We tried it
Fairfield Echo Sports Reporter Steven Matthews recently went to DNA Diagnostics to discover his heritage.
“It may be a starting point,” Matthews said. “I can start asking my parents some questions. I don’t have any grandparents who are living, but I can start picking the brains of my aunt and uncle, and kind of see what they know.”
Based on his genetic code, the DNA test indicates Matthews’ heritage makeup is 44 percent European, 31 percent East Asian, 13 percent Sub-Saharan African and 12 percent Indigenous American.
Hanna said while Matthews’ two younger brothers may have the same ancestral mixture, percentages may be different for the same reasons one sibling has green eyes and another has blue.
“This is all based on statistical modeling. It’s what particular set of genes you’ve inherited from your parents,” she said.
Populations
The following founding populations are defined as:
European: Europeans, Middle Easterners and South Asians
Indigenous America: North, South and Central America
Sub-Saharan African: Sub-Saharan region of Africa
East Asian: Japanese, Chinese, Koreans and Pacific Islanders
FAIRFIELD — Those who claim to be Irish on St. Patrick’s Day but may not know for sure now can find out.
AncestrybyDNA, which was launched by DNA Diagnostics Center in November, provides “a personal journey” into one’s heritage, said assistant laboratory director Leigh Hanna.
“We’re all, as Americans, kind of mutts, and we think we know what our background is from things our parents told us, family bibles, all the oral history,” Hanna said. “This kind of gives you another way to look at your past.”
The $295 DNA test evaluates four distinct genetic isolated population groups: European, East Asian, Sub-Saharan African and Indigenous American. The results indicate by percentage the heritage of a person, Hanna said. Most people have one or two groups, some have three. It’s rare to have four.
Hanna said groups are based on anthropological ancestral data. “Snips,” or changes in a person’s DNA, are evaluated and a person is classified into one of the groups.
“They were geographically isolated for a good period of their existence, because of that they are genetically isolated too,” Hanna said.
Some ancestries, such as Hispanic, are a mixture of all four population groups, she said.
There have been close to 300 people tested since November. George Lopez, host of Lopez Tonight on TBS, has had guests on his show tested, including Mariah Carey, Charles Barkley, Jessica Alba, Larry David and Snoop Dogg.
Eventually, the test categories will be subdivided to more specific ancestry origins and regions, Hanna said.
“Sometimes you want to know at the end of your life when you’re 70, sometimes you want to know when you’re 30 so you know for the next 40 years,” he said. “It’s a great way to know who you are. It doesn’t tell you everything, it might not be life changing for you, but it gives you something to think about.”
DDC is most known for its paternity testing for television talk show “Maury,” with host Maury Povich. It was also the testing agency in the 2007 paternity case for the daughter of the late Anna Nicole Smith.
For details, visit ancestrybydna.com or dnacenter.com.
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