Sunday, March 25, 2007

DNA Ancestry Project

When my daughter first suggested that she get her DNA tested to find out her real ancestry, I expected it to cost thousands of dollars. DNA testing just doesn't seem like the kind of thing that would be cheap!

It turns out the DNA Ancestry Project, run by Genebase, will send you a test kit to do either maternal or paternal lineage for only $118! So of course we ordered two. What's even better is that the test is a simple mouth swab - no needles, no blood. Just rub a little swab on the inside of your cheek for 15 seconds, send it off, and log in online to get results.

Check it out at Genebase


One bummer is that paternal lineage can only be tested on men - women don't have the Y chromosome needed - but my brother can test & his results will apply to me as well.

In addition to getting our own info, the website has a ton of cool info about migration patterns of early peoples and how we fit into the big picture of the global population! I've known since I was a kid that my ancestry is Swedish & English on dad's side, and mostly German with a little Welsh on my mom's - but I think it'll be interesting to see what else might be in the mix! And my daughter knows she's Somali, but nothing beyond that! Is there any Italian in there? Ethiopian? Who knows?


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is so cool. Even those of us who think we know our history may find a suprise or two.. It would be interesting..

Anonymous said...

With all the merchant sailors in my ancestory, I wouldn't be surprised if I was part Somali...