Companies That Read the 23andme Gene Sequencing
Personal Dna testing has been growing in popularity over the years. DNA testing services allow you lot to know your genetics from the condolement of your dwelling house and at an affordable cost. The easiest way to acquire more about your ancestry data is to take aDna examination, and if you lot're in the market for a DIY DNA test, there's never been a better time to get i.
Though it's a thorny and controversial topic, some tests also merits to reveal your "ethnicity." There are also Deoxyribonucleic acid test services that can shed light on your genetic predisposition for diseases and physiological traits, ranging from center colour to your tolerance for cilantro.
While they used to cost about $1,000 dorsum in the 2000s, you tin now get a sophisticated DNA data analysis of your genetic makeup for a fraction of that cost, thanks to trailblazers such as 23andMe and Ancestry, and upstarts like Living Deoxyribonucleic acid.
Watch this: Here's how genetic genealogist CeCe Moore finds potential...
There are iii types of Dna tests -- each with its own detail strengths, limitations and rationales.
- An autosomal Dna examination is the all-time investment for most beginners; it can identify relatives between five and vii generations dorsum, beyond both maternal and paternal lines.
- Just men tin can finer use a Y-DNA test, which identifies male relatives on the paternal line reaching back 60,000 years. If yous're looking to trace the history of your family'south surname, this is the test to apply.
- Mitochondrial DNA testing, too known equally mtDNA testing, tin can determine genetic relationships on a maternal line from up to 150,000 years agone; both men and women can take this type of test.
Each testing visitor volition give you an analysis of your DNA exam results. These results could include your geographical origin -- some claim to be able to pinpoint a specific country, boondocks or even "tribe" -- also as your genetic ancestry composition and your susceptibility to particular genetic diseases. Nosotros should note that these tests don't serve a diagnostic purpose. A doctor-administered genetic test and a follow-upwards with a genetic advisor is of import if y'all retrieve you lot have a genetic illness. No online testing company offering results from a saliva sample tin substitute for a health examination administered past your doctor.
Certain companies volition likewise serve upwardly "matches" from their DNA databases, which will give you lot a head starting time on connecting with possible relatives and offer some caste of family-tree inquiry support. AncestryDNA, for example, offers a subscription service that includes admission to hundreds of databases containing nascency, death and marriage announcements, census documents, newspaper archives and other historical records.
Some Deoxyribonucleic acid companies sell tests designed for specific ethnicities or specialized kits that claim to shed calorie-free on your optimal skin care regimen or weight; others offer tests designed to identify the genetic makeup of your true cat or canis familiaris. (Yep, you lot can get a dog DNA test.) The experts I spoke to were dubious of the efficacy and value of these tests, even so, and recommended avoiding them.
Though there'southward no blood involved with modern DNA testing -- you either swab the inside of your cheek or fill a small examination tube with your saliva -- there are plenty of reasons to be wary of the companies that sell these kits. Your success in DNA test genealogy is largely dependent on supplying highly personal information about yourself and your relatives, from your genetic information to your female parent'due south maiden name (a traditional cornerstone of password security).
Concerns over data privacy and security are well-founded, and experts warn that regulation,especially in the US, lags far behind the technology. And y'all should know that some Deoxyribonucleic acid testing companies may share information with pharmaceutical companies and constabulary enforcement agencies. Lesser line: Retrieve critically before volunteering data virtually your health history and familial connections to whatever Dna testing company or organization.
Read more: In the Futurity, Non Even Your Dna Will be Sacred
Deoxyribonucleic acid testing, and genealogy more broadly, involves a complicated mixture of genetics, probabilities and guesswork. The various Deoxyribonucleic acid testing services use dissimilar labs, algorithms, equipment and criteria to analyze your genetic material. Although you should expect some degree of overlap between analyses from different companies, they may differ significantly. There's also an element of critical mass -- the larger the visitor's database, the larger the sample they employ to analyze your results, and the more accurate your test upshot should be.
We tried some of the superlative Deoxyribonucleic acid testing services, assessing the latitude and depth of their offerings, methodologies, reputation and toll. Take a look at our recommendations below.
