Has anyone had the opportunity to take the DNA test to find out what you have in you?

I am asking that this be my Christmas present. I would be interested to know and probably have things in me that I may never have thought of.

If you have had the chance to take the test or something similar, please let me know if you found it to be accurate. 

Fun and interesting. I've heard some folks get big surprises. I wonder how you can know for sure what you're getting is really authentic to your history. I mean maybe they have like 20 pat answers and everyone gets one of those, and their fake, LOL. Like fortune cookies. 

I did it and was a little surprised. 

I guess I will know if it is fake or not by at least if it comes back with the obvious for me. Meaning, I know I am more Irish than anything else. So if it comes back that I?m a Viking or German then I will know it is fake. I will let you know. :-) 

Send in 2, under 2 different names. Should be the same results. What keeps them from selling your genetic info to some authority as part of a large data base ? 

Maybe not. I thought I was all English and Scottish but as it turns out I'm 20% Scandinavian. I thought it was BBS too until I reread ancient European history. Scandinavians and Vikings conquered and settled those areas for a while.

Our HR VP in Europe said that she could see the Scandinavian in me via facial shape and eye color. 

HR VP in Europe

Does this VP (of whatever), also happen to have a side job at Ancestry.com? 

DNA doesn't lie. It's interesting when you work your cousin matches to prove your ancestry paper trail.

Just beware. Every family has skeletons and non-parental events.

You get a lot more information then just a pie chart on your nationalities. 

I didn't take the Ancestry DNA test, but I did take a photo test on Facebook and based on my facial features, i was 50% Japanese and 50% Dutch. 

Lol! 4P's 

I just took that test on FB, it said go visit the UK bc I'm British!!


My Italian Grandparents are not going to be happy!! And idk, my love for spaghetti and meatballs knows no bounds. LOL 

Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm spaghetti and meatballs not from a can.... 

Yeah, we Italians shun Chef Boyardee. Lol. Ew 

The DNA tests are expensive. I believe around $100. Anyone aware of a cheaper test? 

The one I did was from National Geographic and it WAS ABOUT $100.

The one from Ancestry.com is about 80 I think. 

I took the DNA test this past year through Ancestry. It cost $69.00 and was a gift to myself😁. The turn around time is 3-4 months but they keep you informed and then you are emailed the results with maps of heritage, results and if you have had any other family members that have tested or long lost cousins they can provide that as well. My test was 99.9% accurate!!!!!! 

My wife and I did the 23 & Me one and it was fascinating.

I'm a very boring 81.8% British & Irish and all of the rest is from northern Europe with Scandinavia being the second largest percentage.

My wife on the other hand is from all over the map, with 49.6% east asian and native (39.6% native and the rest indistinguishable between the two), 40.3% european, 3.8% sub saharan african and 1.6% middle eastern/north african.

Very cool stuff! 

Very interesting Cartman. Thank you for sharing. 

The DNA test is not fake. My twin (non-identical) took 23 and me, then I took ancestry.com to compare. Both were consistent with each other, including the big surprise. You can then download your raw data and upload it to Family Tree DNA and My Heritage. I did, and the results were the same. 

DNA tests are not fake. They are not totally accurate either. They say to use Ancestry.com's results for pure entertainment, only. You'd have to pay quite a bit more to get an accurate test done. I'd be really interested in knowing what they come up with for me since I am already know what my family tree looks like for at least 7 generations. LOL ( messed up the 8th generation. LOL) 

They say to use Ancestry.com's results for pure entertainment, only.


And they are?

I disagree with that stmt entirely.

Upload to GEDmatch too. 

You can get Ancestry on sale for $79 typically plus $10 shipping.

Buy it on ebay for even less.

Ancestry is the way to go since they've got the biggest database. 

The turn around time is 3-4 months


Highly unusual. Average is about 4 weeks. Depends on whether their busy or slow season. 

Here's just one basic article.
"Myth 4: The results of ancestral DNA tests are 99.9 percent accurate, just like the DNA tests on CSI.

