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Genealogy/memories

DNA help please

(60 Posts)
Anniebach Sat 08-Dec-18 13:18:04

Younger daughter has bought me a DNA test, I have to register it with Ancestry then send it off and wait.

What can I expect ? I have not the foggiest how it all works

Esspee Sun 09-Dec-18 09:06:19

I used "23 and me" and was delighted to find I am part Neanderthal.
I was reassured to discover I don't carry the breast or prostate cancer gene and especially that I don't carry the Alzheimer's gene.
I have messaged a couple of cousins I didn't know I had but have not had a reply yet.

Bellasnana Sun 09-Dec-18 09:32:28

I did the Ancestry one. Not really sure what I was expecting, but found the results a bit vague. It hasn’t flagged up anything amazing grin

Bridgeit Sun 09-Dec-18 09:57:42

I am interested in doing this, but I don’t like the thought of my DNA being somewhere out there , perhaps I’ve been watching too many ‘ who done its’

Anniebach Sun 09-Dec-18 10:10:58

Esspee I have never heard of ‘23 and me’.

Bellasnana i don’t expect anything amazing , just hope for a lead to some one who vanished .

Bridgeit. ?

fiorentina51 Sun 09-Dec-18 11:08:02

We (OH and I ) used 23 and me last year. It was postage paid and quite straightforward to use.
The results were a bit surprising especially concerning my husband. He had a tiny percentage of native American and south East Asian ancestry plus enough Italian DNA to be able to pinpoint roughly how long ago it entered the blood line.
I'm 100% European but my goodness, what a glorious mixture I am!

GabriellaG Sun 09-Dec-18 11:38:44

You may not be prepared for the results. We all (apparently) originate from Africa. You may have some unsavoury characters in your ancestry and may not be as Welsh as you hope think you are.
Good luck shamrock
It can be an interesting, absorbing journey.

GabriellaG Sun 09-Dec-18 11:47:53

I am 25% Spanish through my maternal GM 12.5% Irish through my maternal GF and 37.5% English and that suits me fine. How it originated hundreds of years ago doesn't interest me now as it was a faff receiving false leads on Ancestry so I left it. grin

Jalima1108 Sun 09-Dec-18 11:49:52

Most of us have a percentage of Neanderthal heritage too.

Jalima1108 Sun 09-Dec-18 11:51:49

Luckygirl I think it was the comedian Greg Davies who found he was descended from Owain Glyndwr.

My mother's side is connected to Edward IV so I am probably related to Danny Dyer grin

Anniebach Sun 09-Dec-18 11:55:41

Gabriella I don’t care if we originated from Africa
My direct line back to the 17th century is Welsh, good enough for me to say ‘I am Welsh’ no hope , no think, I am

Jalima1108 Sun 09-Dec-18 12:08:07

I am 25% Spanish through my maternal GM

In three African populations Neanderthal genes were vanishingly rare, and in the lipid processing area accounted for 2% of genes. Five European and three Asian populations had very similar rates of overall Neanderthal genes in the study – around 6% of those sampled, although more extensive studies have estimated 1-4%. However, in the lipid cluster this reached 20% for Europeans (and higher still for a sample from Spain, where Neanderthals are believe to have made their last stand) while being a third of that in the Japanese and northern and southern Chinese groups studied.

Interesting.

GabriellaG Sun 09-Dec-18 12:17:48

Jalima1108

To you or to me?
You must spend a lot of time researching and copy/pasting articles. What a thrilling hobby.
If you're trying (unsuccesfully) to link that effort to me...so what?
The fact that you chose to spend time trying to effect a negative reaction says much about you and nothing about me.
Have a great day. winegrin

Anniebach Sun 09-Dec-18 12:19:51

Interesting for the thread

Jalima1108 Sun 09-Dec-18 12:26:04

I did a lot of researching with my job GabrielllaG
Yes - fascinating.

Heritage and our origins are fascinating subjects.

GabriellaG Sun 09-Dec-18 17:25:15

When all's said and done, we are all related. grin
I bet that's a rather uncomfortable feeling...eh?

Purpledaffodil Sun 09-Dec-18 18:13:03

Bought DH an Ancestry test last year as a birthday present. He had a fantasy that his DF was descended from Spanish Armada wrecked off Ireland. Results disproved this, but resulted in Welsh, Irish and Scottish heritage. Also a small percentage of Finnish which was interesting. I would dismiss as smoke and mirrors, but one of his relatives they flagged up had the same surname as his paternal GM. Have not taken it any further as post stroke, his literacy isn’t up to it and I have plenty of other stuff on my plate!

JudyT Mon 10-Dec-18 11:09:39

Sometimes my Gransnet doesn't load up. Today's for instance. The line endlessly travels across the top of the screen. This older post opened at once. I wonder where the problem lies and if others are experiencing this?

Esspee Mon 10-Dec-18 14:01:04

Anniebach I chose to use "23 and me* after Michael Mosley used it on his TV programme. I was particularly interested in inherited diseases and was happy to open all the locked results.
In the USA the FDA stopped "23 and me" giving some test results out so they have a diluted version nowadays as far as I am aware.

Esspee Mon 10-Dec-18 14:12:34

I know there are people who would prefer not to be told if they were likely to contract certain conditions but I am the opposite. I take full responsibility for my health and work in partnership with medical professionals.
Ancestry is something I intend to research when I finally give up work and perhaps am less busy but it is nice to be informed periodically that new genetic relatives have signed up to 23 and me.
They correctly identified my son despite me registering under a nom de plume so I do have faith that the ancestry information provided is accurate.

Anniebach Mon 10-Dec-18 14:16:48

Espee. Thank you. I have never heard of ‘23 and me’

Jalima1108 Mon 10-Dec-18 18:05:52

I think that 23 and Me is a genetic testing company - they will test for ancestry but also for health conditions.

(23 pairs of chromosomes)

Anniebach Mon 10-Dec-18 18:23:55

Thanks Jelima I wouldn’t bother with tests for health conditions no matter my age

fiorentina51 Mon 10-Dec-18 19:05:40

The health test is optional. I didn't bother with it.

Jalima1108 Mon 10-Dec-18 23:30:59

Better not to know Anniebach!

Grandma2213 Mon 10-Dec-18 23:53:51

My DS bought me a subscription to Ancestry which I loved researching and I built quite a big family tree up to 3/4 generations back. Trouble is I kept getting sidetracked onto interesting lines so finally ran out of time!

I went with MyHeritage for a DNA test as I heard a programme saying it had the biggest database for comparisons. No spitting required, just a swab. As expected 9.1% Scandinavian because my great grandparents came from Sweden. 6.7% Finnish unexpected but it is not too far away. Despite only having Scottish and Irish ancestors otherwise I was 82.1% English That was a shock until I looked at the map with the results and it actually covered England. Wales, Scotland and Ireland. What really surprised me was the 1.1% North African and the 1% Nigerian. I wish I had a time machine to see how all this happened.

My other DS also took the test some time later and his English was only 27.5% but he also had 31.2% Irish/Scottish/Welsh. Maybe their database has become more sophisticated in the few months since I did it. On the other hand he was 40.5% Scandinavian. I struggled with this as I was only 9.1% and he is supposed to have inherited 50% of my genes. Maybe mathematicians could explain this! His 0.8% Greek must have come from his father!

They very quickly identified us as parent and child, though I appear to have hundreds of 3rd 4th and 5th cousins. They also identified one nephew