23andMe
Best Deoxyribonucleic acid examination for beginners
23andMe
Founded in 2006, 23andMe is one of the pioneers of Deoxyribonucleic acid testing for consumers. In 2022 it became the first such service to win the FDA's approval every bit a take chances screener for diseases. It has become 1 of the most well-known Deoxyribonucleic acid testing companies -- and well-funded, since taking in a $300 million pale from GlaxoSmithKline, which uses the company's customer data to research and blueprint new drugs. Still, the company recently announced a circular of layoffs, citing a slowdown in the Dna testing market likely caused past increasing concerns nearly privacy.
23andMe segments its analysis into three master categories -- health, ancestry and traits. The basic ancestry and traits test, which is at present on auction for $99, includes an assay of your genetic makeup including your regions of origin, maternal and paternal lineage and Neanderthal beginnings. In one case you lot opt in, the visitor's friction match database -- which has more than than x million profiles -- will identify and offer to connect yous with people who share a Dna match with you.
The visitor'south Deoxyribonucleic acid health test, which is on sale for $199, adds information about your genetic predisposition for late-onset Alzheimer'south, Parkinson's and other diseases. The service also includes analysis of your carrier status as a potential genetic carrier for disorders like Cystic Fibrosis and Sickle Cell Anemia every bit well as indicators for lactose intolerance and other "wellness" issues. The Wellness and Ancestry bundle, currently on auction for $229, provides priority lab processing, premium customer back up and a personalized walkthrough of your results.
I institute 23andMe'due south website and mobile app very piece of cake to navigate and brimming with interesting, comprehensible data about both my ancestry and health besides equally the science of genetics and genealogy. The main dashboard offers intuitive links to exploring your ancestry, learning most the genetic risks for wellness atmospheric condition, building out a family tree and connecting with relatives. Among all of the DNA tests I tried, 23andMe delivered the best introduction to my recent and ancient genealogy forth with an analysis of my genetic health. The merely real drawback is that it does not offering integrated access to historical documents.
23andMe does provide easy access to a full range of privacy preferences and consent options, however. (That noted, 23andMe'south terms of service and privacy statement is amid the near extensive, exceeding xx,000 words.) You can ask the company to shop your saliva sample indefinitely for future testing or take them discard it. Having signed off when I get-go signed upwardly, I subsequently changed my mind about giving the company permission to share my data with researchers outside of 23andMe, and was able to retract my consent with the click of a push.
Read more than:Ancestry vs. 23andMe: Which DNA testing kit is all-time for tracing your family history?
AncestryDNA
Best integration of DNA assay and historical research
Ian Knighton/CNET
Founded in Utah in the 1990s, Ancestry.com -- the parent company of AncestryDNA -- started out as a publishing and genealogy company. Since then, it has had a somewhat tumultuous corporate existence, having been bought, sold, publicly traded so purchased by private equity groups.
The company'southward basic DNA kit service, currently on sale for $59, provides y'all with an "ethnicity judge" derived from its proprietary sequencing techniques. It's noteworthy that the company'south genetic testing, which is outsourced to Quest Diagnostics, is distinct from most other companies that use paternal Y chromosome and/or maternal mitochondrial Deoxyribonucleic acid methodologies, and less is known about the particular criteria it uses.
That noted, AncestryDNA says its database contains more than than 18 one thousand thousand profiles, making it the largest of all of the Deoxyribonucleic acid test kit services. The company also maintains a powerful tool for searching through hundreds of historical document databases -- but any substantive research will quickly bring you to a paywall. Beginnings's databases are further bolstered by its partnership with FamilySearch.org, a genealogical records site run by the Mormon church.
An entry-level membership, which provides access to more than than 6 billion records in the US, costs $99 for six months or $25 per calendar month, after a free two-calendar week trial. The "Globe Explorer" membership, for $40 per month, broadens your admission to the visitor'south 27 billion international records, and the "All Access" tier, starting at $50 per month, includes unlimited admission to Ancestry'due south historical and contemporary database of more than than 15,000 newspapers and armed forces records from effectually the earth.
AncestryDNA offers a personalized health report with "actionable insights," access to genetic counseling resources, an online tool to help yous map your family'southward health over generations and a next-generation sequencing service for screening your genetic hazard for centre disease, some cancers and blood disorders. Nevertheless, the results are not diagnostic -- though the test result must exist approved past one of the company'due south physicians -- and the service does not have FDA approval. For at present, 23andMe maintains the advantage when it comes to introductory DNA testing for health risks and genetic screening. But AncestryDNA'southward service is particularly well-suited for leveraging an introductory DNA assay into deep historical research to build out a family unit tree.
