What can DNA tests really tell us about our ancestry? - Prosanta Chakrabarty

In these times of injustice and prejudice it's a great reminder that we're the same at 99%. thanks guys.

So basically, DNA tests don't show you your ancestry, but rather what ancestry you inherited.

I guess this explains why nobody recognizes me as the rightful heir to the Mongolian Kingdom

23 and Me (DNA ancestry test): Exists TED-Ed: Let me end this test's whole career.

Welp, I guess DNA tests are more wonky than we thought.

DNA tests can be useful. We just confuse them as identity markers instead of tools. I found relatives on 23andme and reconnected my grandma with her cousin before he passed. I also found my other grandma's nephew and told him of her passing. And my ancestry results helped my geneology search.

admit, had this in the background, but the way he talks i thought the vid was over at the end of every sentence

Genetic test : we can accurately predict your ancestry Ted : Swiggty swooty the test ain't your ancestry

It's not that the tests don't show you your ancestry, necessarily. Let me explain: 1) You don't get the same trait or percentage as your sibling from each parent, grandparent, or ancestor (hence why we do not look identical) 2) Most of the tests are based on modern day comparisons (unless you're running an ancestral database, like on Gedmatch, for example). 3) Not all of your 1% variance from other members of the modern human species is being tested. But this 1% determines what genetic-ethnicity you are. Not all of this 1% is tested equally - hence why different tests reveal different results. It's best to take an average between them and infer. 4) Humans are essentially the product of different hominids mixing, each hominid dependant on where they come from geographically. 5) Y-DNA goes back to a long line of males unchanged from your father going straight back, as does mtDNA for the mother's side, but only males can be tested for Y since we have that chromosome. DNA testing is complicated and nonlinear, but that doesn't mean it's pointless. It can reveal a lot about what you've inherited. Of course, just because you carry certain genes doesn't mean you'll express them all. It's best to believe with a healthy amount of skepticism.

0:26 she eat more Baguette.

One important thing left out of this video, likely for time, is mutation of genes. Many of these markers that tests look for are the difference between a single base pair, and the supposed ancestries they give you are based on how common these varieties of markers appear in certain regions based on their databases. However, your DNA mutates a lot, changing out one base pair for another. These markers are especially prone to being mutated and passed on, due to complicated DNA repair, genomic, and evolutionary mechanisms. Just because you might have one marker that looks like one found in France, does not mean you are French at all, since it is entirely possible (and perhaps likely) that you or an ancestor experienced a mutation that gave you the French-like version of that marker.

All that is left is for you to answer "Where are we going?"

The sister when she realized she's 10% French: Bonjour! The other sister: Hi :<

TED-Ed is like Sesame Street for Adults

Thank you, I was watching videos regarding those tests and I was a little overwhelmed and confused about them. Now it's clearer

“Like branches of a tree, our lives may grow in different directions. Yet our roots remain as one”- Wise person

Video's thumbnail : what your dna can't tell you Video's title : what can dna tests really tell us... Smart way to trick the algorithm.

I knew it was possible for siblings to share 0% of the differing DNA but didn’t realize it’s possible to not share any DNA with grandparents and above (or conversely share a lot more DNA)

Favorite part of DNA test: 1:39

This makes me so glad that I didn't order one of those dna tests to see my ancestry for fun