27 September 2016

Genetic Ancestry Test from Living DNA

Have you been puzzled by your admixture results from Family Tree DNA, 23andMe or AncestryDNA? Perhaps you've seen the much higher geographic resolution in the People of the British Isles project results and wanted to see your DNA analysed with their techniques and database. You'll soon have the opportunity.

Debbie Kennett's post Living DNA – a new genetic ancestry test providing comparisons with the People of the British Isles dataset on her Cruwys news blog is the the first I've heard of this exciting new development from a British company. I recommend reading Debbie's blog for details.


Who are Living DNA from Living DNA on Vimeo.

According to the company website your DNA will be broken down across up to 80 regions of the world and you can see your family ancestry at different points in history. If you have ancestry from the British Isles analysis will break down your origins in up to 21 regions, such as Cornwall, Devon, Norfolk or North Wales.

The company will use a new DNA chip, technical details are at http://www.glimdna.org/assets/gsa_datasheet_2016.pdf, which will provide information for 638,000 autosomal SNPs, 17,800 X-chromosome SNPs, 22,500 Y-SNPs, 4,700 mtDNA SNPs.
The company also intends to accept information from other company tests - details pending.

Be aware that the company will not provide a database to permit one to one comparison with other tester's results, but the data will be downloadable for subsequent upload to compatible third-party sites.

Remember, a fundamental limitation is that you only inherit half of each parent's DNA. The random nature of the selection process means that you have no genetic inheritance from many of the distant ancestors in your genealogical tree.

The test sells for $199 Cdn (£120) with shipping starting in mid-October. Order at www.livingdna.com/


1 comment:

Family Sleuther said...

I wonder how far along the big 3 American testing companies are from this level of detailed analysis/reporting. In the meantime, I'm sure this service will have broad appeal once they provide details on how to upload other genetic tests. Looking forward to that.