My Promethease experience

One of the first places that I took my raw DNA download from Ancestry.com was to a company named Promethease.com. My coworker had previously hipped me to this company when he explained to me that 23andme.com had stopped providing medical info (they have since started back).

For $5, I was able to see what conditions I am most and least at risk for. They even say something about being able to smell asparagus in urine (not sure what that is about), some reactions i might have to certain medications, and more.

It is a very detailed report, and some things in it may contradict others. For instance i had several factors that put me at risk for a condition, but i would also have positive factors that would lower my risk for that same condition.

What i took away from it is to start exercising and eating healthier because I can die from just about everything. However, if I take care of myself virtually nothing (in my genes) will do me harm, and I have the potential of living to see a very old age.

This is one of those reports that you will need to save because they only keep your raw DNA for a very limited time (45 days) before they delete it from their system. After that you will need to pay again.

I do not recommend this report if you have a tendancy to act "extra", are a hypochondriac, a drama king/queen, etc. This report does NOT diagnose you with any conditions. It may be helpful if you are working in conjunction with physicians and having symptoms that are difficult to diagnose or are having complications with medication. Again, I said it MAY help. I have not used this report in that way so I do NOT know. It may actually be no help to you at all.

DNA Privacy Concerns

While waiting on my DNA tests to come in, I did a bit of research and found that I could upload my raw DNA from Ancestry (or other vendors) to other companies and get more processing done (depending on what the company specializes in).

With this, there are a few things to keep in mind:

(1) With many of these tests, you are giving up your rights to how your DNA may be used now and in the future. Please be mindful of this and check each company's privacy rules before you hand your DNA over to them if you are at all concerned about this.

(2) Each company processes your DNA differently. There are many variables in play, and it is important to keep that in mind so that you know what you are looking at. For example, at Ancestry, I was told that I have 29% Nigerian, but at another company I was given 38%.

From what I understand, the differences exist in what the company uses to determine your ethnicity. For example, Ancestry will compare your DNA to 3000 individuals known to be indigenous to their lands. While Ancestry has 2,000,000 people to compare you with to determine if you are related, only the 3000 preset individuals are used to determine your ethnicity. I think that only 400 of them are African...so basically there is a lot of room for improvement. This is one reason why I wanted to download my raw DNA data to be processed at other companies. Some other companies compare your DNA to more indigenous people, some check your DNA for other things such as medical information, etc.

(3) Genetic testing is relatively new. As more people get tested and more information is learned about DNA, the results will get more and more detailed in the future. Some companies have more detailed info than others right now, so you may receive results that are a bit more detailed from one company compared to the other. However, if the results do not resemble each other at all, you probably need to call the company and get that straightened out. Ha, ha. Real talk.

...until next time...

My AfricanAncestry.com Experience

Here lately it's been a DNA/genealogy whirlwind. This stuff has really become a big part of my life in a good way. However, I do need to take a break from it- which I will do very soon. In the meantime, I'll try to fill in my thoughts on the additional DNA tests that I have taken with various vendors.

Today, I'll talk about my AfricanAncestry.com experience. First I will say that these tests are very expensive. Unless you specifically know the reason why you want these test, I wouldn't recommend you begin testing with this company. I took both the matriclan and the patriclan tests. To give a bit of background, the matriclan test analyzes the mitochondrial dna (mtDNA) that is passed mother to child for the last 500-2000 years. Men and women are able to take this test. The patriclan test analyzes the Y chromosome that is passed to men from father to son. Women cannot take this test because we do not have the Y chromosome. Since my brother and I share the same biological parents, I had him to take the patriclan test.

Back to what I was saying about having a specific reason for taking these tests...there are many other tests that will provide information about the countries that your ancestors are from, haplogroups, etc. and do so for much cheaper. African Ancestry actually tells you the people/ethnicity that your ancestors come from. In my mind...the matriclan and patriclan test results symbolize my connection with two of my ancestors that were most likely forced from Africa into America. These ancestors (and many of my other ancestors) endured many unspeakable hardships and are the reason that I have life today. While these tests are expensive, when compared to all that has been done on my behalf so that I could have life this very day - the costs of these tests are just pennies! While I do think that the government should provide these tests to African descendants of the enslaved since this country profited immeasurably off the "welfare" system built on the backs of our Ancestors, I won't hold my breath. I have am blessed with life and health today, and I think it is a small sacrifice to be able to know as much about my Ancestors as possible. Long story short, I had a very specific reason for wanting these tests!

