How to Find Out What's In Your Genes



How to Find Out What's In Your Genes  http://www.familytree.com/blog/how-to-find-out-whats-in-your-genes/ You can find more How To Blogs at www.FamilyTree.comGenealogy and genetics are two different fields of study that have become very overlapped in recent years. In addition to creating a family tree, many genealogists are making a medical family tree as well. Discovering what is in your genes can lead you to locating relatives you did not know existed. It can also point your toward health related decisions you many not have thought about making.

Genealogy and genetics are two different fields of study that have become very overlapped in recent years. In addition to creating a family tree, many genealogists are making a medical family tree as well. Discovering what is in your genes can lead you to locating relatives you did not know existed. It can also point your toward health related decisions you many not have thought about making.

How can you find out what is in your genes? Where should you begin? To find the answer to these questions, you must first figure out why you want to know more about your genes. There are many different paths to take.

Are you hoping that clues in your DNA will point you towards relatives that you have not yet discovered? There are several direct-to-consumer DNA testing kits that can help genealogists. Each one requires you to purchase a test kit, provide a DNA sample (usually in the form of saliva) and obtain an online membership to a service that will reveal what’s in your genes.

 

AncestryDNA

has a DNA testing kit. From it, you can learn more about your ethnicity. It shows which of 26 regions in the world your DNA may have come from. (This is an extremely simplified explanation.) Your DNA results will include an ongoing list of DNA member matches with real-time updates. This can help you connect with relatives you haven’t met yet. All this information can be integrated into your Ancestry.com subscription.

 

23andMe

also has a DNA testing kit. You send in a saliva sample and wait for the results. You can find out where in the world your DNA comes from (and what percentage came from where). Find out how much of your genes came from Neanderthals. This test kit can also help you learn about your maternal and paternal lineages.

Their service will match people who have similar DNA in order to help bring families together. There is a disclaimer: “In rare cases, participation in DNA Relatives may reveal you are related to someone whom you didn’t expect, or that you are not related to someone in the way that you expected. Consider this before you opt in to this feature.”

What if you are seeking information about what is in your genes that is more medical than genealogical? This is something you will need to seek out a doctor for. There was a time when some genealogy DNA testing kits included both familiar and medical information. There was concern that the medical information might not be accurate, and this option is no longer offered in direct-to-consumer DNA tests today.

A doctor can guide you through testing and answer whatever questions you may have about the outcome. Some people hope that their genes will reveal a diagnosis of the myriad of health issues they suffer from. Others want to know if they carry a gene that “runs in their family” and increases their risk of developing a certain disease or condition. Parents have their DNA checked to make sure they won’t pass along a heritable illness to their children.

Image by Micah Baldwin on Flickr.

Related Articles at FamilyTree.com:

* Happy Genetics Starts with Unexpectedly Healthy People

* Learn More from Your DNA

* DNA Testing Kits That are Still Available to Genealogists

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