AncestryDNA allows you lot to download your total DNA results contour and upload the raw information into other tools, and it provides reasonably adept control over your privacy preferences, though the options are not as granular equally others.
Read more: What AncestryDNA taught me almost DNA, privacy and the complex globe of genetic testing
FamilyTreeDNA
All-time assay and tools for intermediate users
FamilyTreeDNA
Founded in 2000, FamilyTreeDNA offers a comprehensive suite of reports and interactive tools to analyze your DNA and build a family tree. With a apparent claim to "the world's most comprehensive DNA matching database," FamilyTreeDNA offers all three types of tests -- autosomal DNA, Y-Deoxyribonucleic acid and mtDNA. And it'south the sole company to own and operate its own testing facility: The Gene-by-Gene genetic lab, located in Houston.
The company's entry-level "family ancestry" parcel usually costs $79, though its testing kit is sometimes on sale for less. The exam results provide information nigh your indigenous and geographic origins, identifies potential relatives and offers access to the company's massive Dna database. I paid $275 for a wide Deoxyribonucleic acid test that included assay of my mtDNA and Y-DNA -- tests that currently toll $119 and $159, respectively, when yous buy them individually -- as well as the "Family Finder," the company's autosomal test.
Though the user interface is a scrap more complicated than what you'll observe on other sites, FamilyTreeDNA provides the most consummate suite of introductory tools of any provider I tested. For each blazon of exam, you are presented with matches -- I got more than 22,000 for my autosomal DNA test -- a chromosome browser, migration maps, haplogroups and connections to ancestral reference populations, information about mutations and a link that allows you to download your raw data. Suffice to say, there are numerous threads to pull on to learn most yourself, your family unit and your health.
FamilyTree also offers a number of college-finish tests, for those interested in digging deeper, including a range of Y-DNA tests that will trace the path of your male ancestors and the history of your surname. The company also allows you to upload raw DNA information files from other services and transfer your autosomal information to its database to expand your universe of matches and relationships.
From a information security and privacy perspective, in that location are several things I find highly-seasoned most FamilyTreeDNA. The company does its own Deoxyribonucleic acid testing in house, processing and storing your sample in its lab. Posted prominently on the front page of its website is a hope that the company will never sell your Deoxyribonucleic acid to third parties. Similar near other companies, yet, FamilyTreeDNA may apply your amass genetic information for internal research and may comply with requests from constabulary enforcement -- unless you opt out.
Other DNA testing options
The 3 services above are our height choices for the best Deoxyribonucleic acid examination. But they weren't the but ones nosotros tested. What follows are some boosted options, none of which eclipsed the 23andMe, Beginnings or FamilyTreeDNA in any significant mode.
MyHeritage
Based in Israel, MyHeritage was founded in 2003, and like a number of other services profiled here, started out as a genealogy software platform. Over time, information technology acquired a number of historical databases and eventually added DNA testing in 2016. (MyHeritage outsources its DNA analysis to FamilyTreeDNA.) In 2018, MyHeritagea security breach, exposing the electronic mail addresses and hashed passwords of more than 92 one thousand thousand users.
MyHeritage offers a gratis tier of service that includes some basic family unit tree-building and access to excerpts of historical documents. Information technology won't get you too far.
The basic DNA testing and analysis service, which is now on sale for $59, includes the usual fare -- a report of your genetic makeup across the company's 42 supported ethnicities, the identification of relatives and connections to them where possible. All things considered, I preferred FamilyTreeDNA's presentation of my Deoxyribonucleic acid data. Simply MyHeritage highlighted a first cousin living in the US, with whom I shared about 15% of my Dna, and offered to show me her family tree -- if I paid a $209 almanac subscription fee.
Yes, that's expensive -- a free 14-day trial is bachelor -- but the visitor maintains an impressive online database of historical documents that includes three.5 billion profiles in addition to information most over 100 million subscribers and their collective 46 million family trees. This enormous database is powered past Geni.com, a genealogy social media site that'south also MyHeritage'south parent company. According to the New York Times, Geni.com has assembled "the world's largest, scientifically vetted family unit tree."