These tests are a bit different from the ones at Ancestry.com. Instead of spitting in a tube, you use cotton swabs (q-tips) to collect DNA from your cheeks. When the results are processed, you are sent a packet by snail mail (postal service) that contains a letter with a few details in it and a certificate. Here are mine (and my brother's since our results are the same).

The African Ancestry results came in a thin booklet. This is what the cover looks like.

This is the letter that came with the African Ancestry matriclan test results. My mtDNA traces back to the Mende people of Sierra Leone in Africa.

This is the certificate that came with the African Ancestry matriclan test results.

This is the letter that came with the African Ancestry patriclan test results. My (brother's) yDNA traces back to the Fang people of Gabon in Africa.

This is the certificate that came with the African Ancestry patriclan test results.

And there you have it folks. I must tell you that these results give me great pride. My Ancestors were NOT slaves. They were enslaved. It is not our shame. It is the shame of the enslavers. As a descendant, I feel great honor in now knowing the cultures of the people that started the journey of me being here on American soil today. Separated, yes. But the broken circle is being pieced back together again.

My Ancestry.com Experience

So the first DNA test that I ordered was from dna.ancestry.com. They often run sales and most recently ran one for $79, but at the time that I ordered, I didn't know that. I paid $99 but googled an online discount code for free shipping that worked.

Timing (i.e. the wait) 

I ordered the test on Wednesday, March 9, 2016. The test kit arrived on Monday, March 15, 2016. I spit in the tube and mailed it back. I could see in my online account that the test began processing on March 18, 2016. I signed up to receive weekly emails regarding the status of my tests, however they only sent me two emails: one to let me know that my test kit had shipped out to me on March 10, 2016 and one to let me know that they were still processing my results on April 6, 2016.  I received an email that my results were ready on May 3, 2016. So for me, from start to finish, the process took 55 days. The time that they processed them was about 46 days (a little over 6 weeks).

Again, I watched many youtube videos from other people who had gone through the process, and many of them reported receiving their results in about three weeks. So I figured either they were really busy or my results were really mixed up. Both may have been correct, because these results are a bit of a head scratcher.

The Results

So I won't make you wait to see the results. Here they are, and I'll write more about my thoughts afterwards.

The first screen you come to looks like this. It shows you an overview of your DNA results. It also shows you a few "matches" that you have. These are other people with DNA that match yours. They may be related to you (but there is a chance that they may not be related to you. More on that in a later post.)

I clicked the green button in the left column that said "SEE FULL ETHNICITY ESTIMATE", and it took me to the next screen with my results. The word "ESTIMATE" is really key here, and my results are a prime example of that.

So here you can see that I'm 77% African and 23% a lot of other stuff. I call it "a lot of other stuff" because it is apparently not clear what that other stuff is. In all of the videos that I've watched, I haven't run across another result set like this with ALL trace regions (outside of the African portion). For example, usually under European, for other people there would be listed at least one or more confident results and then the trace regions. However, in mine, as you can see, ALL of the results outside of the African ones listed first, there are trace regions. From the explanation, they mean "iffy" to me.

Trace Regions

So here's the explanation provided about what trace regions are:

My Thoughts

Overall, I'm glad I took the test. Although I came away with more questions than answers, going into this, I figured that I would. However, I didn't realize how unclear my results would be. I'm not upset or anything about it though. I know that genetics is a science that is developing right before our very eyes. Over time, as more people get tested, my results will become clearer. I'm already planning to have more members of my family get tested in the near future.

Also, I think that my trace regions come from the European ancestor(s). I'm pretty sure that nobody was from Asia or Polynesia in the recent past. I think that whatever ancestor(s) I inherited these DNA segments from already had DNA in them from these regions- although I could be wrong. I am a complete novice at this.

I chose to test with Ancestry.com for several reasons:

(1) I knew that they are more specific about what regions in Africa you match to. Many of the others (23andme.com, familytreedna.com, etc.) tend to group Africans in large vague categories like West African or Subsaharan African. We already know that much, and I'd rather spend these coins of mine on something more specific.

(2) I knew that Ancestry.com would provide me with a list of people that match to my DNA. Others do too, no doubt. But I have the whole family tree set up on Ancestry, and my DNA test correlated well with that.

Here are some more detailed photos of my results (including the specific Trace Regions):

Africa

Europe

America

Asia

Pacific Islander

West Asia

So there you have it. Basically, my ancestors had babies by everyone who was invited to dinner. Just kidding! It's just jokes.

Until next time...

