The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it. The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday at noon.
Today’s question:
Has your DNA ever been tested to find out where your family came from? If so, what were the results, and were you surprised?
Talk about it….
Used 23andme and it was spot-on, accurate to within 20 miles on the east coast of Italy.
Used Ancestry.com and it was only a rough approximation – it said “northern Italy”.
Nope & no plans to. I am actually adopted but have had the greatest parents anyone could have ever asked for. I miss my dad beyond comprehension & my 94 year old mom is still living on her own in the house they raised my sister & myself in. I see her every day & do her shopping on the weekend. No need to see anything more than what I’ve seen or experienced…
My DNA is doing OK.
No more paternity suits
So no more need for testing (Plus I have a friend in the Lab).
Donald Never Ask
Wow Concordejet that added a lot to the conversation.
How about privacy concerns? The ability of the company who does the testing to sell your DNA results to whomever they want.
Nope we’re going to be juvenile and try and score some imaginary points by making it political.
I don’t recommend that rock musicians from the 1970s get tested. 😄
Ancestry.com shows that my ancestors came mainly from England and NW Europe. After that, a smaller percentage came from Scotland, then a smaller number from Ireland and Wales.
Ancestry also maintains family trees, and mine is filled out and complete for the past five generations. Most of my ancestors arrived in the colonies by the late 1600s or early 1700s.
The sad thing about all of this DNA testing among those of European ancestry is that over 95% of the people of European ancestry can now be identified because of the number of DNA results and family trees that are publicly available, even among those who haven’t taken any DNA tests.
I don’t see the negative of widespread DNA testing. Unless you’re a serial killer, you are not likely to be tracked down with DNA testing. We’re regularly hearing about the thousands of rape samples that have never been tested, because they haven’t been given a high priority.
The Observer,
.
You sound just like one of those people who believes nobody needs their rights, should just surrender all of their rights to the government, and says, “If you don’t have anything to hide, then you don’t have anything to worry about.” Give up your First Amendment rights because you should have nothing negative to say about the government and elected, appointed, and career government employees and officials, and have no fear of retribution, unless you have something to hide. Give up your Second Amendment rights, because you don’t need to protect yourself from the government, the government is there to protect you and will protect you from harm. Give up your Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights, unless you have something to hide from the government. No thanks, I’ll be more than happy to keep my DNA, whether it’s shared DNA or not, just as I’ll be more than happy to keep my rights!!! You can feel free to give up ALL of your rights and protections, just because you have nothing to hide from the government, and see how well that works out for you, simply because you believe the government is on your side and is there to protect you, just as you have no fear or problem of sharing your DNA with corporations and the government.
A lot of speculation in your post that seems based on a serious case of paranoia. For what it’s worth, I’m a retired federal employee and a registered Republican. Anyone who tries to force his way into my home will discover that I haven’t given up my 2nd Amendment rights. A lot of people have found that I’m not afraid to share my opinions, about them, or about the issues of the day. It’s sad to hear that you seem to live your life in such fear.
The Observer,
.
It seems you have a lot of speculation in your post based on nothing but your subjective interpretations and opinions. Having a lack of trust in corporations and government is hardly based on “fear” and “paranoia,” It’s simply based on the actions of corporations and government and what they do with the information they’ve collected on all of us. Good for you on being a retired federal employee and a Republican. Your being a retired federal employee means nothing and I don’t like the Democrats or the Republicans. If you have complete trust in corporations and the government and what they do with your information, then that’s on you. After all, you said you have nothing to worry about unless you’re a “serial killer.”
I understand your concerns but you might want to step back from the ledge. It is voluntary; not compulsory.
I, personally will not voluntarily take a DNA test because I do not want my genetic information sold to whomever the company preforming the test wants to sell it to. Be it to research, Government, my employer, corporations, insurance companies or pharma.
That is a far cry from allowing the Government to conducting warrantless searches, self-censorship or being compelled to bear witness against yourself. That said, if someone wants to consent to a warrantless search, or wants to self-control their speech or take the stand in their own defense that is their decision.
NO ONE can invoke someone else’s Constitution rights.
I would not want to accidentally rat out my cousin Phil.
I have a relative that did the DNA thing, and she shared the results with me. I’ve always
been aware of my family’s history, values, and cultural traditions, but there was one little
surprise, well, not really a surprise because my mother told me about it, but the DNA
confirmed it. It’s a family secret, but here’s a clue, my mother is from Sicily, and it had to
do with her notorious uncle.
Don’t need/care to know. my feet are what I stand on.
I figure the useful part of my DNA proved itself
with two healthy relatively
well adjusted adult children.
Point is where you’re going
is far more important than where
you came from.
I find it interesting that my sister – who’s into this – every time she’s tested it comes up with different results of ethnicity. She’s always calling me.. saying how suddenly we have Jewish in us, the next time it’s Native American then next time Basque… so I’m skeptical.
Badge 1104,
.
Every time someone does one of these tests the sample pool becomes larger and changes results.
Badge 1104,
.
Also, depending which company one chooses to go with and the type of DNA testing they do, your results, if using 23andme and Ancestry you’re only likely to get results that go back 200 – 500 years.
Hmm,
how do we build a list of people’s DNA
and get them to pay for it ? ? ?
I had my DNA tested,and the results verified,
I am a human being…
DNA not a commodity? It’s not like health insurance, could use it to assess inherited health risks, could they?
My unmarried birth mother put me up for adoption in 1946. I was adopted at 7 months old by my wonderful parents after 15 years of them being married and trying to get pregnant. I was a really big deal with their big Italian big relatives. My Mom always reminded me on my birthday that somewhere there was a good woman who was thinking of me on that day. They only asked for a boy and maybe one of Italian ancestry; which they got! After my Dad’s passing my Mom gave me a copy of my birth certificate. Finally at age 70, I sent my spit to Ancestry and discovered that I have 2 maternal half-brothers and 1 paternal half-brother! I’ve connected with them all in the past 5 years and they all love me, as I do them, and have spent some great times with me and my current family.
My wife and I are both very happy to have linked Ancestry DNA tests to our family tree. We have confirmed several lines as well as discovered many cousins.
Mr. MAYOR:
This Water Cooler is probably too old for people to be going back to read, but it might be worth bouncing this info to some. Some used 23andMe….
Attorney General Bonta Urgently Issues Consumer Alert for 23andMe CustomersThey cannot guarantee safety of your data!
https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-urgently-issues-consumer-alert-23andme-customers
In case you missed out: 23 and Me had a highjack of their database in Oct 2023 got the info on SEVEN MILLION customers. That’s where a bucket full of their $6 Billion bankroll went. The rest they had tied up because they had partnered with pharmaceutical companies like GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) and Almirall to use its customer DNA data for drug research and development,
Drug research…expensive… but even more expensive, I guess, if you don’t have 7+ million people contributing to your Big Pharma/Big Dollar dreams.