DNA Update

In an earlier post I gave a preliminary review on the different DNA tests out there that I had participated in. I finally got the last of my results and so now I am here to finish my review on the 23andMe service.

First let me say if I had it to do all over again, I would. The only down fall I have found thus far is the amount of time it takes to get your results. I certainly feel the company needs to invest in hiring a couple more labs to support their demand. In this case it seems like they are continually playing catch up. I guess perhaps the demand was greater than they anticipated from the start. If you are considering getting your DNA tested be prepared to wait in excess of 6-8 weeks, maybe longer before those results will be ready.

As you can see from the screen shot I posted, this is the breakdown of my heritage along with specific countries of origin. As I mentioned before I was previously tested with Ancestry so it was of no surprise to me when my results here indicated European Ancestry. There are several third party tools out there that one can use to further break down your countries of origin as well. I have used two of them thus far. The first one was Dr. McDonald`s anaylasis, he indicated that I had a minute amount of Ashkenazi Jew which 23andMe did not pick up. The other tool I used was Interpretome, it was able to pick up my Italian a bit further and narrow it down to the region of Toscani Italy. I was satisfied with that because I am able to trace my 10th great grandmother back to Florence, Italy. Yes, that is pretty far back but keep in mind I began that trace specifically in 2008. The other thing that I found interesting that Interpretome came up with that was not picked up by 23andMe was some connection to the Gujarati Indians in Houston, Texas. I must make note that the DNA contained in that sample population was strictly taken on their word that at least 3 out of 4 of their grandparents were Gujarati. So, it would seem that that particular population may be subject to admixture. The origion of the people is uncertain, they are thought to descend from Asia. I am not certain where that would have came into play in my family lineage though.I am uncertain as to how close Europe is in relation to Asia also. 

I will touch on my health results in another post. Since I have gotten my results I have made at least one connection to a close cousin on my mothers side that I would not have found had I not have gotten this test. I highly recommend it, especially if you are family history nut such as myself.