Ancestry DNA tests

[RosieMoonflower]

My mother bought me an ancestry dna test for Christmas but it’s been sitting in my closet sense. I have a lot of interest in doing it as my father’s father is adopted and we don’t know much of his family history or genetics. But, my hesitation comes from the idea of just handing my DNA over to a random company. What’s are your thoughts? Have you done one? Do you worry about giving up your DNA?

Rosie

[firebirdflys]

Ya, that gave me the hebe jebes a bit, but because I was adopted too... The curiosity was tremendous. I went for it. My daughter and I did it a year ago. It was interesting to see the split too, she has an Asian background that t I do not share. It also confirmed hearsay that was part Native American, a 4th great grandparent. Scandinavian also, which I didn't expect in the recent ancestors.
I havent quite figured out how to connect with the people on the website, most are 4th cousins, to find a second or 1st cousin would be a trip.
But now this place has my DNA, creepy, maybe they clone me after I'm long gone! LoL
Bb, FF

[Mr Crowley]

https://thinkprogress.org/ancestry-com- ... feed02b9e/

[L.J.Hex]

I'm really curious about this too. Never looked more into it yet. But giving my DNA somewhere, the thought freaks me out a bit. Would be interesting to know if there's some unexpected relations there, both of my families are from old Karelia as far as I know.

[Lord_of_Nightmares]

I did this a few years ago and was pretty satisfied with the results. They've been fairly private with my information so far.

[Astro Logical 1]

Be aware that by subitting the sample to them, they now own your DNA and as such retain all the rights to it and the use/sale of it.
Personally, I would advise against giving your DNA away in exchange for non verifiable answers. They could very well be used in the future for ethnic cleansing or who knows what.
I bet if you send in a sample of cat piss they'll tell you your ancestry is human

[firebirdflys]

You don't send piss

[SpiritTalker]

I haven't seen these kits but I'm wondering what their contract states regarding the destruction of the samples remains after the test is done & who they sell or distribute the data to. Somebody's using the accumulated data, you can be sure of it. They use cheek cells & saliva (like we did in high school biology) don't they?

I can assume my DNA is totally mongrel so I'm not sure what satisfaction I'd gain from an assessment of how many parts this group and how many parts that group can be checked off. I'm still 100% me & can't blame that on anything .

[Astro Logical 1]

You don't send piss

Lol. I know that silly willy. It was just tongue in cheek. It was a metaphor for the reported wide ranging results of people who submit to multiple testing agencies.
I was alluding to the idea that the results have varied for people, suggesting they aren't as professional as the good money pays for.

For a good laugh on this topic, watch Stephen Colbert last night interviewing Conan O'Brien. He tells about his DNA test haha

[RosieMoonflower]

Thanks for responding all you lovelies who did. My mother has already done the test so the company technically already had %50 of my dna already. I don’t feel that I need to know exactly how much of each group I am to feel fulfilled, but with my grandfather being adopted, it’s more a mystery that I’m super intrigued to solve. Because my mother’s side of the family has wonderful records and oral history (that matched up perfectly with her DNA results) I’ve always had a very clear sense of who I came from and where. But now I’m realizing that’s only half of the story. I’m a history buff and I’m extremely curious to learn the other %50 of my history I guess. My research trying to find my grandfather’s history (on my dad’s side) has led me to find a rumor of Chinese ancestry. Being that my mother is %85 Scottish and welsh (and a tad bit Native American) I look pretty Caucasian and even have red hair, so Chinese ancestry would be sort of thrilling and crazy at the same time. It wouldn’t make me any more Chinese than I am now. I have no real ties to chines culture. Does that make me any less interested to find out? No! Haha! But, I’m a conspiracy theorist by nature so there in lies my hesitancy to solve the mystery.

I have done some reaseach just searching online about what happens to my dna after they test it for ancestry. Basically the company owns it forever unless I tell them to “delete” it. However, the way the tests work is that they continue to grow in accuracy as more people do the test. So your results are constantly updated. This leads many to say “it’s all in inaccurate” and “how can your DNA change?”. Well, I can’t explain it well and hopefully some one smarter than me will come along and can, but basically the more people who do the test can help make better predictions of other’s DNA, genetic ancestry, and probably migration patterns. Do fo you delete? Or hang in there and get more and more accurate results over time?

Last point I have is regarding the fact that ancestry dna give check boxes to “opt in” and “opt out” of some disease and pharmaceutical research. I don’t want my dna sold to big pharma who I fell is mostly overall corrupt, however, I don’t mind “opting in” for the research on Parkinson’s since it runs in my family on my mother’s side and no one would be happier to see research find a cure.

Ultimately I think I’ll end up doing the the test but I don’t want to regret it someday when someone is using my dna to do something terrible or inhumane, ya know? Maybe that’s just the conspiracy theorist inside me....?

Rosie

[Lenaleanna]

Lol... I have done the Ancestry .com DNA test- and I was completely satisfied with what it told me and it fit with what I had already knew... What I was looking for is my real birth father, and LOW & BEHOLD it confirmed a DNA match and I heard from my birth father's daughter-in-law confirming everything she had known.
Thankfully after 46+ years at the time- I finally found out 100% who he was.

Good luck and don't worry!!!
Lenaleanna (Lena)

[firebirdflys]

Here's and eye popper
My coven sister and I just shared info on our DNA site and it turns out we are 5th cousins!!! We shared a fifth great grandparent.
Makes the phrase we are all related even more real.

[Mordinna86]

Not at all, I don't think. Though admittedly detailed profiling of us could be used negatively, very sneakily for ethnic cleansing and capitalism.
Anyway, on the whole I find it very interesting and am hopping up and down waiting for my results from 23 and me. It's taken aaaages, but they should be here soon. I am born and raised in Cornwall, but my dad was born in the East of England. I'd like to know if that's just it or if anything else slipped in. Cornish are known for being very dark often like my mum's side, and then you constantly wonder.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[Silas Nightfall]

There’s a bit of misconception around these services. When they say ownership, they mean that particular sample. They need that in order to do additional tests without calling you every time, should an initial test need redoing.

In the end though, I don’t see the point. Have you seen the commercials? Someone thinks they are one thing, and acts that way, then finds out otherwise and changes the way they act. That’s putting genetics before yourself, when it should be the other way around, if genetics is even considered.

Be who you are, not what your past says who you should be.

[firebirdflys]

For those of us who came from the cabbage patch, its a very enlightening test.
And ya, I wondered if it wasn't a covert ethnic cleansing thing, a way to weed out the rh-? (Just kidding my alien friends)
I hear what your sayin though Silas, however it's good to know one has roots....somewhere.
bb, FF