jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I got my results DNA from 23andME. Going back to 1800, I'm 92.5% English and Irish. Going back to 1700, there's 1.2% French and German. Aside from that, it's northwestern Europe. I knew about the Engllish/Irish, but I was surprised that there wasn't more from around the world. Like many other people, I also have some Neanderthal in me. They give a lot of info in their reports, and I'm trying to decide if I want to spend another $100 to get sixty-five more reports covering health, etc.

erinjay64

My mother took us back to 1300 AD using family Bibles, birth certificates, church records, etc. It was as we knew...German-Irish-Norwegian. Everyone has a bit of other things-Neanderthal, Natives American, or whatever-in them somewhere. I may use DNA to discover more about that someday. One needs to be prepared for what they might learn, though. White Separatist Craig Cobb did a DNA test on himself, and learned that he is 14% Black. It destroyed his self image, and turned all of his fellow white racists against him. His dream of living in an all white town were shattered....since he would make it partly Black by living there. What a laugh!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Hysterical!

hj Loc: Florida

I wonder just how accurate those DNA tests are. They could tell us anything and we wouldn't know the difference. I would be particularly concerned when they are trying to sell 60+ more tests... money scam? I just don't know so take my comment with a grain of salt.

MTG44 Loc: Corryton, Tennessee

My tennis buddy did a similar test and six months later a man from Ohio called him and said 'Hi Dad'. Talk about a surprise.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

"Oh ye of little faith."

Bloke Loc: Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

Saw a documentary about this a while ago. Some group (no idea who...) collected a bunch of identical twins, and sent their dna to be tested by various of the sites offering this service. The result was less than inspiring, since most of the companies reported different results for the pairs of twins - which would, of course, have identical dna... I had considered using one of these myself, since my family knowledge only goes back to my grandparents - 1 English, 2 Scottish and 1 Shetlandic (and hence Viking!). The report was enough to prevent me spending money on the idea.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Funny!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Not true.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/health/11real.html

Bloke Loc: Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

Ok, but not really what we were talking about... The *ancestry* part of identical twins must be the same, yes? Actually, for any full siblings, but using twins makes it even more so... I am English/Scottish/Shetlandic, but my brother is German/Italian... Hmmm...

I am not putting down the idea, just pointing out that it probably isn't wise to attach too much stock in the results. As I said, I have an interest myself. My Ex was researching her family using the various programs and sites available for this. I travelled back to the UK for some family business, and decided to try and figure out some of mine. It isn't quite as big a business there, since the waves of immigration which built the British population are mostly more than 1000 years ago, with Vikings, Danes, Gauls, etc. I spent many hours in a large regional library, going through the microfiche copy of the Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Turns out there is no record of the death of my paternal grandfather. None at all... We narrowed down the time period, since I had been told that my mother took me to see him when I was a baby, so post 1955, and we knew where my dad was working when one of his brothers came to tell him the old man had died, so we could figure out the end of the 'window'. There is absolutely nothing in the records... We figure they put his body out at the curb in a black plastic bag or something!

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

Interesting. My wife and I are awaiting similar results from Ancestry.com. My grandfather had a professional do a genealogy of my family back to 1680 so I have a pretty good check on what Ancestry tells me. In the genealogy research, I was found to be a descendent of Singing Lark, a Mohegan daughter of Chief Uncas (big name among that crowd) so I'm expecting to see some Native American DNA.

ecblackiii Loc: Maryland

Actually, you didn't read an important part of the article, which says."Epigenetic markers vary widely from one person to another, but identical twins were still considered genetically identical because epigenetics influence only the expression of a gene and not the underlying sequence of the gene itself." So, is the DNA test really looking at the underlying gene sequence or just the superficial expression, which can be random. Either way, the inability to get the same results for identical twins raises credibility issues.

elad Loc: Arizona

My brother sent away for a DNA test...sort of just for fun, as he and his girlfriend had spent many hours building their "family trees". My family was traced back hundreds of years, and it was completely Danish. My brother's test came back 50% Danish, 50% English...spurring by brother to "Goggle", "Are DNA tests accurate for determining ones Ethnicity"? There were 61 million results. Here's but one, http://www.medicaldaily.com/dna-ancestry-tests-are-meaningless-your-historical-genealogy-search-244586, that I found. I could not find the article my brother sent to me, where the same DNA was sent to 5 largest companies who sell dna kits, and return their results via mail. There were 5 totally different results from five different companies, all testing the same person's DNA.

There are many others claiming from many inaccuracies exist, to a downright hoax. Don't bother reading "Google" results from those companies
that sell the kits. It's fun stuff, but, before shelling out hard earned money, I'd suggest you read the review/ratings..

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I think the point of the article is that identical twins do not have identical DNA, something recently discovered. They don't have identical fingerprints, either.

ecblackiii Loc: Maryland

Jerry, That's not what the article said. But think about what you just said (see above). If identical twins do have different DNA, after coming from the same egg and having the same parents, then ipso facto, it is impossible for DNA to be used as proof of parentage and heritage.