All the data about who we are and where we come from are stored in our DNA. DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. More than 23 million people around the world had their DNA tested from different services. Many of the people have tested family tree DNA to find about their ancestors and the things they inherit. In this article, we are going to share the things you need to know about DNA testing:
1) Personal DNA Testing is Simple
DNA testing is really simple, all you need is some saliva and seal the sample. Mail this sample to any testing lab and wait for six months for the online results. These tests are mostly affordable and range from $99 to $199. Moreover, the specific price depends on the type of report. If you just want to do a test for checking your ancestry is cheaper but the test that tells about your health is costly.
2) Kits Look for Genetic Variations
When a company extracts the DNA from a sample, it first finds the genetic variant. Building blocks of DNA comes in four different varieties A, T, C, and G. There are a lot of combinations of these letters. They together provide your genetic information called genome. The main purpose of the company is to determine which letter is present the most in the genome. They focus mainly on the letters that vary from human to human. There are certain combinations that explain about the color of your eyes and the disease associated with you.
3) Accuracy Depends on Testing Methods
Some of the companies like 23 and Me use Plausible range method which gives the results with 99.9 percent accuracy. Most of the major companies use such kind of advanced techniques so their results will also of the same accuracy. There are also some tests such as Superhero DNA test that tells the things about speed, intelligence, and strength of a person. No matter, how much combinations they know but some of the tests are still unable to calculate the intelligence of a person. Anyhow, the DNA test is not very mature right now that they can tell everything about you.
4) It Can Reveal Genetic Connections
The DNA test can also determine the ancestry of a person, but most of these tests are done by comparing the DNA with another DNA. These tests can give you an idea but they cannot 100% tell you the reality of your ancestors.
5) Some Hints at Your DNA’S Distant History
Do you know that all of the humans today can trace their mitochondrial lineage with a woman? That woman lived in Africa a thousand years ago. Well, it does not mean that she was the only woman alive at that time. Many other women of that time also have descendants. Some of the labs offer a mitochondrial test to find your maternal haplogroup. It includes all the people who share maternal ancestor tens of thousands of years ago.
