Posted on 01/05/2019 5:26:20 PM PST by bboop
Gathering info here on DNA tests. Good ones/ those to avoid? Feedback? thanks. I've been doing genealogy for some time; cousin got the test and I am curious.
Sure you can...have a neighbor order the test which you give 'em cash for, pay with his /her credit card, you take the test by spiting in the tube, fill in any name you want and send it in. Close to zero chance they can identify you unless your neighbor rats you out.
Sounds like a great approach and there probably are endless attorneys out there offering this as a 'standard product'. Here's a fellow's reasonably well thought through DIY approach.....
https://blog.someben.com/2017/11/anonymous-genetic-testing/
Start with Ancestry.com as it has the largest database by far.
Then for free, post your results on FTDNA, MyHeritage and GedMatch. The idea is to fish in many ponds.
However, you need a classical paper & pencil family tree so you can match with others and find common relatives.
Probably won’t live more than 20 more years. And don’t plan to do any crimes. Not worried about public having access.
Genetic genealogy is a valuable tool to augment, and in many cases validate, traditional genealogy.
However, do not ask the question if you can’t stand the answer. You might learn your father is not really your father, or you might discover a half-sibling that no one ever mentioned to you. On the other hand, this is probably the easiest/cheapest way learn who your mysterious grandparent really was.
Regardless of your testing company, you can transfer your results for FREE to gedmatch.com. Results from all the DNA test sites are compared at no cost, and within a few days time you can access, again at no cost a list of close kin, complete with an e-mail address that the donor chooses to use.
That is also the site being used to track down serial killers and rapists. If they left DNA behind, law enforcement can match it against gedmatch’s huge and ever-growing database to find relatives of the guilty party. It is then fairly simple to find the doer.
Unfortunately for the many FReepers who do not want to tested, if one or more of your relatives have tested, then your own DNA is already “out there.” By combining a DNA sample with some basic information such as rough age, results can frequently be linked to a pool of fewer than 20 people. Yaniv Erlich, a computational geneticist at Columbia University, was the leader of a study that found an internet sleuth can already identify about 60% of white Americans from a DNA sample, even if they have never provided their own DNA to a database. “In a few years, it’s really going to be everyone,” says the geneticist.
I recommend ignoring the ethnicity results at all the sites. People simple move around too much for these predictions to have much validity.
With all that said, which is the “best” company with whom to test your DNA for genealogy purposes? Ancestry.com is great at meshing DNA results with traditional “tree” data, and for finding first/second/third and even fourth cousins. These cousins might know a lot about your mutual great-great-great grandparents.
If you are a male (or have a cooperative male relative) then the Y-chromosome testing at familytreeDNA.com is fantastic. The results give you accurate links to your biological father’s father’s
(etc) father.
Both sites can assist you in finding genetic kin, but remember that any DNA test may shock you if you learn that, genetically, you are not who you thought you are.
10% Iberian Peninsula was surprisingly in my first result, then a revision eliminated that and a couple other small percentages. The revised one is more what I expected, Great Britain, Ireland, etc., Northwestern Europe and Norway.
Technology advances but such privacy laws haven't.
Until then, I'd tread very carefully.
Think of it this way, in the very near future, it will become commonplace to produce human tissue, organ system or even an entire body by doing something like 3D printing out your exact DNA code.
LOL...now that, is covering some tracks :-)
Here’s your link, clickable, for those who may have an interest....
https://blog.someben.com/2017/11/anonymous-genetic-testing/
Living DNA and GPS Origins do not give you lists of matches. Living DNA does provide your "motherline" haplogroup (that is, your mitochondrial DNA) but only a very broad label (such as H), and for men the "fatherline" or Y-DNA haplogroup. They gave me a percentage of how much "European" ancestry I have (but not further subdivided).
GPS Origins gave me 14 regions where I supposedly have ancestry from--some very unbelievable and not at all consistent with what I know from genealogical research.
23andMe gives mitochondrial and Y-DNA haplogroups (but rather broad categories). MyHeritage and Ancestry don't give you those. FamilyTreeDNA does if you pay extra for those tests (and their categories are more precise).
Having done all those tests, I have tons of matches who are somehow distantly related but often I don't know how. Usually I can tell if it is on my father's side or my mother's side. Sometimes I can figure out from seeing what other matches that person has--but in many cases that doesn't help because none of the other matches have surnames I have seen before.
I have had some interesting exchanges with distant relatives whom I would not know of if we had not both taken the test and have been able to help others with information they did not have.
I'm not worried that any close relative might commit a crime and get caught because I've taken a DNA test.
I suspect it’s the Celtic that creates the mismatch. Mine originally claimed I was 25% Irish. Now Spanish has increased to 60 percent and 10 percent Portugese. Celts inhabited the Portugal area and parts of Spain.
>In a SHTF scenario, they will hunt you down with it. Just sayn’.<<
Who in the hell cares. lol In a SHTF scenario, folks will be taking extraordinary measures to baton down the hatches.
Ever had a blood test for medical purposes? Urine test? If uncle sugar wants your DNA, they’ll simply get a warrant and search your doctor/medical lab for your stuff. lol
I have tested or uploaded results at several places. Ancestry & 23andMe I would but, then transfer to FamilyTreeDNA & MyHeritage. Have to pay small fee at last two to get full details. I discovered my biological surname is not my name (one of my ancestors was attacked...). I find it very enjoyable.
Never in a million years.
.
Maybe I’m “them”.
Lol!
That could be. My biggest category: England, Wales and NW Europe, covers a heck of a lot of ancient tribes. Ancestry’s diagram of that region catches SE England, part of Wales, northern France, Belgium, Netherlands and part of western Germany.
Those areas are where many tribes that became English came from, and then mixed with the Celts, or the oldest tribes in England. I guess they all mixed so much no individual tribes can be identified now.
I’m more Cherokee than Lizzy Warren is. My cat probably is, too.
Here’s how an attorney does it....
https://venturebeat.com/2013/09/20/how-to-use-23andme-without-giving-up-your-genetic-privacy/
He’s been taking DNA samples of everybody that answers his post
I have 2 concerns:
1. I am concerned about Security of DNA data bases. Everything and everyone can be hacked. Who might have access and for what purposes concerns me.
2. I am concerned that if I were tested, in the future, my results could be accessed by various entities—insurance companies or others (likely the government) to determine health risks of me or my progeny. As medical costs rise, I think DNA medical information will be a very valuable commodity—which is why I won’t have the test done.
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