In 2019, MyHeritage launched a health examination similar to the one offered past 23andMe. As office of this effort, the visitor partnered with PWNHealth, a network of US physicians who oversee the process. I was required to complete a personal and family health history questionnaire -- information technology was 16 questions -- which was then ostensibly reviewed past a doc. Though the company says it may recommend a "genetic counseling" session administered by PWNHealth, my health results were simply delivered forth with my beginnings analysis.
On the plus side, I like MyHeritage's straightforward admission to a range of comprehensible privacy preferences. Notwithstanding, overall, I found MyHeritage's user interface far less intuitive and more than hard to navigate than others. Though the company'southward offer is broad -- it's one of the few to offer a comprehensive inquiry database of historical documents, DNA assay and health screening -- I plant the integration among them to exist a scrap clumsy.
Living DNA
Living Deoxyribonucleic acid describes itself as a "consumer genealogy Dna service that does not sell or share customers' DNA or data with third parties," which gives yous a sense of its priorities -- or, at least, its sense of customers' concerns. LivingDNA's headquarters in the United kingdom may also exist a gene in its distinctive mission statement, as it is subject to the more stringent data and privacy regulations of the GDPR.
LivingDNA divides its offerings in a different way than others. The $69 autosomal Dna kit provides an overview of your ancestry in fourscore geographical regions and information about maternal and paternal haplogroups and access to the company's genetic matching tool. The $119 "wellbeing package" includes reports about your physiological compatibility with vitamins, foods and exercise. And the $169 DNA beginnings and well-existence package gives you all of it.
Recent beginnings results are presented with a breakdown of percentage past land as well as the percent attributable to more detailed regions, as well as the origin and migration path of haplogroups. In February 2020, LivingDNA introduced an African Ancestry DNA exam report that features data on 72 regions in Africa and, according to the visitor, "five times the particular of any other test on the market." The report is available for costless to existing customers.
That noted, the company has a very express family match database; a company representative declined to give me a specific number but said that it contained less than 1 million profiles. My married woman, who took the test, returned exactly zero matches. So, if you're looking to identify and make connections with relatives, in that location are better choices in the market. That noted, LivingDNA has a very solid reputation for both the quality of its DNA assay and privacy terms among experienced genealogists.
For experts only: Whole genome sequencing
In that location are a number of companies -- including Total Genomes, Veritas Genetics, Nebula Genomics and Dante Labs -- that can sequence all of your DNA, otherwise known as your genome. This level of analysis is appropriate for advanced users just. Not just is it expensive -- these tests tin run into the thousands of dollars, in some cases -- it requires a sophisticated agreement of both genetics and a range of technical tools required to explore and interpret your results.
The least expensive whole genome tests price about $300. For example, Full Genome's 30X test -- which scans every targeted location of your genome 30 times on average -- is considered the standard for a clinical analysis. It costs $299.
For near people, the main rationale for sequencing the whole genome is to dive deep into your genetic health outlook. You can glean your personal hazard factors for diseases, drug sensitivities and your status as a carrier; that is, what you might pass on to your kids. Merely there are as well plenty of applications for advanced genealogical projects.
All of these efforts can also be undertaken -- to a less intense degree -- with some of the more affordable options outlined above. But whole genome sequencing provides a significantly more comprehensive, accurate and loftier-resolution analysis.
If you lot want to dip your toe into this realm. you might want to kickoff with Nebula Genomics. You tin can also upload an existing DNA sequence from Ancestry or 23andMe'south DNA database and get Nebula'due south reports at a reduced cost.
DNA tests nosotros'd avoid
HomeDNA
HomeDNA sells testing kits nether a number of brands, including Deoxyribonucleic acid Origins, and has a retail presence at Walmart, CVS, Rite Assistance and Walgreens. The visitor's tests merits to combine genetic research and "bequeathed tracking" techniques that can identify the town or village where your ancestors originated with a high caste of accuracy. Many experts dispute these claims.
The company offers a range of ancestry testing services starting at $69. That's the cost for the maternal and paternal lineage kits and the "Starter Ancestry Exam," which uses DNA markers to develop an estimate of your origins in Europe, Indigenous America, East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa -- and shows you the modern population groups that share your DNA. The $124 "Advanced Ancestry Test" expands the assay to eighty,000 autosomal genetic markets, one,000 reference populations and 41 cistron pools.
