DNA testing

[mtswampfox]

just wondered if any sliders have succumbed to the curiosity of having the DNA test. Been watching prices and have noticed some drop from around 100 to 80, except for the one that caught my eye from National Geographic 149. Any experiences good/bad/indifferent appreciated

 

[AK Troutbum]

I did it about a year or so ago only because my mom got curious and decided to buy me and my two other siblings kits. We all found out that my oldest sibling, brother, is not from the same father as my sister and I. Some pretty funny shit right there as I think the whole thing kind of backfired on my mom, but I also think we all kind of figured something was up as he doesn't look like anybody in the family. 23 and Me was the name of the test. My parents got divorced when I was a little over a year old, almost 50 years ago and my father said all along that my oldest brother wasn't his but my mother adamantly denied it all along. My father's response to hearing the results were, "see, I told you so ".


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[Brodie]

AK, that's hilarious!!


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[KMBH]

I have no idea where I come from, but I still have no interest. I would only do it if it having native american genes meant you were were given hunting rights on all the tribal lands (not that i think I would come back as NA). But then again, since NA genes are from anybody with ancestors from any part of North, Central, or South America, I guess it would become crowded quickly.

If you have an interest in it, many I know are doing it now and are pretty excited about it. I have a friend that ended up finding his father, even though that was not his original intent. I have heard many stories like the one told by AK.

 

[Dameon]

I do this kind of thing for a living and work in a certified lab similar to 23andMe. For their ancestry test, I don't see any harm. I've used the same methods in massive research studies to great effect. In fact, I've seen many cases like AK's.........and a whole lot worse.


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[hodgeman]

My wife got us kits as she's a genealogy freak... pretty interesting.

Turns out what my grandmother's family had portrayed for years as Cherokee heritage turned out to be Portuguese....I didn't find out anything terribly surprising otherwise.

The Ancestry.com site even matches up family members based on the results, wife reports she found a couple new branches on the tree and managed to prune one off.

 

[Grundy53]

I'm currently waiting for my results from Ancestry.com.

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[tttoadman]

Count me out. I have no interest in being part of a database like that. We are all profiled enough as it is. I am certain they are giving the info away.

 

[oldgoat]

We got our parents each a kit for Xmas, the results actually just came in this afternoon. So far I'm on the fence about it, but it was a decent gift to give two people that have everything already for Xmas.

 

[Dameon]

Count me out. I have no interest in being part of a database like that. We are all profiled enough as it is. I am certain they are giving the info away.

I understand your apprehension, but that is why I would only recommend 23andMe for something like this that is open to the general public for use. 23andMe is a CAP/CLIA certified lab where your identifying information is concealed and you essential become a unique random key number and your identifying information is protected by federal law. Ancestry does not list themselves as a CAP/CLIA accredited lab, so I am wary of what they have to offer. CAP/CLIA certified labs have to go through very extensive certification processes that guarantee HIPPA compliance and data integrity, so their butt is on the line if they make a mistake. By becoming a 23andMe customer, you are also adding your genetic information to a growing database of genomic markers that researchers like me can use to query for associations of genotypic markers to many different kinds of diseases. This is very important for genetic research because unlike genetically identical mice, we cannot control human behavior. As a result, we can't just take a handful of people, look at their DNA, and then definitively say that a mutation in gene X or geneY or geneZ will cause cancer or heart disease. Instead, we need orders of magnitude greater sample sizes in order to be able to make any kind of statement regarding associations to complex diseases. Sometimes we get lucky or things are pretty simple in the case of mendelian diseases, but for complex diseases such as cancer, heart disease, alzheimers, IBD, etc, we need all the help we can get.

Just to make clear, I do not work for 23andMe. I work for a CAP/CLIA accredited lab at major research university and have used the very same technology that 23andMe uses on a day to day basis for research and clinical applications. In fact, I have personally analyzed the DNA or RNA for nearly 100,000 patients (if not more....I honestly don't even track it anymore), and even with all that data, it still is not enough for cracking something like cancer. We have a hard enough time just trying to crack the genetic profile of a single tumor let alone multiple tumors of metastatic cancer from the same person. But now that genomic data is becoming more ubiquitous, we can now start digging deeper, make more discoveries, and hopefully come up with new targets and treatments. So if something like this remotely interests you, please go with 23andMe.

