I admit it. I have no self-discipline when it comes to genetic genealogy. When deCODEme launched, I had to be one of the first in line to get tested. So I ordered on Nov 26th and received results on Dec 19th -- my husband's results, that is. I thought his might be a little more interesting since he sports a Y chromosome.
At any rate, I figured there were probably some curious souls out there like myself, so I decided to make a little video as I was exploring the site and Brian's results. So if you're wondering what $985 can tell you about your genetic makeup, just click on the image below:
A couple of little postscripts. The first is that you'll hear me pondering out loud about whether the Y DNA results were entirely SNP-based. Apparently they are.
Also, I was rather startled when I compared my husband's genome to that of James Watson. My initial reaction was that they must be different species. Well, I went to one of my favorite gurus, Ann Turner, who explained:
" . . . Watson's genome is very incomplete, with "too many" homozygous sites. If they were actually reading both chromosomes, there should be a number of heterozygous sites (different alleles)."
So Watson's incomplete genome accounts for the almost total lack of sharing.
Hope you enjoy the video!
P.S. Sorry about the video quality. Had to do several conversions and it got a little fuzzier each time, but you should still be able to follow along.
Comments (2)
Excellent post for the person interested in decoding DNA. I haven't finished viewing the video, but have a couple of questions and comments.
Did you get your husband's permission before using his DNA? I presume your husband signed all the forms and identified himself on the samples, since the company would easily see that a woman would not have a Y chromosome. How does he feel about you sharing his results with the world?
I'm not sure that good DNA samples are as easy to get as we see on television, but your example confirms that it is relatively easy for someone to send someone else's samples to a decoding service. The limited privacy we now have is certainly going to be limited further in the future. Of course, not many people will pay the $900+ to have a friend--or enemy--decoded, but the cost will go down and the possibility become more apparent.
Posted by marie godfrey | December 31, 2007 6:45 PM
Posted on December 31, 2007 18:45
Hi Marie,
Yes, rest assured, I checked with my husband! In fact, I checked with him several times just to be sure. And not only did my husband sign everything and provide the sample, I even taped him, so there's no doubt!
Perhaps that will be another video. If you were to watch it, you'd see that while the samples are easy to provide, it would be somewhat challenging getting the right kind of sample without someone's approval. But yes, I know of at least one case -- involving a different company with an even simpler sample process -- where a customer deliberately submitted a dog's DNA just to "test" the company. He was willing to pay for his little experiment, and yes, the company figured out exactly what had happened!
Take care,
Megan
Posted by Megan | December 31, 2007 6:54 PM
Posted on December 31, 2007 18:54