|
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DNA |
|
Testing your personal DNA is more popular now than ever before, as it can be done easily in the comfort of your own home at an affordable cost. What is DNA? DNA, (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) is the molecule that encodes the genetic instructions for building and operating all living things. At each DNA location, or address, you have two alleles, one from each parent. These alleles can have one of 4 values, or nucleotides, at each location, represented by the abbreviations T, A, C, G, short for Thymine, Adenine, Cytosine, and Guanine. (That's the end of the technical talk!) Humans are 99.9% genetically identical. All the differences we see in the way people look, what diseases they may be prone to, etc. come from the .1% difference. The DNA replicated in the cells of your body is essentially your personal building and operating instructions given to you by your parents. But more than that it contains the encyclopedia of where you came from. Your DNA is the story of your ancestors told through the bits of DNA that they have passed down to you. Each of us has 23 pairs of chromosomes; 22 pairs of autosomes and 1 pair of sex chromosomes. All of our chromosomes come in pairs! Each half of the pair represents one of our parents. In other words we inherit half of our DNA from Mom and half from Dad. The Sex Chromosome Pair is chromosome 23: Men inherit their X from their mothers and the Y from their father (XY=male) Women inherit one X from their mother and one X from their fathers. (XX=female) Y-chromosomes: Because each man inherits this Y-DNA virtually unchanged from his father, and his father from his father, and so forth, Y-DNA is the easiest DNA to use for genealogical purposes. Another advantage of the Y-DNA is that males tend to retain the surnames of their fathers, so the Y-chromosome is very helpful in surname studies. X-chromosomes: Everyone inherits one X from our mothers and an X or Y through our fathers (Male=XY Female=XX). Mitochondrial DNA (abbreviated mtDNA): It is inherited only through our mother's line. We all, both men and women, inherit our mtDNA from our mothers.
Autosomal
DNA:
It is DNA from one of our 22 pairs of autosomal
chromosomes located in the cell nucleus that you've
inherited from both your parents.
It generally excludes the sex chromosomes. Humans have
22 pairs of autosomal chromosomes and a pair of sex
chromosomes.
The
Three Types of DNA
Y-DNA
Autosomal DNA
Mt-DNA Chart
from LivingDNA DNA
Testing Companies
The
Big 3
FamilyTreeDNA  (Best
for paternity) - Offers Family Finder, an
autosomal test; mitochondrial DNA test; Y-DNA test (for
males only); myOrigins, mapping tool that provides
a detailed ethnic and geographic breakdown of where your
ancestors came from; Shared Origins, shows the
matching ethnic components of people on your DNA match
list; Ancient Origins, maps your ancient
ancestors’ migration routes and shows the ancient source
of your European DNA; It is the best test for distant
ancestry (beyond 6-8 generations), and paternity testing.
One major perk is, even if you have your testing done by a
different company, FamilyTreeDNA lets you upload your raw
data into their system as well; uses cheek swabs.
Cons: The service does not test for health or medical information; The service is intended to aid a family tree project, not to build one; smaller database. AncestryDNA  (Best for Genealogy) - Their autosomal test provides ethnicity estimates and cousin matching; Family tree mapping; 350+ ethnic regions; Find DNA matches; AncestryDNA is the best DNA test when it comes to genealogy. They have the most extensive database of DNA results for comparison and many other features for genealogists; use saliva samples. Pros: Autosomal DNA Test Offered; Very Large Database of Customers; Easy-to-understand, continually updated results; Free shipping; Numerous online resources.Database of over 15 million customers for matching; Strong genealogical community; Connect with matches through anonymous email and message boards; Link your DNA results to your online family tree; No subscription required. Cons: Owned in part by data companies; No mtDNA or Y-DNA Test; Limited Health Reports; Very Limited Return Policy with Fees; Matching feature can be overwhelming; Viewing family trees of your matches requires a subscription; Does not allow raw data uploads from other sites 23andMe (Best
overall) - Ancestry
Service test, an autosomal test provides ethnicity
estimates, called Ancestry Composition, compare your
Ancestry Composition against that of your parent; paints
your chromosome segments with your ethnic heritage; and
cousin matching; Ancestry Timeline; Pros: Autosomal,
mtDNA, and Y-DNA Tests Offered; Many Health Reports
Available; Thorough ancestry reports; New
health reports continually added if you opt-in; Fun and
interesting interactive features; The best company for
health and wellness reports; Has a large database of
more than 10 million customers; Includes a chromosome
browser for comparing results Cons: Owned in part by a pharmacy company; Some Misleading Marketing; Limited Return Policy with Fees; Health-related DNA testing doesn't provide a guaranteed vision of your future health; Very limited genealogical community compared to other sites; No Y-DNA or mtDNA matching; Does not allow upload of raw data from other sites Other DNA Testing Companies
LivingDNA
(Best for Health Analysis) - 3-in-1 ancestry test; Tests DNA across 80 regions; Updates DNA profiles as technology progresses; If you have any British or Irish ancestry, you’ll definitely want to do an ancestry test with LivingDNA; use cheek swabs.
Pros: Covers 80 regions alone in Britain; In-depth geographic reporting; Divides the UK and Ireland into many more, smaller regions than other services.Cons: Constructing DNA profile can take between 10-12 weeks; No separate autosomal DNA only test, so highest overall price;Almost no database for matchesCRI (Cellular Research Institute) Genetics
Autosomal, mtDNA, and Y-DNA tests offered; offers 5
unique ancestry reports - basic geographical breakdown of
your ancestry, plus: Maternal Haplogroup; Paternal Haplogroup;
Famous People report - find out which famous people
share the same haplogroup as you; Pros: Privately owned; Patented DNA analysis technology; Autosomal, mtDNA, and Y-DNA tests offered; headed by legitimate professional geneticist; “Efficiency Guarantee” return policy. Cons: Frequently back ordered; mtDNA and Y-DNA Tests not always available. MyHeritage (Best value) - Best for Building Family Trees- MyHeritage DNA offers a basic look at your genetic makeup, but it doesn't include any information to help you interpret the results or learn more about how your ancestors lived. MyHeritage is the best DNA test if you’re looking for matches outside the United States. They seem to have the biggest database of international customers. They also offer some pretty neat tools such as auto clustering and a chromosome browser; use cheek swabs Pros: Easy to understand results; Includes family tree software and research resources; Largest database of international customers to match; Link your DNA results to your online family tree; Allows free upload of raw data from other sites; Covers 42 ethnic regions.Cons: Collecting sample is tricky; doesn’t give any context to your results; the service has none of deeper ancestral analysis offered by other competitors; nor health screening data offered by 23andMe; Relatively small (but rapidly growing) database compared to other sites. Currently 3 million
Copyright © 2020 www.yelland.ca |
