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  1. #1
    5 Star Poster sukumvit boy's Avatar
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    Default Have any of you done DNA testing ?

    I did the "National Genographic Project" cheek swab and sent it in about 5 years ago. It showed that I had 45% Mediterranean descent ,which didn't surprise me since my father's side was Italian. However my mother was Russian and contributed a lot of interesting gene markers. I was surprised to find I had 4% East Asian descent as well as 4% Neanderthal and 2.7% Denisovan.
    There are a lot of gene testing companies available now like "23AndMe" and others . Prices are reasonable and coming down. I paid $200 for the Genographic Project about 5 years ago and it's down to $150 now .
    They use a simple ,non traumatic ,cheek swab technique and send you the kit and instructions as well as a prepaid return mailing envelope. You simply set up a username and password and can than access your results online at their website . It takes about 4 -8 weeks for them to process and publish your results.
    You can than share your results with anyone , if you choose, by giving them the username and password . Amaze your friends and family!



  2. #2
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    Default Re: Have any of you done DNA testing ?

    That is interesting. I didn't do it for ethnicity but for metabolism of certain medications. I found I am homozygous for 677tt of the mthfr gene. This means that I don't convert folate to methylfolate as efficiently as other people so I take methylated folate supplements. I've definitely felt a bit more energetic since I started taking them but nothing dramatic.

    I'd be interested in seeing but do you know how accurate the markers are?



  3. #3
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    Default Re: Have any of you done DNA testing ?

    Did anyone see the piece about the triplets that took the test? Sent away separately to the same lab (one of these find yu ancestry places)
    Think they were of Scandinavian descent but essentially aside from it finding that in each of them the majority of their DNA was as it would be expected, all of the little “extra” bits (5% this, 2% that, 8% the other) were complexity different.
    As triplets although obviously their DNA will have differences, their heritage can only be the same. Conclusion? It’s a load of old bollox.

    Clearly though, that’s not a professional opinion!


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  4. #4
    5 Star Poster sukumvit boy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Have any of you done DNA testing ?

    Quote Originally Posted by broncofan View Post
    That is interesting. I didn't do it for ethnicity but for metabolism of certain medications. I found I am homozygous for 677tt of the mthfr gene. This means that I don't convert folate to methylfolate as efficiently as other people so I take methylated folate supplements. I've definitely felt a bit more energetic since I started taking them but nothing dramatic.

    I'd be interested in seeing but do you know how accurate the markers are?
    Yes , fortunately there are a lot of medical gene scans now available. Folate is particularly important for pregnant females , as i'm sure you have already been advised ,so let your family know.
    With regard to ancestry gene markers ,they are unequivocal , either you have them or you don't ,so in that regard they are 'accurate'. I hope that answers your question.?



  5. #5
    5 Star Poster sukumvit boy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Have any of you done DNA testing ?

    Thanks Aticus100 , you bring up an interesting issue , which has certainly cast a shadow over the whole enterprise of ancestry DNA testing.

    I think this is the piece to which you refer.
    http://www.insideedition.com/investi...ts-to-find-out


    With regard to there being slight differences in the overall DNA sequences even in twins or triplets this is a well documented and accepted fact in academic circles.

    https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...not-identical/
    https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0328151740.htm
    http://www.fsigenetics.com/article/S...abstract?cc=y=

    However , I don't think that is sufficient reason to just chuck the whole enterprise and "throw out the baby with the bathwater" so to speak.
    As I understand it ,are are dealing with an industry which is still to some extent unregulated and unsupervised .
    So unfortunately ,caveat emptor



  6. #6
    5 Star Poster sukumvit boy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Have any of you done DNA testing ?

    I should add that the primary reason I chose the National Genographic Project , and would choose it again over the other tests now available, is because I think it has the most scientific supervision and it is a non profit multi year citizen science research project .
    Also , I see that the price has come down to $69.99.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genographic_Project
    http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/category/featured



  7. #7
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    Default Re: Have any of you done DNA testing ?

    Quote Originally Posted by sukumvit boy View Post
    Yes , fortunately there are a lot of medical gene scans now available. Folate is particularly important for pregnant females , as i'm sure you have already been advised ,so let your family know.
    With regard to ancestry gene markers ,they are unequivocal , either you have them or you don't ,so in that regard they are 'accurate'. I hope that answers your question.?
    I told everyone in my family. Thanks!

    I guess the question I had was not about whether they could identify the markers but whether the markers mean what they say they do. In other words, if you have a marker for Mediterranean ancestry is it distinctive enough that there was a time where you would only find that marker in this one population? So it's more how effective are the markers at identifying ancestry?


    Last edited by broncofan; 12-08-2017 at 02:49 AM.

  8. #8
    5 Star Poster sukumvit boy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Have any of you done DNA testing ?

    Yes , that's the big question that everyone ,including the front line researchers , are trying to answer.
    Simple answer, extremely accurate on the 'continental' level ,less accurate on the sub continental level , such as Northern European vs Scandinavian.
    but it's a young ,fluid field , improving rapidly.
    Wiki covers it well
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genealogical_DNA_test


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  9. #9
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    Default Re: Have any of you done DNA testing ?

    I wonder if all my bastard kids could track me down if I volunteered my DNA??
    I am going to drop 400 bucks on a genetic test to see which anti-depressants, sleep aids, anti-anxiety drugs ....etc..etc..etc.. work best for me with the least amount of side effects. Back in the day, I could spend 400 buck on drug tests in one weekend.
    Ah, my misspent youth..........


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  10. #10
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    Default Re: Have any of you done DNA testing ?

    Quote Originally Posted by buttslinger View Post
    I wonder if all my bastard kids could track me down if I volunteered my DNA??
    I am going to drop 400 bucks on a genetic test to see which anti-depressants, sleep aids, anti-anxiety drugs ....etc..etc..etc.. work best for me with the least amount of side effects. Back in the day, I could spend 400 buck on drug tests in one weekend.
    Ah, my misspent youth..........
    My friend, that was exactly what I did. The company tried to charge my insurance company thousands of dollars, they said nope, and then I am promised a bill of no more than 300 dollars. So it went fine.

    All I can say is it could provide some useful info. Good to know if you're a fast metabolizer, a slow metabolizer, have the most typical alleles, etc. Also gives a small bit of info about genes that encode for receptor types and that info could be helpful. I found out the mthfr thing I said above, which is useful. I passed the info on to seven family members, take a new set of pills (methylfolate) and have had a little benefit.


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    Last edited by broncofan; 12-08-2017 at 07:08 AM.

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