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Hello, i'm thinking about getting one of these tests.
The only thing that's bothering me is that I see some results have ranges like 15%-50% East Asian, etc, etc.
I even see some tests that have huge percentages marked as "unassigned".
How can I minimize this. Which tests are more accurate? I fully understand that these tests won't be 100% totally accurate but the more the accuracy, the better.
None are going to be anymore accurate than another, it's entirely down to your own DNA. For example, it appears that my British DNA is entirely Viking and Anglo-Saxon, not Celtic or Roman. As such, it's very similar to the DNA found in Western European (like Germany) and Scandinavia, making it very difficult to tell apart. One company tells me I'm 55% British and another tells me I'm 0% British. There is just too much mixing among groups in Europe, so some DNA is too similar to tell apart, regardless of what test you take.
None are going to be anymore accurate than another, it's entirely down to your own DNA. For example, it appears that my British DNA is entirely Viking and Anglo-Saxon, not Celtic or Roman. As such, it's very similar to the DNA found in Western European (like Germany) and Scandinavia, making it very difficult to tell apart. One company tells me I'm 55% British and another tells me I'm 0% British. There is just too much mixing among groups in Europe, so some DNA is too similar to tell apart, regardless of what test you take.
Doesn't this make the tests pretty much worthless?
I want to have them done also, but I see so many conflicting results posted that it is mind boggling.
None are going to be anymore accurate than another, it's entirely down to your own DNA. For example, it appears that my British DNA is entirely Viking and Anglo-Saxon, not Celtic or Roman. As such, it's very similar to the DNA found in Western European (like Germany) and Scandinavia, making it very difficult to tell apart. One company tells me I'm 55% British and another tells me I'm 0% British. There is just too much mixing among groups in Europe, so some DNA is too similar to tell apart, regardless of what test you take.
How well do the tests differentiate between the racial groups. Like white&east asian or white&west african.
Doesn't this make the tests pretty much worthless?
I want to have them done also, but I see so many conflicting results posted that it is mind boggling.
Not necessarily but it really depends in the individual. Lots of people have made discoveries with their DNA tests. I happen to have British DNA that is indistinguishable from German and Scandinavian, but that doesn't mean everyone with British DNA is the same. Other British DNA might be more distinct. And if you make the effort to understand why you get such varying results, it's actually pretty interesting. I blogged about the big difference in my results but what that difference tells me: http://genealogical-musings.blogspot...ults-tell.html
It's also not just about discovering your ethnicity percentages - with the cousin matches, you can learn more about your tree and hopefully break down some brick walls. But of course that's only beneficial to researchers, I wouldn't recommend someone who isn't already into genealogy taking the test.
How well do the tests differentiate between the racial groups. Like white&east asian or white&west african.
There isn't a category for "white" - there's a break down of different European regions. Generally, it's easier to tell racial groups apart, like European and Asian, because genetically they are very different.
Doesn't this make the tests pretty much worthless?
I think there is some risk that you will get something that means very little. There is a single common ancestor of all Europeans that lived about a 1000 years ago. So there is a quite a lot of mixing.
But on the other hand you may find out something unique to your DNA.
People often have a perception about their ancestry that is often wrong. One example that I cite is The Queen Mother who died in 2002. As she married into the royal family in the 1920's her ancestry was heavily researched. She is a direct descendant of some of the most important peerages in Scotland, and her family home, Glamis Castle is on Scottish banknotes issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland.
But 10 generations ago (i.e. 2^10=1024 ancestors) only 5 of her ancestors are identified as Scottish. Now one of them was created an Earl in Scottish peerage (1st Earl of Kinghorne which is now Earl of Kinghorne and Strathmore). Her father is the 14th Earl. But outside of those 5 people, no one has brought any fresh Scottish blood into her ancestry in all subsequent generations. So this woman, who many people consider quintessentially Scottish, is really less than 1% Scottish). The rest is combinations of English and Irish, with Dutch blood from a single man, and some French blood from wives over the centuries.
None are going to be anymore accurate than another, it's entirely down to your own DNA. For example, it appears that my British DNA is entirely Viking and Anglo-Saxon, not Celtic or Roman. As such, it's very similar to the DNA found in Western European (like Germany) and Scandinavia, making it very difficult to tell apart. One company tells me I'm 55% British and another tells me I'm 0% British. There is just too much mixing among groups in Europe, so some DNA is too similar to tell apart, regardless of what test you take.
Skol! I am from northern England and my DNA is 98% Viking and 2% East Asian. The Viking were a prolific bunch! OP - I used AncestryByDNA. Agree with this poster too, it all depends on your DNA as to whether or not they pick up any "unknown" DNA.
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