What can DNA tests really tell us about our ancestry? – Prosanta Chakrabarty

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What can DNA tests really tell us about our ancestry? – Prosanta Chakrabarty


Dig into the science of how ancestry DNA tests work, their accuracy, and why tracing ancestry is so complicated.

Two sisters take the same DNA test. The results show that one sister is 10% French, the other 0%. Both sisters share the same two parents, and therefore the same set of ancestors. So how can one be 10% more French than the…

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46 Comments

  1. DNA is wonky. For example the Turks, if everything is based on DNA, how many Turks will automatically become non-Turks in one day? But in reality, language and culture matter more than DNA.

  2. Okay that makes sense why my aunt’s DNA results are more heighten about her paternal grandma’s side and my grandma’s Fsther’sside. Yet less heighten in my grandma’s mkther’s side and possibly also my biological grandpa’s father sise. Whom both of did the test inspire orf him. My maternal grandpa not knowing his biological father. My grandpa has been dead for 13 years and would be 90 in 2024. Still not a lot of info from the Grest Depression era besides his biological mother and his step-father(my step-Grest grandfather). My maternal grandma is also doing the test for me and probably my mum will do one too.

  3. This video is truly a revelation! So much valuable information condensed into one compelling clip. While I usually refrain from promoting anything in comments, I feel compelled to share a resource that's been incredibly enlightening for me: borlest. It hosts a treasure trove of forbidden books about becoming what you want, offering insights that few have access to. Here's to spreading knowledge and empowering each other. Best wishes to all!"

  4. I don't think it's correct what this video claims in that I don't think that without recombination you would receive 25% of DNA (tested DNA that is) from each grandparent. If this are the case and each of genres you received from each parent was 100% from one of their parents, as they have them, but a mixture then without recombination there is even more chance of some children getting even less from one grandparent as it's a random all or nothing chance as to which chromosomes you inherit from each grandparent and not a mix, in which case you could potentially get nothing from a grandparent.

    It's a good thing it's not like this as those of us using the DNA tests to build a family tree as far back as possible (the Ethnicity Estimate is just a gimmick, the matches are the true way to find your ethnicity) would find that on our own and without multiple people testing it'd be even harder to build your tree (and you'd probably have a lot less matches or at least smaller amounts of DNA from the majority of ancestors a few generations back).

  5. Well, all it really takes is common sense. How are the DNA testing companies going to match your DNA to all of these foreign countries without you having a relative in those countries to match your DNA with? The only way a DNA test can work is if you are trying match DNA with your parents or children not ethnicity.

  6. I recently received my DNA report, and while I find it fascinating, I'm also aware that there's a lot to understand about the results. I noticed that it shows my ethnicity as 33% Sweden & Denmark, 29% England and Northwestern Europe,12% Germanic Europe, 10% Ireland, 8% Scotland, 4% Eastern Europe & Russia, 3% Wales, 1% Baltics.
    The DNA report provided information about which parent I inherited specific ethnicities from, my British (England & Northwestern Europe, Ireland, Scotland, Wales) ethnicities were all attributed to my mother, which made sense and was consistent with the genealogical information we already knew. The Swedish & Danish, Eastern European & Russian, and Baltic ethnicities were all attributed to my father's side. Given that my father, his parents and paternal grandparents are all German, I'm particularly interested in understanding how recent my ancestors would have had to be in Sweden or Denmark to contribute to my Scandinavian DNA percentage. Additionally, could you provide insights into the historical and demographic factors that might explain these results?My father left Germany when he was 27 years old and he passed several years ago, we spoke very little about his family and life before. All I know is that my close German relatives are from Hamburg, Germany, in the northern part of the country, is it possible that there could be some overlap or genetic similarities with populations from neighbouring regions, that may have been mistakenly attributed to Sweden & Denmark? Also, because it is a third of my DNA, I'm curious about the timeframe for when my ancestors might have lived in Sweden or Denmark to contribute to this percentage. Are there any historical or demographic factors I should consider that could help explain this result?
    Thank you in advance for any assistance you can offer.

  7. If you want to find out about your ancestry, I recommend you to do a DNA test, I am Chinese so I used 23mofang , it is actually quite useful if you have some ancestors that are from Asia.😁

  8. Ancestry dna helped me reaffirm that my known father is actually my father he left us because he believed we werent his actual children and that my mother was being unfaithful ( she was ) but turns out he is my father for the fact i found many cousins with his last name and his parents surnames so i proved he was my father not like thats gonna make him come back and bring us the milk he promised us 24 years ago lol

  9. There's à big scientific mistake in this video! Humans are 99.9 % similar, not 99% similar.
    Therefore, the difference between two human beings is only 0.1% différence and not 1% difference. These are the numbers given by the "Human Genome Project"
    Please verify and correct the error.

  10. So overall DNA tests are a bunch of BS? Is it fair to say that most of the DNA test companies are just seeking out money and not really here to show us truly where we may come?

  11. Is this video still accurate? Or has the science of DNA test improved to be an accurate reflection of our actual inherited race and ethnicity?

  12. I suppose it was silly of me to think that all people were represented in the database already. Of course some might not have the opportunity to contribute and some might choose not to.

  13. My sister and I have something similar. We have the same parents but my mom has latent genes from African ancestors and Native American ancestors. I inherited these genes but my sister did not.

  14. They will know after life if they worshiped the true God.
    God will help the people who worshiped him alone without associating any partners in worship.
    God eloh/Alah/Allah

  15. Even though DNA tests don't tell you everything, I did find out that my great grandfather (paternal) wasn't my great grandfather meaning my last name isn't even legitimate

  16. Can light color rendering index decoded true ages , DNA , and original ancestry that í why people introduce eye glass to kept true identification from being decoded from optometrist

  17. I'm confused: While it is being said that your chromosome pairs consist of one "dad-chromosome" and one "mom-chromosome", the colorcoding at 2:29 suggest that each pair consists of two identical chromosomes. How does that add up?