DNA test for Genealogy?

Question

Is genealogy DNA tests reliable. My Mom tells me that my aunt did a home kit and the result came back saying that we had Jewish heritage. I found myself skeptical of the reliability of the test. Not that I minded having a Jewish Heritage. I'm just wondering are those things just scams?

Answer 1

For women, they can only test your heritage in the mother's line.

You, your mom, your mom's mom, etc.

For women, they can not test your father's line.

Answer 2

I had a DNA test done through Family Trees, www.familytreedna.com.

It is the oldest and most reliable; they also do testing for the National Geographics Genotype Program which traces human migrations around the world.

Yes, some are scams; try Family Tree.

As to Jewish ancestry, mine shows Ashkanazi and 2 other Jewish groups; after all, they were settling all through Europe and religious beliefs aside, people do marry other groups.

Answer 3

No they are not scams, but it is a new science which is progressing all the time

might I suggest you visit http://familytreedna.com

you can find all the information you need on their site, I have used them and they are the best, in my opinion. :o)

Below is a reply I have given to a similar previous question, dna cannot tell you which country you originated in, only the probable area, or areas of the world your ancient ancestors passed through during their evolution.

Human cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes: 22 pairs of autosomes, and one pair of s*x chromosomes. Females carry a pair of X chromosomes that can swap, or recombine, similar regions of DNA during meiosis. However, males harbor one X chromosome and one Y chromosome, and significant recombination between these dissimilar s*x chromosomes does not occur. Therefore, the non-recombining region of the Y chromosome (NRY) remains largely unchanged over many generations, directly passed from father to son, son to grandson, and so on, along with genetic variations in the NRY that may be present. Scientists can use genetic variations, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), on the Y chromosome as markers of human ancestry and migration.

It is very effective and the best companies will retest until they get a conclusive result.

If you have, say, just the first 12 markers tested($149 with FTDNA), that will give an indication of where you originated, the more markers you test on, the more information is gained, if you test on the maximumum of, say 67 markers ($349 with FTDNA), it is possible then to find a match to someone else carrying your own, or a different surname, and to prove a link where perhaps no "paper trail" exists. It can therefore pinpoint a place in which your ancestors probably lived in recent history but DNA does not, obviously,

have a surname attached to it, surnames have only been used for around 700 years and of course your DNA originated 10s of thousands of years ago. You can also have a SNP test which will help show the migratory pattern of your ancient ancestors, having said that, you can join a Surname project (e.g. with FTDNA) and receive discounted prices on your tests.

I recommend that you make yourself aware of the various tests available, and the costs with each testing company.

Plus, check out what is available to you after you have tested.

I used Family Tree DNA ,they were the first in the field (founded in 1999), have the largest data base, and do the testing for the National Geographic's Genome project, their "after sales" is excellent and I consider they are the best, but you have to make your own decision on that.

http://www.familytreedna.org

NOTE :-

If you are female, you only carry your mother's Mtdna, and her mother's Mtdna, and her mother's Mtdna etc.,etc.,etc. and that will show only your mother's lineage (you will pass that Mtdna on to your daughters and sons, but your sons will not pass it on to their children). You do not inherit your father's Y-DNA.

If you are male, you inherit your father's Y-DNA, his father's Y-DNA, his father's Y-DNA, and so on back to your origin. You also inherit your mother's Mtdna, but you only pass your Y-DNA on to your sons.

As a female, if you use your dna for the Mtdna test, you can only test for your maternal line. If you have a brother, his dna can be used to test for you mother's Mtdna and your father's

Y-DNA. from the one sample.