 

[tttoadman]

I understand your apprehension, but that is why I would only recommend 23andMe for something like this that is open to the general public for use. 23andMe is a CAP/CLIA certified lab where your identifying information is concealed and you essential become a unique random key number and your identifying information is protected by federal law. Ancestry does not list themselves as a CAP/CLIA accredited lab, so I am wary of what they have to offer. CAP/CLIA certified labs have to go through very extensive certification processes that guarantee HIPPA compliance and data integrity, so their butt is on the line if they make a mistake. By becoming a 23andMe customer, you are also adding your genetic information to a growing database of genomic markers that researchers like me can use to query for associations of genotypic markers to many different kinds of diseases. This is very important for genetic research because unlike genetically identical mice, we cannot control human behavior. As a result, we can't just take a handful of people, look at their DNA, and then definitively say that a mutation in gene X or geneY or geneZ will cause cancer or heart disease. Instead, we need orders of magnitude greater sample sizes in order to be able to make any kind of statement regarding associations to complex diseases. Sometimes we get lucky or things are pretty simple in the case of mendelian diseases, but for complex diseases such as cancer, heart disease, alzheimers, IBD, etc, we need all the help we can get.

Just to make clear, I do not work for 23andMe. I work for a CAP/CLIA accredited lab at major research university and have used the very same technology that 23andMe uses on a day to day basis for research and clinical applications. In fact, I have personally analyzed the DNA or RNA for nearly 100,000 patients (if not more....I honestly don't even track it anymore), and even with all that data, it still is not enough for cracking something like cancer. We have a hard enough time just trying to crack the genetic profile of a single tumor let alone multiple tumors of metastatic cancer from the same person. But now that genomic data is becoming more ubiquitous, we can now start digging deeper, make more discoveries, and hopefully come up with new targets and treatments. So if something like this remotely interests you, please go with 23andMe.

That is good info. I know there are good people out there. It is sometimes hard to find them. Thanks.

 

[5MilesBack]

I wanted to get the DNA tested on a bull I shot a few years ago. And then compare it to the blood on an older arrow from a bull I lost a couple years prior to that........just to see if it was the same bull or related. But never did.

 

[Eagle]

I understand your apprehension, but that is why I would only recommend 23andMe for something like this that is open to the general public for use. 23andMe is a CAP/CLIA certified lab where your identifying information is concealed and you essential become a unique random key number and your identifying information is protected by federal law. Ancestry does not list themselves as a CAP/CLIA accredited lab, so I am wary of what they have to offer. CAP/CLIA certified labs have to go through very extensive certification processes that guarantee HIPPA compliance and data integrity, so their butt is on the line if they make a mistake. By becoming a 23andMe customer, you are also adding your genetic information to a growing database of genomic markers that researchers like me can use to query for associations of genotypic markers to many different kinds of diseases. This is very important for genetic research because unlike genetically identical mice, we cannot control human behavior. As a result, we can't just take a handful of people, look at their DNA, and then definitively say that a mutation in gene X or geneY or geneZ will cause cancer or heart disease. Instead, we need orders of magnitude greater sample sizes in order to be able to make any kind of statement regarding associations to complex diseases. Sometimes we get lucky or things are pretty simple in the case of mendelian diseases, but for complex diseases such as cancer, heart disease, alzheimers, IBD, etc, we need all the help we can get.

Just to make clear, I do not work for 23andMe. I work for a CAP/CLIA accredited lab at major research university and have used the very same technology that 23andMe uses on a day to day basis for research and clinical applications. In fact, I have personally analyzed the DNA or RNA for nearly 100,000 patients (if not more....I honestly don't even track it anymore), and even with all that data, it still is not enough for cracking something like cancer. We have a hard enough time just trying to crack the genetic profile of a single tumor let alone multiple tumors of metastatic cancer from the same person. But now that genomic data is becoming more ubiquitous, we can now start digging deeper, make more discoveries, and hopefully come up with new targets and treatments. So if something like this remotely interests you, please go with 23andMe.

I'm curious as to what your experience would say about me. I bought the kits for my parents and my wife, and tried to have it done for myself as well. After three attempts at submitting a spit tube, they finally told me they couldn't get enough DNA to test me, which seems absurd. Any insight there? It worked for my wife and my parents, but they couldn't get it to work for me.

