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Date Joined: May 14, 2024 15:46:16 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2010 20:04:31 GMT -5
I'm thinking of getting one done. Someone I know had it done recently and was really surprised at what he found. He has at least 8 markers, or different races in him. And he knew only about 2 of them! Ever thought of having it done, I'm curious now.... not sure how accurate they are though.
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Date Joined: Jun 7, 2010 10:10:35 GMT -5
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Post by deyana on Aug 10, 2010 8:41:10 GMT -5
Me too. I'd like to have it done. But where? I'm not sure.
How much do these tests tell?
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Date Joined: Jun 7, 2010 10:10:35 GMT -5
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Post by deyana on Aug 10, 2010 16:12:15 GMT -5
I just found this written about DNA testing: Quote: * Determine if two people are related * Determine if two people descend from the same ancestor * Find out if you are related to others with the same surname * Prove or disprove your family tree research * Provide clues about your ethnic origin
DNA tests have been around for many years, but it is only recently that the cost of genetic testing has finally come down into the realm of possibility for the average individual interested in tracing their roots. Home DNA test kits can be ordered through the mail or over the Internet at a cost averaging $100-$400 per test. They usually consist of a cheek swab or mouthwash to easily collect a sample of cells from the inside of your mouth. You send back the sample through the mail and within a month or two you receive the results - a series of numbers that represent key chemical "markers" within your DNA. These numbers can then be compared to results from other individuals to help you determine your ancestry.Interesting. I'd like to know what my markers are. I know there is Indian and Middle Eastern, but that can mean anything. As I come from the North, many other people from different nations have either lived or moved through there over the centuries. Does anyone have a reasonably good idea what their markers might tell?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2010 4:55:29 GMT -5
I just found this written about DNA testing: Quote: * Determine if two people are related * Determine if two people descend from the same ancestor * Find out if you are related to others with the same surname * Prove or disprove your family tree research * Provide clues about your ethnic origin
DNA tests have been around for many years, but it is only recently that the cost of genetic testing has finally come down into the realm of possibility for the average individual interested in tracing their roots. Home DNA test kits can be ordered through the mail or over the Internet at a cost averaging $100-$400 per test. They usually consist of a cheek swab or mouthwash to easily collect a sample of cells from the inside of your mouth. You send back the sample through the mail and within a month or two you receive the results - a series of numbers that represent key chemical "markers" within your DNA. These numbers can then be compared to results from other individuals to help you determine your ancestry.Interesting. I'd like to know what my markers are. I know there is Indian and Middle Eastern, but that can mean anything. As I come from the North, many other people from different nations have either lived or moved through there over the centuries. Does anyone have a reasonably good idea what their markers might tell? I want to have it done too. But don't know where to do it! In the end, you will have to depend on some one else interpreting the data for you. I am sceptical of all for-pay-commercial labs. Most scientists in the field are very careful in making the kind of pronouncements that some of these labs claim to make.
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Date Joined: Jun 7, 2010 10:10:35 GMT -5
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Post by deyana on Sept 11, 2010 15:32:40 GMT -5
So how what can they tell us exactly? Having a common ancestor is one thing, but what else? How closely we are related? Of all the millions of years we (humans) have been on this earth, we must surly have thousands upon thousands of different markers?
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Date Joined: Jun 7, 2010 10:10:35 GMT -5
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Post by deyana on Sept 14, 2010 7:31:21 GMT -5
I'd really be fascinated to see what my markers would say. I guess most people would. I'd also like to know what the markers would be for my kids.
The ones I know of: English, French, Indian, Middle Eastern, Italian, Native Indian and possibly Chinese. I'm sure I there must be many others..
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Date Joined: Jun 7, 2010 10:10:35 GMT -5
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Post by deyana on Sept 14, 2010 13:25:35 GMT -5
Not sure where. There many different one advertised on the Internet. Which ones are good and which ones are not, that's the question.
