A few years ago, I purchased a 23andMe genetic test. The test package arrived in the mail, I spat into a tube, and sent the saliva for analysis. Once the analysis was completed, I got access to much interesting and fun information about myself.
What did I find out? I found out that my recent ancestry is 100% Finnish. In addition to ancestry results, there are 7 wellness reports and 33 trait reports for me. Here are a few: Caffeine consumption: likely to consume more. I drink a lot of coffee. (Too much maybe.) Muscle composition: common in elite power athletes. I am a bit muscular, but I am sadly not that elite. Bald spot: likely no bald spot. This is not correct because I am partly bald. There are many traits that do not match up with my reality, but these results are about probabilities. This was fun to think about: “You have more Neanderthal DNA than 92% of other customers.” About 2 percent of my DNA is Neanderthal.
There is a relative finder part to the site. Through it, I have been contacted multiple times by people looking to make connections. There have been people who might in some way be related to me, but who I do not know. Two (maybe three) second cousins I have found through the system. I exchanged a few sentences with them but did not really connect in a bigger way. But other people have made significant discoveries that have changed their lives. They have found siblings and parents – a connection to a family they did not know anything about before.
Was this important information for me? Or was it just something fun to do? For me, it was fun. I didn’t find out anything life-changing. But still, I do not regret doing the test. At the time I felt like I was a part of something futuristic and exciting. I believe it is still that. With time these kinds of testing services will just get better and better, and new information will be available. 23andMe has also grown. There are a lot of new tests that have been added over the years. There is new science that is being made there too. I look forward to the future. I might be taking more tests soon.
Link: 23andMe.com
Some other ancestry tests (that I have not used): MyHeritage DNA, AncestryDNA