 

[elkyinzer]

My wife and I were discussing this recently, both of us want one done and will eventually. I was always told/family tree says I am around 75% German the rest even split of Irish, Swiss, and Dutch. Yet my grandpap on my dad's side and his sister both had really, really dark skin. Like beyond Italian dark, almost Native American looking. Always been curious about it.

 

[Dameon]

I'm curious as to what your experience would say about me. I bought the kits for my parents and my wife, and tried to have it done for myself as well. After three attempts at submitting a spit tube, they finally told me they couldn't get enough DNA to test me, which seems absurd. Any insight there? It worked for my wife and my parents, but they couldn't get it to work for me.

Interesting. Saliva or buccal swabs are usually good to go for hybridization based assays unless the DNA is degraded or contaminated with an unusually large amount of bacteria (we expect bacteria in saliva). The input mass required for the assay is very low, so I imagine that isn't the real problem. More than likely, they were able to amplify and hybridize your DNA to the genotyping chip, but the controls probably failed and the results did not meet their thresholds for reporting. CAP/CLIA accredited labs are not allowed to relay results that do not pass their established QC thresholds, so more than likely that is the reason why your tests failed. "Not having enough DNA" is a safe way of saying that the QC failed. In my opinion, relaying results that you know to be untrustworthy is worse than not relaying results at all. You definitely do not want to give someone data that can lead them to make the wrong conclusions. Sorry to hear your test wasn't successful, but it does happen every now and then. Usually repeating the test with a fresh sample fixes the problem, but some people just don't yield good results from saliva for one reason or another and 23andMe doesn't appear to have the clearance to perform tests on blood draws (it is a regulatory nightmare).

 

[Eagle]

Thanks for the insight, and from a customers relations standpoint, I fully understand. I'd like to give it another shot, but figure I'd be flagged as unsuccessful previously and rejected, haha. They did refund the kit cost though, so nothing was lost.

Similarly to someone above, there had always been stories of Cherokee Ancestory on my mother's side, but the results did not back that up. There was actually nothing out of the ordinary with my mothers profile (all european), and she's tried to get her brothers tested to ensure they have the same results (same father), but they won't do it.

 

[Eagle]

My wife and I were discussing this recently, both of us want one done and will eventually. I was always told/family tree says I am around 75% German the rest even split of Irish, Swiss, and Dutch. Yet my grandpap on my dad's side and his sister both had really, really dark skin. Like beyond Italian dark, almost Native American looking. Always been curious about it.

There was a sect of Dutch folks referred to as "black Dutch" because they were incredibly dark skinned (native american like) as well. It turns out that they were actually a population of Portuguese that had settled and integrated as Dutch, but retained their dark skin. Could be what caused your Dad's side to be so dark, as that's what caused my Dad's side to be dark as well.

 

[Gr8bawana]

I did it about a year or so ago only because my mom got curious and decided to buy me and my two other siblings kits. We all found out that my oldest sibling, brother, is not from the same father as my sister and I. Some pretty funny shit right there as I think the whole thing kind of backfired on my mom, but I also think we all kind of figured something was up as he doesn't look like anybody in the family. 23 and Me was the name of the test. My parents got divorced when I was a little over a year old, almost 50 years ago and my father said all along that my oldest brother wasn't his but my mother adamantly denied it all along. My father's response to hearing the results were, "see, I told you so ".
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I'd be willing to bet that happens quite a bit.

Also I figure you are who you are and finding out who your ancestors were isn't going to change anything, unless they left you millions of dollars unbeknownst to you. and you can now collect it.

 

[Slade]

My sister had one done a couple years ago. It was eye opening for sure, as we always thought we were strictly European descent, a mix of Irish, Scottish, English and German. Come to find out after the test, my sister said the top three were Syrian, Norwegian, and Afghanistan. Pretty interesting stuff.

 

[tttoadman]

I'm curious as to what your experience would say about me. I bought the kits for my parents and my wife, and tried to have it done for myself as well. After three attempts at submitting a spit tube, they finally told me they couldn't get enough DNA to test me, which seems absurd. Any insight there? It worked for my wife and my parents, but they couldn't get it to work for me.

Your a Cylon !!