# Know anything about DNA ancestry tests **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 2, 2007, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anything-about-dna-ancestry-tests/398430 "2007-04-02T15:27:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gaucho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@gaucho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaucho)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anything-about-dna-ancestry-tests/398430/1 "2007-04-02T15:27:31Z")
So I saw an article in the paper today about the popularity of DNA tests among amateur genealogists, and I thought it might make a good gift for my mother, who’d the only person in my family interested in that stuff. I did a quick Google search, and it appears that there’s a plethora of companies offering different types of services. Does anyone have any experience with this? Know what type of test give you the most interesting information? I’m pretty sure my Mom’s white all the way down, so I’m thinking one of those racial percentages ones aren’t going to be that fascinating, but what do the other types do? ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anything-about-dna-ancestry-tests/398430/2 "2007-04-02T16:05:46Z")
[QUOTE=gaucho] So I saw an article in the paper today about the popularity of DNA tests among amateur genealogists, and I thought it might make a good gift for my mother, who’d the only person in my family interested in that stuff. I did a quick Google search, and it appears that there’s a plethora of companies offering different types of services. Does anyone have any experience with this? Know what type of test give you the most interesting information? I’m pretty sure my Mom’s white all the way down, so I’m thinking one of those racial percentages ones aren’t going to be that fascinating, but what do the other types do? [/QUOTE] Well, either you live in CT and saw the same article I did, or we both read an article nationally circulated. As for your Q - I found this: > [@](#): > > Males are able to see if another male is a descendant from their direct paternal line. Our 12 marker Y-DNA test has become the world standard, being adopted by National Geographic’s - Genographic Project. Our 37-marker test yields the world’s tightest parameters to the Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA). You may order the 12 marker test and return to “refine” your test at a later time without the need to re-submit another DNA sample! > > Females and Males can determine which Haplogroup they are part of based upon the descent through their maternal line. Reports are compared to the Cambridge Reference Sequence, which show your deviation from this industry standard. We identify the lettered Haplogroup that your mtDNA is assigned to by the scientific community. So you can get pretty specific with regards to certain markers, but deciphering what they mean is a whole different salad. I know most of my ancestry were scandanavian, my wife as well. We have seen some geneology results for each other what indicate we had similar ancestry, in that we are both of scandanavian/bohemian decent. Our chances of having a blond hair blue eyed kid are good. As I have blond hair and blue eyes, and she has sandy blond hair and blue eyes… We’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![gaucho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@gaucho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaucho)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anything-about-dna-ancestry-tests/398430/3 "2007-04-02T18:41:27Z")
[QUOTE=Phlosphr] Well, either you live in CT and saw the same article I did, or we both read an article nationally circulated. QUOTE] Yeah, the article in the [Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/02/us/02dna.html). But I was afraid if I said “the Times” I’d get one of those “New Yorkers are so egocentric- we have the Des Moine Times too, you know!” types. Anyway, thanks for the info. ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anything-about-dna-ancestry-tests/398430/4 "2007-04-02T18:56:01Z")
I’ve thought about doing the National Geographic’s test, either for my own curiousity or because my mom might be interested. I haven’t really looked into it, but I figure if National Geographic is behind it, it must have at least some validity. ---
**Author:** ![gaucho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@gaucho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaucho)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-anything-about-dna-ancestry-tests/398430/5 "2007-04-02T19:10:15Z")
[QUOTE=liirogue] I’ve thought about doing the National Geographic’s test, either for my own curiousity or because my mom might be interested. I haven’t really looked into it, but I figure if National Geographic is behind it, it must have at least some validity. [/QUOTE] Oh, that one looks fun, and it’s cheaper than a lot of the others out there.