DNA Testing

[RockChalk]

My wife has been kicking around the idea of trying one of those DNA testing services. Backstory is that she doesn't know who her father is (has no desire to find out) but it also means she is missing information in regards to genes, family history, etc.

Has anyone ever tried 23&Me, Ancestry, etc? 23 & Me seems to get the best reviews online, but I would like to see if anyone on here has ever tried one of them.

[RunKC]

Check out Invitae. It’s only $250 for a test. I’m thinking about it due to my grandfather having pancreatic cancer.

https://www.invitae.com/en/proactive/

[JohnnyHammersticks]

Bogus. Just another way to part well-meaning people from their money.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/dna-ancestry-kits-twins-marketplace-1.4980976

Twins get some 'mystifying' results when they put 5 DNA ancestry kits to the test

Geneticist at a popular ancestry company admits it's 'kind of a science and an art'

One set of identical twins, two different ancestry profiles. At least that's the suggestion from one of the world's largest ancestry DNA testing companies.

Last spring, Marketplace host Charlsie Agro and her twin sister, Carly, bought home kits from AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, 23andMe, FamilyTreeDNA and Living DNA, and mailed samples of their DNA to each company for analysis. Despite having virtually identical DNA, the twins did not receive matching results from any of the companies.

In most cases, the results from the same company traced each sister's ancestry to the same parts of the world — albeit by varying percentages. But the results from California-based 23andMe seemed to suggest each twin had unique twists in their ancestry composition. According to 23andMe's findings, Charlsie has nearly 10 per cent less "broadly European" ancestry than Carly. She also has French and German ancestry (2.6 per cent) that her sister doesn't share.

The identical twins also apparently have different degrees of Eastern European heritage — 28 per cent for Charlsie compared to 24.7 per cent for Carly. And while Carly's Eastern European ancestry was linked to Poland, the country was listed as "not detected" in Charlsie's results. "The fact that they present different results for you and your sister, I find very mystifying," said Dr. Mark Gerstein, a computational biologist at Yale University.
Twins' DNA 'shockingly similar'.

Marketplace sent the results from all five companies to Gerstein's team for analysis. He says any results the Agro twins received from the same DNA testing company should have been identical. And there's a simple reason for that: The raw data collected from both sisters' DNA is nearly exactly the same. "It's shockingly similar," he said.

(more)

[crayzkirk]

For some reason, the DNA testing reminds me of a movie called The Island. Rich people have themselves cloned and then use them as donors when they get sick. So you end up being a match for some "rich and important person" and end up in an "accident"...

[seclark]

wife and i each got one for Christmas a couple years ago. spit in a tube and mail it in. i got my results, but hers got corrupted somehow. they sent her another kit, but she never spit again. kit is still in a drawer somewhere.

i logged into the web site and checked out the results. kind of interesting. then started doing the questions and lost interest pretty quick.

there's a couple threads around here on this subject.
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[Coochie liquor]

For some reason, the DNA testing reminds me of a movie called The Island. Rich people have themselves cloned and then use them as donors when they get sick. So you end up being a match for some "rich and important person" and end up in an "accident"...

That was a damn good movie. I love the part when the bad guys are supposed to be incognito, but then destroy the whole huge building.

[SupDock]

I am very hesitant to participate in these. I think there are ways for your data to be misused that we haven't even thought about yet

[Yosef_Malkovitch]

I am very hesitant to participate in these. I think there are ways for your data to be misused that we haven't even thought about yet

This. I heard an interview with a health insurance executive once. He said his company was very interested in the outcome of genetic tests, and if you withheld information it could be a basis to deny coverage.

So if you get tested and find out that you are susceptible to a certain disease, they use it to jack up your rates or cancel you altogether. If you find out and don't tell them, they can deny coverage.

The only way I would ever do genetic testing is if I could do it completely anonymously. That way the results could not be linked to me.

[BWillie]

I am very hesitant to participate in these. I think there are ways for your data to be misused that we haven't even thought about yet

Yeah, I don't want to find out I'm a familar match to a serial killer. Maybe my second cousin murdered 95 kids in guam or something.

That's how they got BTK.

[Bump]

If your DNA is already in a government database, go for it, they already got you. But if you don't, I would advise not doing that.

[Frosty]

Yeah, I don't want to find out I'm a familar match to a serial killer. Maybe my second cousin murdered 95 kids in guam or something.

That's how they got BTK.

They got BTK through the floppy disk he sent to the police. The metadata on a file on it pointed to the church he worked at.

They got the Golden State Killer on it and have cleared up a bunch of other cold cases. Personally, I'm all for it. If my DNA can get some scumbag arrested, I'm all for it.

[Valiant]

While good to catch criminals.

It will be sold to insurance companies and others eventually. That data will be used to deny coverage or raise the rate.

[Rain Man]

I agree with several others in the thread. I'm very interested from a health perspective and an ancestry perspective, but there's already precedent of the data being used for purposes by outside parties. No thanks.

[BWillie]

They got BTK through the floppy disk he sent to the police. The metadata on a file on it pointed to the church he worked at.

They got the Golden State Killer on it and have cleared up a bunch of other cold cases. Personally, I'm all for it. If my DNA can get some scumbag arrested, I'm all for it.

Hahha yeah it was a combination of both. He asked the cops via classified ad in the paper if it was safe to use a floppy disk. The police are like rofl lol yeah lets tell him it is. And then he sent in a floppy disk and it had metadata on it from his church. Contrary to popular belief alot of serial killers aren't as smart as people think they are.

[Frosty]

I agree with several others in the thread. I'm very interested from a health perspective and an ancestry perspective, but there's already precedent of the data being used for purposes by outside parties. No thanks.

If you are referring to the police using the data to catch criminals, they aren't using the data from 23andMe or the like. They are using public databases that users upload their data to willingly. It may happen someday but for now, third parties like police and insurance companies DO NOT use personal data from 23andMe.

[Frosty]

Hahha yeah it was a combination of both. He asked the cops via classified ad in the paper if it was safe to use a floppy disk. The police are like rofl lol yeah lets tell him it is. And then he sent in a floppy disk and it had metadata on it from his church. Contrary to popular belief alot of serial killers aren't as smart as people think they are.

True, they used his daughter's DNA to verify that it was him but they found him through the disk. A little different from the familial matches that are catching killers and identifying Jane/John Does today

[BigRedChief]

Q
http://chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=321997

[RockChalk]

Q
http://chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=321997

Thank you. I did a search but nothing came up for me.

[Scorp]

All these sites are Government Cover sites to retrieve DNA from you so they can clone you and make super soldiers.

[TribalElder]

Just go on Maury

If your the dad your gonna have to pay monthly installments though

[chinaski]

If your last name was Inay, you could name your daughter Deirdre...Call her Dee for short. Dee Inay.