I'll note that the HomeDNA test kit contained no warning about not eating or drinking for any menstruum of time prior to taking the test -- different every other kit I used. And of the four swabs the company sent, ane broke. The examination kit only didn't seem every bit rigorously hygienic every bit the others.
For $199, HomeDNA claims that the Asian Edition of its GPS Origins Ancestry Exam can clarify 17 Asia-specific gene pools and hundreds of Asia-specific reference populations. In improver to a $164 paternity kit, the company also sells a diversity of specific kits to determine your sensitivities to particular animals and foods, one to assistance you reach a healthy weight, and some other that promises to "unlock your pare'southward full potential."
For $39, the company will allow y'all to upload a raw data file from another DNA testing service and pinpoint your origin to a particular boondocks or urban center. There are also kits to help you screen your dog or cat for genetic diseases and traits.
Simply this company doesn't have a sterling reputation in the genetic genealogy earth. When we recently spoke with Debbie Kennett, a genetic genealogist from University College London, she referenced the company'southward notoriety for delivering "baroque results" and expressed doubt almost the efficacy of its specialized tests for particular ethnic groups. HomeDNA did not respond to CNET'southward inquiry virtually its testing process or results.
And the HomeDNA reports don't stack upwardly particularly well against those returned by other companies. Results are summarized on a single webpage, though y'all also go a PDF that certifies that you've "undergone DNA testing" and shows the continents and countries where your DNA originates. The company likewise throws in a boilerplate xx-page explainer about Deoxyribonucleic acid scientific discipline and engineering. HomeDNA does not offer admission to whatsoever matching databases -- so there's no obvious next step or any actionable information that comes with your results. Given this, I'd recommend choosing a dissimilar DNA testing service.
African Ancestry
Claiming to have the well-nigh comprehensive database of African lineages, African Beginnings promises to trace its customers' ancestry dorsum to a specific land and identify their "ethnic group origin." Simply a number of experienced genealogists have cited bug with this company'due south marketing claims and science.
Different most other companies, African Ancestry doesn't offer an autosomal DNA test. Instead, it offers an mtDNA examination or a Y-DNA examination (for males simply). In contrast to your standard DNA assay, African Beginnings'due south report doesn't provide the percent of Dna that'due south probable to have originated beyond a range of regions. Instead, African Beginnings claims to trace your Dna to a specific region of Africa.
According to experts, all the same, African Ancestry's DNA tests come up brusque. As explained in a blog post by African American genetic genealogist Shannon Christmas, the company's methodology just doesn't analyze a sufficient number of DNA markers to deliver on its marketing promises.
Furthermore, he writes, "Ethnicity is a complex concept, a concept non equally rooted in genetics as it is in sociopolitical and cultural constructs. There is no DNA test that tin assign anyone to an African ethnic grouping or what some refer to as an 'African tribe.'" African Beginnings isn't the only company that claims to be able to determine your ethnicity or "ethnic group of origin." Only its merits to narrow things down to a single "tribe" of origin is overblown, as whatsoever African tribe would ostensibly comprise multiple haplogroups.
In an email to CNET, African Ancestry responded: "African Ancestry makes it clear that ethnic groups are social and cultural groupings, non genetic ones. However, based on extensive genetic enquiry of African lineages performed past African Beginnings'southward co-founder and Scientific Managing director (who holds a Ph.D. in Biological science and specializes in homo genetics), we find that contrary to laymen's beliefs, at that place are ethnic groups that share genetic lineages. Our results pinpoint genetic lineages that share the aforementioned genetics as our test takers. Given the vast number of lineages in our African Lineage Database, we are able to provide the indigenous groups of the people with that shared lineage."
The company's PatriClan Test analyzes viii Y-chromosome STRs and the YAP, which it says is a critical identifier for African lineages; and the MatriClan Test analyzes 3 regions of the mitochondrial DNA: HVS1, HVS2 and HVS3. But though these tests offering lower-resolution results than others, African Ancestry's services are considerably more than expensive. The company's Y-DNA examination and mtDNA tests cost $299 each -- or you can take them both, and become an eight-pack of "certificates of ancestry" and a four-pack of t-shirts, for $729.