The DNA testing journey begins... Part 2

So I'm back to try to finish the story before this weekend is up...and too much time passes...and I forget the details from the newbie perspective. I'm really excited that the younger ones in my family are interested, and hopefully I can help them if they consider this in the future in their own lives. The tests didn't come back for a little more than 6 weeks, so I really got a test in patience. I'm still waiting on the results from the matriclan test and trying my best not to shake down the postman. In the meantime, my fiance' and I made guesses about what the results would be.

His guesses are in the first column and mine are in the second. We had some things right and some were really WRONG.
 

I'll do some in-depth posts on the results later, but for now here's a quick comparison.

He actually ended up being 84% African with the majority of that from Benin/Togo (33%). He didn't really know where that was and had already decided that he was "King Congo" based on - well nothing. He just liked how it sounded. (I love him.) So, I think he was very surprised.

I ended up being 77% African (say wha?) with the majority of that being from Nigeria (29%). I didn't figure that my Nigerian percentage would be that high so I was surprised.

...and I spend a lot of time studying African culture and religion. How could he be more African than moi?! I demand a recount!

Again, we are having a lot of fun with this...

So far, he is more African than everyone that we know that has taken the test. Granted, that is not very many people, but still... The funny thing is that he is albino, and has been called "white boy" and "red man" all of his life by family and friends. Turns out, he's probably more African than us all!

He has informed us that he would now like to be addressed as "King Togo/Congo". Tee hee hee.

Just goes to show that you can't judge a book by its cover. Until next time...

The DNA testing journey begins... Part 1

So this year for my birthday, my fiance' and I were supposed to take a road trip to New Orleans to attend my graduation. (I received my master's of science in information systems and technology management.) However, the weather had other plans for us. It decided to storm and flood, and both my state and Louisiana were quite dangerous as far as roads were concerned. Seeing as how I didn't feel the need to unnecessarily fight for my life, I decided that I did not want to go.

My fiance' felt it was a huge accomplishment and that I should receive or do something else to celebrate. I on the other hand, felt we should just save money for our impending wedding in July and another trip that I would need to take before that. He kept insisting though that we would be fine financially, and that he really wanted to do something special for my accomplishment.

 I couldn't think of anything at first, but then an old idea popped back into the forefront of my thinking from my subconscious. I had always wanted to do a DNA test and see what I'm mixed with. Beyond being black and in America, I had no idea. Sure, many that look like me know that we are most likely descended from slaves and that we are majority African being how brown-skinned and nappy headed we are. If we have learned even a little bit about the history of slavery in the United States, then we also figure that we are most likely from West Africa. Hey, every little bit of helps. Africa is a big place, so that does narrow it down a little.

Outside of that, I was clueless. I was fortunate enough to have my great-grandmother assist in my upbringing, and most of the joys of my childhood come from that experience. However, she never really talked much about her childhood or where we come from. I figure either she didn't know a whole lot herself, or it was a hard life that brought up difficult memories. I now think the answer is a combination of both.

Taking the Tests and Waiting...and Waiting...and Waiting...

Anyhow, my fiance' and I set out to take some DNA tests. (Of course he wasn't willing to let me have this much fun alone!) With very little knowledge and a whole lot of excitement, we chose to take the admixture tests from Ancestry.com. We also chose to take the matriclan and patriclan tests from AfricanAncestry.com.

We ordered the AfricanAncestry.com test kits on Tuesday, March 8, 2016. On Saturday, I took the matriclan test from AfricanAncestry.com and I had my brother take their patriclan test the next day. I mailed them off on Monday, March 14, 2016.

 We ordered the Ancestry.com test on Wednesday, March 9, 2016. The test kits arrived on Monday, March 15, 2016. The next day, my fiance' mailed our kits off. In my online account, I received notice that my kit had been received on March 18, 2016.

That's when the wait began. I learned that I'm even more impatient than I thought I was (and I already thought that I was very impatient). This mess was as hard as waiting nine months for my babies to be born when I was pregnant! In the meantime, I watched youtube videos to pass the time. Here are some of my favorites if you are interested. I'm not one to write a whole lot at one time, so enjoy these vids, and I'll be back later to finish my story.

This family was a lot of fun. When the one brother couldn't accept the results and declared that he was from Ancient Egypt and his great-great-great-great-great-great...grand-daddy was the Sphinx...I promise I think I died.



This sister is hilarious. It was just a fun video to watch.



WHY - out of all of those ethnicities with much higher percentages that he has in him - does George Lopez decide that he's black? No one knows, but it is funny. Mariah Carey wasn't in her best form. In fact, she was quite irritating. I wish she had been much more quiet.



So who is blacker - Snoop Dogg or Charles Barkley? They are too funny.





 Until next time...