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Date Joined: Jun 7, 2010 10:10:35 GMT -5
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Post by deyana on Sept 14, 2010 13:39:36 GMT -5
I quickly copied the information below from your link, TBN. The link kept breaking up on me, but here it is:
While you’re down at the drug store picking up toothpaste and sleeping pills, why not have your DNA tested? Walgreens says that this month it will become the first drug store to offer personal genomics tests in its store. For the low, low price of $20-30 you can pick up a kit to take a sample of your own saliva, which you mail off to Pathway Genomics, a company partnering with Walgreens.
Customers can then go Pathway’s Web site and order tests. Pathway says the tests — for drug response,“pre-pregnancy planning” and “health conditions”— start at $79 and run up to $249 for all three [AP].
With the personal genomics trend continuing to accelerate, this was perhaps an inevitable development. But the fact that personal tests are going into drug stores doesn’t mean that personal tests are as readily reliable or regulated as the rest of the tests and medications that fill the aisles.
1. The FDA is not pleased.
The Pathway test has not been approved by the Federal Drug Administration. In a statement after announcing this deal, Walgreens washed their hands of responsibility in this regard, saying Pathway assured them that the product didn’t require FDA approval. The FDA, however, does not agree.
In a statement, the FDA said it has regulatory authority over all lab-developed tests.“As new technologies become available and are marketed directly to consumers, FDA will consider all regulatory options,” the agency said.“Consumers should understand that the claims made by a company with an unapproved test have limitations and that they should not be making important medical and lifestyle decisions without first consulting a health care professional”[Wall Street Journal].
The FDA isn’t the only public body worried about these tests. Here in New York, where DISCOVER is located, we won’t be able to run down to Walgreens and pick up a DNA test. The state considers these to be medical tests, and medical tests require a license. When personal genomics companies first began to spring up, New York State issued nearly 40 cease-and-desist orders in 2007 and 2008. It’s still going to take some time to sort out the legality of who can look into your genome.
2. Can you actually learn anything useful?
Remember, only six years have passed since the human genome was fully sequenced. Incorporating personal genomics into medicine is moving fast, but it’s still in the early stages.
In most cases, the current level of DNA scanning technology and science is unable to offer meaningful predictions about the risk that a person will get a disease.“It is a really wonderful form of recreation,” said Scott R. Diehl, a geneticist at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. But as for applying it to health care, he said,“It’s very premature”[The New York Times].
The tests by personal genomics companies like 23andMe and Pathway look at particular point mutations that scientists think to be associated with diseases like Alzheimer’s or cystic fibrosis. Making clear predictions from a person’s DNA, though, will require not only a further understanding of what genes are linked to what diseases, but also how those genes interact with environmental factors, lifestyle choices, and each other, as our reporter found out in 2008 when having her DNA examined by several of the most prominent companies.
All that knowledge won’t come fast, or cheap.
That might take a few years and require sequencing a person’s entire genome, not just sampling selected bits, as the companies do now [The New York Times].
3. Overreaction—and mixed results
As the FDA noted in its statement quoted above, customers must understand the limitations of these tests—and not act too drastically. As DISCOVER’s own Kat McGowan wrote last year,“Another worry is that people may overreact to their results. Someone who has an elevated risk of breast cancer, for example, might take a drastic step like getting a mastectomy, not realizing that the test predicts increased risk, not a particular outcome.”
Then again, if you get curious enough to try multiple tests, you might have the opposite problem. Some curious folks who’ve tried out multiple personal genomics firms have received contradictory answers.
4. The fine print
Even if you don’t act on the information that a personal genetic test brings, it could impact you emotionally to learn about your ancestry or your family (say, if your father wasn’t your genetic father). That’s why the fine print on personal-genomics products is so extensive.
And the ramifications could do beyond the emotional realm. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 offers some protection for personal genetic information, but how much is not terribly clear. Things are changing fast in the world of personal genomics, and it may be difficult or impossible to predict the significance, or even risk, of information you learn in 2010. As 23andMe’s terms and conditions notes:
Yep, it seems like that's not the way to go. Best to look for a reputable agency that has a good track record and let the professionals tell you what they find. However this could cost, I'm sure.
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