Does anyone know of a Reliable DNA testing facility for genealogy?
So many people have been getting DNA tested for their genealogy and yet I am seeing results like a pair of twins with different origins according to their DNA results.
I trust that a lab who tests for paternity (child support, court ordered) is more accurate than the for fun DNA testing for genealogy. Does anyone know of a DNA test that is accurate? Has anyone had the opportunity to have a DNA for fun test checked at a lab that tests for paternity?
Answers
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All of the companies that offer DNA testing currently have reliable DNA tests as far as finding relatives of yours. These include Ancestry.com, MyHeritage.com, FamilyTreeDNA.com, and 23andMe.com.
However, ethnicity estimates are part of these tests as well, which is the part that says that you are x percent English, x percent Scandinavian, etc. Ethnicity estimates are just what they say they are, they are just ESTIMATES. I wouldn't call them anything accurate. So even with twins, the ethnicity estimates may come out differently. Also even twins don't have completely identical DNA, all of us have unique DNA.
The real question, though, is why are you wanting a DNA test? What is it that you are hoping to find out? And where do you live? That would affect what type of DNA test you would want and the best company to take it from.
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There are companies that will do a DNA test that will hold up in court. They do not do any ancestry/origin that I am aware of. My half-sister and I had that done to prove what we had discovered about our relationship and found that we were half-sisters. We also did Ancestry DNA and it showed the same thing, 1,692 cM across 48 segments (they cal it close family). My daughter did Ancestry 3,431 cM across 72 segments, my half-sister's son 770 cM across 26 segments. All my relationships that have tested show true to the relationships I have. I have no complaint. Do upload your DNA to several companies to reach more relatives.
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@Jeniann Nielsen Thank you for your reply. The interest is in the basic, namely, countries of origin (ethnicity as you called it), and percentage likelihood of relationship. We live in the USA. Which company(s) have you found to be the most accurate?
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All of the companies give you an ethnicity estimate and all of them will be different ones, depending on what data they have and how they are interpreting it. I wouldn't say one company is more accurate than another one, just different. All are estimates only.
All of the companies also give you a list of people who are in their database with whom you share DNA, your cousin matches, and they tell you how much DNA you share. The larger the database, the more cousin matches you are likely to get. If you are looking to see whether you descend from a particular person, then if other descendants have their data in that company's database then you can see if you match on DNA. If you have a specific relationship you're trying to prove, then you need the right person's DNA to compare with. Autosomal DNA can only be used with accuracy within 4-5 generations, beyond that the segments are often too small to be used for determining relationships.
Ancestry.com has the largest database currently with about 15 million people and most of their test takers live in the US. MyHeritage and FamilyTreeDNA have several million people each, but they have more international users. 23 and Me is the smallest one and doesn't have tree capability to compare trees very well so for most people it's the least useful as far as matching goes. You can take your test in one place, then export your results and import to sites that accept uploads for a smaller fee. You can take a test on Ancestry then put your same results on MyHeritage and FamilyTreeDNA.
Hope this helps.
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Actually it is quite likely that (non identical) twins - will NOT get the same results for ethnic origins and similar test. This is because - though we do all inherit 50% of our DNA from our Fathers and 50% from our mothers - siblings do NOT inherit the SAME 50% from each parent.
Also along these same lines - it is quite possible and even probable that the ethnic percentages of our DNA tests - don't match perfectly our pedigree - even if both the DNA test and the pedigree are perfectly accurate. again for the same reason - that we don't inherit DNA from our ancestors in equal proportion.
here is a site that explains many misconceptions about DNA testing
http://yanceyfamilygenealogy.org/dna_faq.htm
most DNA test are reasonably accurate - but the ethnic origins tests - are the weakest - across the board (across all companies) - and people often mis-intepret the findings.
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