The 5 Worst Things to Learn from a DNA Test | Hacker News Reader

The 5 Worst Things to Learn from a DNA Test

chromosomechronicles.com

6 pointsalexbiz5 comments

Mistaken ancestry? That's a very American thing to have (not fear). For example, the admixture is such that the African-American population has 20% 'white' ancestry. We're an admixed people. I always thought that was the great part about being American...

Mistaken paternity? That would be pretty lifechanging. But how exactly would a 23andMe style test let you know if you father "wasn't your father?" I suppose he would need to submit DNA as well? (Obviously if your true father is from Asia or Africa but you always thought he was European, you could easily discover this with principal components... but I'm sure that's not what this blog post's author is talking about.)

In my opinion, there is little to be gained, currently, from commercial genetic testing. Groups like 23andMe egregiously oversell their offerings: https://www.23andme.com/store/ "Learn your genetic risk for type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and other conditions." Please - at present day, your genetic profile tells you no more about your risk for T2D than does your family history.

Mistaken paternity would be readily apparent from a 23andMe test. There is a section where they compare family DNA, and a child is expected to share 50% of their chromosomal segments with their father. Of course, both child and parent would have to be tested.

I agree completely, the disease predispositions in the 23andMe service fall far from being of any value. http://Navigenics.com and http://www.deCODEme.com do a better job at this.

Mistaken ancestry? That's one of the worst things for Americans? Really?

How about significant genetic overlap with your significant other? Or you carry hereditary diseases that you'll pass on to your children? Or that your DNA is partially composed of frog's DNA? (Why do you think those dinosaurs were so angry?)

I suppose mistaken ancestry is a very "American" fear (if one at all), although I can think of other countries (like Japan) where any "surprises" in ancestry might not be so hot.

Accidental inbreeding would be horrible.

"Nothing at all?"

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