On the plus side, African Ancestry says that information technology does not maintain a database of client data and that information technology volition non share or sell your DNA sequence or markers with any third party -- including law enforcement agencies. The visitor's terms and conditions run to just over 2,200 words, making them considerably more concise than the disclosure statements of most other companies nosotros included in this roundup. And African Ancestry promises to destroy your DNA sample after your exam results are delivered.
That said, fifty-fifty if yous take the visitor's take on tribal and ethnic genetic markers, African Ancestry remains too expensive to recommend at its current price.
What does a Dna exam tell you?
If you're using a home DNA testing service, you're likely looking for one of iii things:
Ancestry and family unit history: The starting time big draw of a full Dna test is that y'all'll go a detailed breakdown on ancestry and ethnicity, and the migration patterns of your common ancestors. Spoiler warning: Your ethnic background may be radically different than yous think it is. Yous'll also find out what a haplogroup is.
Relative identification: With your permission, some DNA services will let yous connect with relatives yous never knew you had -- other folks with matching Dna who have used the service and likewise given their permission to connect to possible relations.
Wellness and disease info: DNA testing tin also indicate which conditions for which y'all may have a preponderance. Information technology's a controversial characteristic, to exist sure. Knowing that you have a genetic predisposition to a sure form of cancer may make y'all more than vigilant for testing, but it may also lead to increased stress -- worrying well-nigh a potential health condition that may never develop, even if you're "genetically susceptible" to information technology. The possibility of false positives and false negatives grow -- any such information should exist discussed with your doctor before you deed upon it.
How Deoxyribonucleic acid tests work
Afraid of needles and drawing blood? Good news: That's non an issue with these tests. All you demand to do is spit into a vial or rub a swab in your mouth -- all the genetic data needed for these tests is present in your saliva -- and ship the Dna sample to the company for analysis.
The reason that a saliva sample works likewise equally blood (or pilus follicles or skin samples) is that your Dna -- which is short for deoxyribonucleic acid -- is present in all of them. It's the bones genetic code present in all of your cells that makes up your primal attributes, from the color of your eyes to the shape of your ears to how susceptible you lot are to cholesterol.
The key terms y'all need to know when comparing Dna testing services are:
SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism): Genotyping is washed by measuring genetic variation. One of the more common is SNP genotyping, which measures the variations of a unmarried nucleotide polymorphism. The more of these a visitor measures, the more granular the analysis.
Autosomal Dna testing: An autosomal test that's constructive for men and women, and which traces lineage dorsum through both maternal and paternal bloodlines.
Y-DNA: The Y-Deoxyribonucleic acid test can simply exist administered to men, and traces DNA back through the patrilineal ancestry -- basically from begetter to grandfather to great granddad and so on.
mtDNA: The mtDNA is matrilineal and lets you trace your beginnings back through your female parent, grandmother, keen grandmother and so on.
Dna testing FAQs
Can I use a DNA test to determine paternity?
Yes, Dna tests are the most accurate way to determine paternity of a child. Samples need to be collected from both the kid and suspected parent to brand a determination. For the best accuracy, you need a examination that specifically checks for paternity not just ancestry.
Can I get a Dna test for my dog?
Yes. Several companies sell domestic dog DNA tests with the goal of helping yous determine the breed of your animate being and screen for possible genetic health issues.
3 popular brands are Wisdom Panel (for both dogs and cats), Embark (for dogs only), and Basepaws (for cats simply).
More Dna advice
- What AncestryDNA Taught Me Virtually Dna, Privacy and the Complex World of Genetic Testing
- Scientists Are Discovering the Secrets Behind Whole-Body DNA Regeneration
- In the Time to come, Non Even Your DNA Will Be Sacred
- How Sharing Your Dna Solves Horrible Crimes... and Stirs a Privacy Argue
- This Dna Exam for Cats Could Unlock Mr. Whiskers' Genetic Secrets
David Gewirtz contributed to this story. The current version is a major update of past revisions and includes hands-on impressions of almost of the services listed.
The data contained in this commodity is for educational and informational purposes just and is not intended every bit health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions y'all may have about a medical condition or health objectives.
Source: https://www.cnet.com/health/medical/best-dna-test/
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