Best DNA Ancestry Company?

DavidCoutts said:
So the consensus seems to be that it's between FTDNA and 23AndMe. I take it you guys don't rate Genebase or EthnoAncestry?
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My vote goes to Family Tree DNA as the overall best dna testing company. I've been pleased with its services.

23andMe is excellent but a little too pricey for the average person who is just starting to get into genetic genealogy, and it doesn't give one haplotype information.
 
My vote goes to DecodeMe.
 
Maciamo, what is your opinion regarding dna tests which estimate your percentage of world population groups, e.g. European, Sub-Saharan African, East Asian or Native Amerindians and Caucasian sub-groups : North & S.E. European, Middle Eastern and S. Asian?
 
I paid for 23andme, and got deCODEme for free. I like both. I uploaded my info to Mitosearch but wasn't impressed. First my mtdna wasn't an option, J1c3 (J1c is), and the limited number of mutations most people use (FTDNA) doesn't differentiate other than basic haplogroups. So far, that hasn't yielded anything interesting. 23andme has a lively forum, new info all the time, and something for everyone. deCODEme has neat tools and functions, and tests more snp's most people want. For example, most people interested in health want their APOE results: deCODEme tests the relevant snp's; 23andme is missing one. I'm happy with what I have...so far 3 people tested, and will receive another test in the next week or so.
 
Nasturtium said:
I paid for 23andme, and got deCODEme for free. I like both. I uploaded my info to Mitosearch but wasn't impressed.
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Mitosearch belongs to FTDNA. It's free and anybody can upload their data, but I agree that it is too basic and the search function would benefit from more advanced options (like selecting multiple subclades or geographic regions for searches) and more haplogroups in the list. This applies to Ysearch as well.
 
Rudiger Roy said:
Maciamo, what is your opinion regarding dna tests which estimate your percentage of world population groups, e.g. European, Sub-Saharan African, East Asian or Native Amerindians and Caucasian sub-groups : North & S.E. European, Middle Eastern and S. Asian?
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I think this feature is still in its infancy. Having only three primary populations (European, Asian, African) is a subjective choice. It would be easy to add other primary populations (Aboriginal Australian, Papuan, Dravidian) and splitting the main groups into major subgroups (e.g. Austronesian, Polynesian, East Asian, Siberian, Native American), and eventually in smaller ethnic groups.

It's not very interesting for a European to know he or she is 100% or 99% European. The present tool is only useful for Americans with mixed European, Amerindian and/or African ancestry.

There has been studies attempting to differentiate between the various admixtures found in Europeans, but they are not really reliable yet. Everything will come in due time.
 
Yes, even Eastern-Africans score high in European, at 23andMe. Indians, Middle-Easterns, North-Africans, Eastern-Africans are in the European group, so, it's not correct to call it 'EUROPEAN' because it is NOT European, europeans are only one group. I hope in the next years they split it in different groups, altough there is always the politically incorrect Racial classification..
 
Wilhelm said:
Yes, even Eastern-Africans score high in European, at 23andMe. Indians, Middle-Easterns, North-Africans, Eastern-Africans are in the European group, so, it's not correct to call it 'EUROPEAN' because it is NOT European, europeans are only one group. I hope in the next years they split it in different groups, altough there is always the politically incorrect Racial classification..
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You need categories such as Middle Eastern Caucasian, etc. Europeans are White Caucasians and obviously different from other "Caucasians".

I now have doubts about 23andMe.
 
The American Food and Drug Administration is moving to regulate Genetic testing.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37638671/ns/health-more_health_news/

FDA cracking down on genetic tests.
Issues letters to 5 companies that devices must be approved.
The Food and Drug Administration is issuing regulatory letters to five genetic test makers, the first sign that the government is cracking down on companies that claim to use DNA samples to predict inheritable diseases.

The FDA letters notify each company that their tests are considered medical devices and therefore must be federally approved as safe and effective. None of the companies have submitted their products for approval, according to the FDA.

The letters posted online deal with specific tests marketed by: 23andMe Inc., deCODE Genetics, Illumina, Navigenics and Knome Inc.
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As this discussion needs some updating.. I would say that after the price reduction of 23andme (USD 99) they are by far the most competitive testing company. Geno 2.0 and especially FTDNA are too expensive compared to 23andme. I would go for FTDNA if I wanted very detailed Y-chromosome or mtDNA results (I also really enjoy FTDNA's projects). I would go for Geno 2.0 for more accurate deep ancestry results and their cool online platform (maybe also for the Denisovan admixture..).
 
Alexandros said:
As this discussion needs some updating.. I would say that after the price reduction of 23andme (USD 99) they are by far the most competitive testing company. Geno 2.0 and especially FTDNA are too expensive compared to 23andme. I would go for FTDNA if I wanted very detailed Y-chromosome or mtDNA results (I also really enjoy FTDNA's projects). I would go for Geno 2.0 for more accurate deep ancestry results and their cool online platform (maybe also for the Denisovan admixture..).
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23andme delivery prices outside of Euro and USA are not competitive
- Geno is cheap in that it will reveal more SNP which the others fail to do
-ftdna needs to reorganise itself since its part share with Geno
 
zanipolo said:
23andme delivery prices outside of Euro and USA are not competitive
- Geno is cheap in that it will reveal more SNP which the others fail to do
-ftdna needs to reorganise itself since its part share with Geno
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I am an admin for a large project and a small surname Project at FTDNA.

