If there’s one thing that people are always interested in, it’s where they have come from. The past has special hold on many people. While we used to be able to learn a lot from various different sources, arguably the best source for information about a person’s family history is through their DNA and through genetic testing.
Genetic testing doesn’t give you a roadmap to your physical self. Genetic and DNA testing find markers for interesting or potentially hazardous genes that you may have. Too many people take DNA testing as a guarantee they will receive a disease. Just because a person has a specific gene that will often cause a problem doesn’t mean it will happen to each and every person.
DNA Ancestry Testing - Where Do I Come From?
People who purchase DNA testing often do so because they wish to know more about their ancestry and where they come from. The genetic markers that are tested for will allow someone to see where their ancestors come from. The truth is that this doesn’t mean that’s where their culture comes from. This is merely the genetic markers of their farthest relatives.
People are almost always a little bit shocked with the results of these. As a society we tend to identify with one or two ancestors far more strongly. We will say that our ancestors were Italian or Moroccan. The truth is often a great mix of markers that are nowhere near what we expected.
One common blip in genetic markers is the genetic marker linked to the one and only Genghis Khan. His campaign of rape and breeding resulted in his genetics being spread throughout the entire world! It’s estimated that 1 in 200 men are direct descendants from this monster. It just goes to show that you never know where your genetic markers are coming from!
At Home Genetic and DNA Testing
These have become popular sources of information for people. There are companies like 23andMe which allow people to get decent genetic analysis without ever leaving their home. There are two main options that people take advantage of. While people may order only one, they will typically bundle them together.
Ancestry testing is the first type of at home testing that is commonly requested. We’ve gone through ancestry testing above, so we won’t dive into it again here. The second type of testing that is done through home tests is health testing. This is where genetic testing can get very interesting. These genetic tests look at your genetic structure and try to predict the future.
These genetic health tests have come under some scrutiny recently. Since they attempt to predict future health concerns there are some insurance companies that are trying to use those results as justification for higher health insurance costs.
Paternity Tests
A common type of genetic test is a paternity test. In a paternity test, two samples are compared for genetic similarity. Paternity tests have been made famous by bad television talk shows where they ambush potential parents with the results of paternity tests.
Paternity tests are also great for people who have conflicting parenting. They are also run as a prerequisite to many surgeries that require genetic matches, even when people are sure about the outcome.