20
votes
Accepted
Why are 99% of my Ashkenazi DNA matches not in the Middle East or Central Asia?
I think the answer is simply that these DNA testing companies are all American companies and have primarily targeted the American, European, and Australian markets. I suspect they have a comparatively ...
- 18.9k
10
votes
Understanding Ancestry DNA results for second cousins?
You're definitely on the right track in terms of possible relationships (cross referencing the cM counts you gave with the ones http://thegeneticgenealogist.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Shared-cM-...
- 620
10
votes
Why no DNA match with possible seventh cousin?
The amount of autosomal DNA shared by 6th or 7th cousins is quite small. Some will share no detectable DNA. The latest data of the Shared cM Project shows that seventh cousins share between 0 and 57 ...
- 18.9k
10
votes
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How to narrow down the best DNA donors in a large family?
I think you just posted that question to make all other genealogists envious of what you have to work with. :-)
But seriously, yes, there are some things you should do and do as soon as possible (i.e....
- 16.9k
10
votes
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Explaining major discrepancy in genomic position between Gedmatch and MyHeritage?
It looks like this may be due to a difference in the Genome Builds (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reference_genome#Human_reference_genome) used between the two tools.
GEDMatch reports that they ...
- 226
10
votes
Sharing 52% DNA with mother
This could also be explained if the parents share DNA. If you took the same test with your father and it also was > 50%, it could indicate they are distantly related. A single shared chromosome ...
- 201
9
votes
Finding haplogroup through raw DNA data?
I obtained my Y-DNA haplogroup from my AncestryDNA raw DNA file using the first method detailed in this link:
https://www.geneticgenealogist.net/2016/01/how-to-get-ydna-haplogroup-from.html
In short,...
9
votes
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How to get an elderly person to provide saliva sample for DNA?
I had my 93 year old uncle take a test after he agreed to do it.
I did not feel comfortable asking him to do it, or for me to attempt to administer it.
My uncle was at a nursing home. I asked one ...
- 16.9k
9
votes
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Any issues getting FTDNA sample vials through airport customs?
I didn't want to say anything until I was back home, but bringing everything in my carry on bag in both directions, worked. So, I'm now home successfully with 8 vials of DNA sample obtained from ...
- 399
9
votes
How many generations back will specific ethnicity show up in DNA?
It depends somewhat on the ethnicity and how distinguishable it is from the predominant ethnicity. For example, it seems that trace amounts of DNA from Native American ancestors is more difficult to ...
9
votes
Does having child of DNA tested parent help find parent's DNA ancestors?
I think the prior answers are either misleading or wrong, and people should not miss out on the opportunity to get great DNA information because they were discouraged by those answers.
If you have ...
- 123
8
votes
Accepted
Reconstructing autosomal genomes of Mayflower passengers
As of 2010, there were about 28,000 documented dues-paying Mayflower descendants. There have probably been about 16 million DNA tests taken by people in the United States, or about 1 out of every 20 ...
- 16.9k
8
votes
Can Ancestry.com DNA matches be wrong
Errors of this magnitude are possible but very very rare.
I'm sorry I don't have the documentation but there was discussion on at least one of the lists/groups for genetic genealogy about a case ...
- 2,446
8
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Can the amount of saliva affect how many centiMorgans are shared between 1st cousins?
Absolutely not.
The amount of saliva is a factor in whether or not you get DNA results at all. If you have them, that's it. While there is such a thing as "partial results" it's because you need ...
- 2,446
8
votes
How accurate is Ancestor Timeline of 23andMe?
It's statistics. "Accurate" simply doesn't apply: a prediction may be 99% likely, but that will not mean a thing to that 1 in 100 where it fails -- and you have no way of knowing which group you fall ...
- 1,179
7
votes
Is a half-sibling match on AncestryDNA reliable, or is more testing needed?
The result should be reliable in that it shows a close relationship. As shown on the Autosomal DNA statistics page on the ISOGG Wiki, the relationship is almost certainly one of these:
one of you is ...
- 3,877
7
votes
Accepted
Y-DNA haplogroup R1a1ab2 Z93 Z94 in England?
The service you used, Living DNA, seems to try on its web site to avoid telling much about what kind of testing it is doing, especially avoiding standard terms. Digging though its help system, it ...
- 3,877
7
votes
What is the meaning of Shared Segments in the DNA
"8 shared segments" means there are 8 separate sequences of over a "significance" threshold (this is often 7 centimorgans or cM) within which you match the other individual. To be included in one of ...
- 620
7
votes
Why are 99% of my Ashkenazi DNA matches not in the Middle East or Central Asia?
You could try MyHeritage DNA. They are the DNA Branch of MyHeritage based in Israel, and they have a larger portion of European and Middle East customers than the other DNA testing companies.
They ...
- 16.9k
7
votes
Accepted
How to interpret my having ethnicities inconsistent with my parents?
Unfortunately, the DNA companies imply way more accuracy to their estimates by including percentages to one decimal point. Let me rephrase your results as they should have been stated:
My father is ...
- 16.9k
7
votes
Accepted
How to help adoptee find her father without outing him?
You should be very, very, careful with this. My alarm bells are set off, because despite the emphatic denial of your father's second cousin, he is still a strong candidate. He could know and not want ...
- 16.9k
7
votes
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Why do parent and child share more cM than full siblings?
They don't. Full siblings (non-identical) can share between 30% to 70% of their DNA, while a parent/child will always share between 49% to 51%.
The trouble is the number systems only read one ...
- 3,614
7
votes
2nd cousins. One 4%, one 8%?
DNA inheritance is very random in terms of how much DNA you get from each ancestor, due to genetic recombination. This basically means that although you get close to exactly 50% of your autosomal DNA ...
- 18.9k
6
votes
Accepted
Why are the lengths GEDmatch.com Chromosome Segment Matching segments not proportional to their cM?
The colored segments are not drawn in terms of cM, but in million base pairs (Mbp), which are the number shown on the bottom of your graphic. The numbers at the bottom are very approximate in position....
- 16.9k
6
votes
Y-DNA match a false positive?
It is extremely rare for Y-DNA analysis to give a false positive. However, the people you match to may connect 10, 20, or 30 generations back which is likely not genealogically relevant since you won'...
- 16.9k
6
votes
How am I really related to a person with 1246 cMs and no shared X-DNA?
You are most likely first cousins.
You are correct to say that first cousins on average share about 850 cM, but due to the randomness of genetic recombination, the range of the amount of DNA ...
- 18.9k
6
votes
How to get permission and best order to upgrade DNA testing for deceased person?
First of all, I'm very sorry for your loss.
I asked a very similar question as My Father passed away - next test(s) on what remains of his DNA sample? a few months ago and the answer was extremely ...
- 399
6
votes
Is a half-sibling match on AncestryDNA reliable, or is more testing needed?
Just a note that you should not automatically jump to the conclusion that you and your probably-half-sibling must share a father instead of a mother; young unmarried pregnant women were often ...
- 1,860
6
votes
How many generations back will specific ethnicity show up in DNA?
Each of us has 128 x 5th great grandparents (assuming no inbreeding) which, if only one of them was African, suggests that your cousin might be about 0.78% African.
Consequently, a result of 2% ...
- 11.2k
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