"Genetic genealogy isn?t an exact science?it involves quite a bit of interpretation. Although your DNA doesn?t lie, scientists use it to calculate the probability that you and another researcher are related or that you have African roots, based on genetic patterns they?ve observed in populations. This means that genetic genealogy can suggest, but not prove, a relationship."
https://www.familytreemagazine.com/premium/dna-fact-or-science-fiction/ 

I'd be really interested in knowing what they come up with for me since I am already know what my family tree looks like for at least 7 generations.


You need to validate this paper trail of yours via your DNA results. As I said, DNA doesn't lie. However, paper trails do.

You do this by using your DNA matches. Figure out how they fit onto your tree, trace back to your MRCA and you have just valvalidated that portion of your tree.

If you have no matches to a particular line, chances are there is an NPE and that branch is not correct/valid afterall. Surprise!

*MRCA. Most recent common ancestor
*NPR. Non parental event 

I am already know what my family tree looks like for at least 7 generations.

That's what I thought too since I know my lineage back to the 1200's. However, the Scandinavian never surfaced until the DNA results. 

So how do you submit a sample? Spit in an envelope? LOL.

How can that be anywhere near as accurate as a blood test or something done in a Dr.'s office? 

Mehhhh. I have better things to do with my $90 and happy with who I think I am.. 

Here's a comparison of findings between the 4 top places who do this, none matched. LOL



read it and weep 

Your DNA is the same regardless of the source it is recovered from. Ie: spit, swab, blood.

What differs is what they compare it to....how they analyze the segments....which historical DNA they rely on. Their basis. They use ancient bodies discovered.

You spit in a tube. 

The 4 don't match because their basis differs. 

How is it different? 

as anyone had the opportunity to take the DNA test to find out what you have in you?



No need. Blood and guts. We all bleed the same so the saying goes. 

Their metrics. See the post above my last one.

They base their algorithms on different historical data. Thus, it has an element of subjectivity. 

I'm half Wendish German "Slavic"(Mom's side), Irish, Cherokee Indian, Spanish (Dad's side) 

Also, to be fair, it depends how they break it down, using different terminology and dividing geographic areas differently doesn't mean the results are different as such. They are certainly similar enough that you could say the tests are all accurate.

23 and Me also gives the option of viewing a conservative, normal or more conjectural model to determine ancestry, they don't contradict each other, the latter just uses more relaxed criteria to assign a location meaning you will have a larger percentage of unassigned markers with the conservative one and very few unassigned with the conjectural.

You will also see that the more mixed your heritage the more you end up with unassigned because the lines become blurred. 

Our Family Tree, researched by a few of the elders in our family, has family members as recently as my great grandmother born in the same country. (My grandmother was raised there but born in the US.) And photos, too. Some went back to the Homeland to get information as this was long before Google. I pretty sure I know who I am. 

I agree, Cartman.

Tink, I get what you're saying but when there is a non parental event in the family most family members are unaware of it. Everyone hides their cheating. 

Ancestry is the way to go since they've got the biggest database.
Someone once told me that Ancestry is owned by the Mormon church. Their ultimate goal is to map out the human race because they believe in reincarnation. The DNA tests and family tree service are just tools for them to get info on as many people as they can. Kind of an interesting conspiracy theory. 

Witchy, Cartman right on target. And those NPEs are more frequent than we think, and typically hidden. I speak from experience. If you want to read a good example of someone walking through the DNA process in search of biological birthparents that gives a really good layman's perspective and explanation of the DNA testing process, get KPRC Frank Billingsley's memoir: Swabbed and Found.Check out amazon.com or go to your book store and have them get it for you. The story of his search is told in the same folks voice we hear in his weather reports yet he does a fabulous job explaining DNA research and testing. He sent his spit/swab into all the DNA testing groups (ancestry, 23andme, Family Tree DNA, etc.) so that he could cut a wide swath.

Also, as I mentioned before, with most of these companies, you can download your raw DNA for free and then upload it to other sites, including gedmatch.com.

And yes, I heard ancestry is owned by the Mormon Church and/or their own genealogy site familysearch.com, which holds the most comprehensive database of genealogical records. I've never heard the reasoning behind creating it, though, so I can't address previous comments.