As the admin of the small surname project, the 12 marker ydna test is often provided on sale for $39, this is the cheapest way to do the following:
1. Introduce first-timers to the world of genetic genealogy!
2. Confirm whether or not males with the same or similar surname share the same predicted haplogroup.
3. For $5 FTDNA will send a dna kit anywhere overseas, Africa, Europe, Asia or S. America.
4. This saves money as it allows a type of screening before going for more in-depth and more expensive testing.
5. For example: I tested two males with the same surname and found a third shared the same 12 marker STR values. Then we only had one person deep clad tested to U152-L2*. We then paid $29 for a single end-line SNP (L2) for the other two, both turned out to be positive. Bargain!
 
I have been very satisfied with FTDNA for years.
 
Results in from 23 and Me. Differs wildly from DNA Tribes results.

When I have more time I will locate the initial thread where I discussed my perplexing DNA Tribes results. But for now I will say that 23 and Me has results at 99.6% European (DNA Tribes had a high percentage of South American Native American).

Specifically the test shows:
Middle East and North African 0%
Sub Saharan African 0%
South Asian 0%
East Asian and Native American 0%
Oceania 0%

Needless to say I'm confused by the non-matching results.
 
I think FTDNA is best. Because you can join to a lot of DNA projects on FTDNA.
 
Nobody move - I'm hijacking this Thread!

Since no one answered the Thread I started, I will shamelessly derail this one: has anyone used BritainsDNA Chromo2, and if so, what was their results?
 
Genebase - Has anyone tried this company?

I have been looking at the conversation regarding companies and wondering what people have to say about www genebase com. Their other site is dna ancestry project dot com (not here long enough to post the link - sorry) I don't work for either or connected with them in any way. Just wondering about peoples experience with them.

I have a couple issues with high cost of the test "Advanced Combo Package (Y-DNA 91 Marker + mtDNA HVR-1 & HVR-2 Test), $448.00 USHighest resolution test for tracing your own ancestry on your paternal and maternal lines. (from the Genebase site)"

There are many options on each site (genebase has more) which is great if you know what your really choosing - apples vs oranges. I would assume the one I choose to c&p here is the most thorough but would I also need an Advanced Degree in genetics to actually understand what I just bought! :useless::depressed:

Thanks
Chakra
 
I've had my genome tested by 23andme last year (autosomal + mtDNA + Y-DNA) and am considering offering testing kits to some of my family members who also interested in personal genomics.

However, i have a few questions. I've transferred my results over to FTDNA but they only processed the autosomal part, not the Y-DNA nor the mtDNA. Not that i care much, because autosomal is much more informative and 23andme already gave me my haplotypes anyway.

The old 23andme world map proved much more detailed than the old FTDNA one (even though a portion of the results are debatable), but the new FTDNA MyOrigins looks even more promising. The two companies' results seem somewhat contradictory though, probably because they're using different reference populations in the first place.

With both companies now offering a higher detail level of admixture, which one would you knowledgeable people recommend?
 
I also have a question - which reliable company offers the cheapest way to find out my Y haplo and which branch of hg it is?
 
I recently had FTDNA test my autosomal DNA and my impression is that they're not very accurate.

The results claim that I'm "12% European Jewish". What does that even mean? Jewishness isn't an ethnicity; it's a faith/tradition that *may* (but certainly doesn't always) correlate with ethnicity. The original Jews were Hebrew Israelites who were ethnically Semitic. Over the millennia, many Hebrew Israelite families were part of the diaspora and they intermarried with other ethnicities in their adopted lands. This resulted in the vast majority of Jews in Europe actually being more European in ethnicity than they are Semitic. That's how we end up with someone like the blonde, blue-eyed Bar Rafaeli being considered Jewish when she's ethnically no more than 1/8 Semitic and at least 7/8 Lithuanian, etc.

So what does "European Jewish" mean in the context of ethnicity? AFAICT, all it means is that a person's DNA has at least some markers that connect them to others who have markers that connect them to Hebrew Israelites. Similarly to Bar Rafaeli, I'm blonde with green eyes, and have NW European features. I've seen multiple photos of all 8 of my great-grandparents. None of them look even remotely Semitic; most of them have fair hair and light eyes, and NW European facial structure. All of them on my mother's side were in the US since the Great Migration and all of them on my father's side had been in the British Isles since at least the Renaissance, or northern Germany (where they were very blonde and German-looking). And no, there haven't been any adoptions along the way; I have birth certificates for all 4 generations proving blood-descent.

I certainly don't care one way or the other as to whether I'm ethnically connected to people who were connected to Jews. But it's absurd to consider "European Jews" to be an ethnic group, so it's equally absurd to say that someone is ethnically "12%" of a group that is itself only fractionally ethnically distinct. So unless FTDNA can make its tests more accurate as to actual ethnic background, rather than just tenuous connections to non-ethnic groups, I can't consider them to be very accurate.
 
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