African side (20-25 % depending on the site), I come from different nations but predominantly from Kenya. That makes total sense because that country is the nearest to us. My conclusion is that DNA testing works really well for non Caucasian people. Maybe because there are more of us trying to identify our genetic roots.