AncestryDNA Test on sale for $79...

...plus shipping! And  the offer is only available through the link in an email. This info just came to me about an hour ago and I have no idea how they chose the recipients of the email notice. I've already tested so perhaps they believe I'll  but more tests for family and friends?

It'd really like to know how their sales fluctuate since they seem to have this "20% off" deal quite frequently. So much so that I nearly always advise people who have interest in the test to wait for a holiday or even call them up and simply request the test at the sale price.

All I can be sure of is that  by comparing the results I received from AncestryDNA to the results from FamilyTreeDNA and 23andMe the most recent results seem to be more accurate. I tested long ago with NatGeo whose results also parallel those of the other major testing labs. I am predominantly Northern European with just a smattering of Eastern European and almost a full half of a percent of Ashkenazi Jew.

Would I recommend one over the other? The famous answer to that is "That depends." It depends, of course, on your needs or your motivation. AncestryDNA is a relatively simple (and inexpensive) "cousin finder" inasmuch as they only test autosomal DNA. Autosomal lives in the nucleus and is the DNA that is 50% Mom and 50% Dad. If you follow that out several generations, the logic dictates that your autosomal is 25% from each of your 4 grandparents, 12.5% from each of your 8 great grandparents, 6.75% from each of your 16 2nd great-grandparents and so on. That same logic demonstrates that the accuracy of discovering 4th, 5th or earlier generations is relatively remote at best. However, since Ancestry.com has a significant data base of family trees, some of which are reasonably accurate, there's also a reasonable chance you'll be able to discover some new relationships up to about 4th cousins or so. But don't try to prove you're descended from Charlemagne with the AncestryDNA test!!

The other companies' tests can be more expensive, but the testing is a great deal more complex. Just keep in mind the Y-DNA is specifically for your paternal line. Why (couldn't resist the pun)? Because only men have Y-DNA. That's what makes the men men! It is the 23rd of  the23 chromosomes in the nucleus of each cell.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), on the other hand, lives outside the nucleus but still within the cell itself. EVERYONE has mitochondrial but  ONLY the females transmit it, thereby giving us all a genetic map to our mother's mother and her mother as well, back many generations of mothers

.

It starts to get a little technical from here on, but it may be enough to help you make a decision...hopefully!

Major Changes at 23andMe

Roberta Estes is a very competent genealogist with extensive credentials in the field. If you're familiar with her blog "DNAeXplained - Genetic Genealogy"you'll likely agree. If you're not familiar  but have interest in DNA and DNA research, I suggest you go to her blog and subscribe.

Rather than have me attempt to describe the goings-on at 23andMe, I thought it would be best to simply offer the link to that specific blog to read at your leisure. All you have to do is click here.
She'll do a much better job that I could ever accomplish!

 

AncestryDNA Sale???

Image from AncestryDNA website

You didn't hear this from me, but I was on the phone with Ancestry.com's Tech Support today (very helpful as usual) and before I hung up, I asked if their DNA test was still $99. She said that yes, it was to which I replied that I thought there might be some holiday specials.  Now, she didn't say anything definitive, but she "suggested" that I check the pricing on Black Friday.

Since the start of their DNA project, I have been cynical (or maybe the right word is skeptical) about their early results.  After all, it's hard to tell someone who is obviously of Asian descent that they were 98% Scandinavian.  Now I don't know if they tried to get away with that result specifically, but I do know that the early results were, at best, questionable. But after reading Judy G. Russell, Blaine T. Bettinger, Roberta Estes and others, Ancestry seems to have gotten their act together. They've even tweaked their autosomal results creating a significant trimming of possible matches. Nice job Ancestry!!  

As a result of all this and other factors, I'll certainly check them out again this Friday and see if the "hint" from Tech Support pans out. Or should I say the "shaky leaf" from Tech Support!!

By the way, my original issue was resolved...I think!
I'll leave you with my new mantra: "Climb YOUR tree!"

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"Fishing" in all the DNA "Pools"

Every day, I receive an e-mail containing the post from Judy G. Russell, the Legal Genealogist.  As a matter of fact, that's the name of her blog, "The Legal Genealogist".  I like her posts for a number of reasons.  First, she writes in "English".  By that I mean you can understand what she's trying to say.  In spite of the fact...or perhaps because of the fact...that she's an attorney, she has a great sense of humor and a unique ability to convey a story or explain an issue in easy to understand language.  She is a classy lecturer with a message, many messages as a matter of fact!  My wife and I have listened to her a number of times and we always come away with a good understanding of the subject matter.



Today's blog is entitled "Baiting the Hook" which I advise you to read...it'll take about 4 minutes.  Just click the title and you'll be taken there.  After you read "Baiting the Hook", I'm pretty sure you'll want to follow her.  She covers many genealogical subjects and legal issues that can help anyone with their research.

 

After reading today's post, I feel better that I've tested with 2 companies, FamilyTreeDNA and 23andMe.  And now I'm encouraged to test with Ancestry DNA even though they got off to a horrific start!

 

Let me know what you think!

 

 

 

 

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• AncestryDNA Rolls Out "Update"


• "Family History and DNA" Day at the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree


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• SSDI Access is Now Limited


• The Legal Genealogist


• Parent's Rights versus Grandparent's Interests - Insights from the Law


• Cemetery Photos: Is Permission Required?

Hope for Ancestry DNA Testing???

The title of their blog is "Coming Soon - Ancestry DNA is Evolving".  So I'll post this for the benefit of those who have paid the piper and came back with far from satisfactory results: Native Americans who are told they are 97% Scandinavian, for example!   If I had a nickel for every complaint I've seen....well, you know!!

It seems to me that the first rush of tests that were done at Ancestry produced results based on a very small data base.  Eventually, they were able to purchase a large data base from Sorenson Molecular Genetic Genalogy to help them fine tune their analyses.  We'll see!

 

There's a DNA blog which I've recommended before.  II have to mention Roberta Estes who, I believe, is one of the premiere experts and writes a very down-to-earth blog called "DNAeXplained-Genetic Genealogy".  She has fielded hundreds of the complaints about AncestryDNA and handles them well.   She the right one to follow for your own "personal" course in genetic DNA.  Most of her blogs are not only informative but they're written in the English that most of us speak (not highly technical "scientist-speak") and always injects a bit of humor.

 

Related articles

• Status of the Sorenson Molecular Genetic Genealogy DNA Databases and GeneTree (eogn.com)


• AncestryDNA Rolls Out "Update" (oldbonessearch.com)


• Our Service: Ancestry Features (23andme.com)


• A List of Genealogy DNA Companies (eogn.com)


• DNA testing (deanandcindymartin.wordpress.com)


• I Just Found Out That I'm Not As 'Black' As I Thought (businessinsider.com)


• Family Tree DNA Unveils $39 DNA Test (eogn.com)


• Mitochondrial DNA Variants and Heart Disease Risk (fightaging.org)


• Genetics 101: Where do your genes come from? (23andme.com)


• European link to Jewish ancestry (bbc.co.uk)

AncestryDNA Rolls Out "Update"

Here's a link to one of my favorite blogger, lecturer, genealogist, lawyer and general expert in a lot of the things that also interest me! There's a great deal of information here and in every blog she posts... Although not always about DNA:

The Legal Genealogist

Especially interesting is the last paragraph where she quotes Dr. Ken Chahine of AncestryDNA.