DNA testing

[Yoga Face]

They did a study on W5

A volunteer had three firms do tests and the results were different



If it was legitimate OHIP would cover it and your MD would request one

Caveat Emptor

 

[HaywoodJabloemy]

They did a study on W5

A volunteer had three firms do tests and the results were different

Do you have a link to the video or online story? I couldn't find anything about it. The most recent story relating to AncestryDNA on the CTVNews site is about them confirming that a 1920s US president had a daughter that was not acknowledged at the time.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/dna-proves-u-s-president-harding-fathered-child-out-of-wedlock-1.2515775

The larger companies certainly are not scams. They will show results connecting people to their relatives who also take the test (up to about third cousins, as I mentioned above) with reasonably good accuracy.
What is debatable is how useful the other more speculative types of results may be to the average person.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/13/dna-detectives-seek-origins-of-you/2420071/

Critics say some tests are doing a disservice...
A May 7 study in the journal PLOS Biology found that every European is likely to share "millions" of common ancestors within the past 1,000 years even with someone on the opposite side of the continent....
In April, Kate Wong, the anthropology editor of Scientific American, reported that one company's test found she was 2.1% Neanderthal, while another determined she was 2.9% related to the ancient human species — a considerable difference in the world of science. So even the tests for our genes aren't perfect, which is to be expected...

 

[basketcase]

...
Both of the sites I mentioned above claim to have surpassed one million customers earlier this year,...

And the couple companies that honestly say they can compare your DNA to their other customers to look for close familial matches are fine. Of course it only works for those in the system. Also testing for genetic predispositions or sensitivities to medications can make sense (as long as that data is kept from fingers of insurance companies).

But as for determining your ethnicity, some tests are getting better at identifying specific genetic anomalies beyond just mtDNA or y-DNA so instead of identifying genetic descent from 2 of millions of ancestors get indicators of a few dozen but at best you can find statistical comparisons of those few to current populations (and any that claim to connect you with long departed historic figures are likely as valid as tarot cards).

 

[Yoga Face]

Do you have a link to the video or online story? I couldn't find anything about it. The most recent story relating to AncestryDNA on the CTVNews site is about them confirming that a 1920s US president had a daughter that was not acknowledged at the time.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/dna-proves-u-s-president-harding-fathered-child-out-of-wedlock-1.2515775

I thought it was W5 might be some other news show

 

[Hugh G. Rekshun]

Someone should tell Mike Tirico about these DNA tests if he still doesn't know. From his wikipedia page:

Despite his dark skin and ethnic features, Tirico has publicly stated that he is not Black nor African American... To date, Tirico is apparently unsure of his true heritage, as he is not certain who his biological parents are. He has stated, "Yeah. I’d like to find out the truth at some point, so I can answer questions for my kids" regarding his heritage and biological parents.

Ethnic background testing is a fricking joke. All it does is compare the DNA markers of (at most) two of your ancestors to a statistical representation taken from current populations...

I have no idea if or how much these companies use it, but I think there's probably archaeological DNA evidence that has been built up in attempts to track migrations of people in pre-Columbian times.
The 5300 year-old "iceman" apparently was of Sardinian ethnicity.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...elatives-Sardinia--suffered-Lyme-disease.html
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2013/10/cleaning-ancient-human-dna
http://popular-archaeology.com/issu...sive-trove-of-bones-shakes-up-human-evolution