[Michael Juster]

I have a monumental birthday looming & my bride would like to give me a genetic test to see if it helps to resolve many questions on both sides relating to my genetic heritage.

Has anyone tried one of these tests &, if so, what was your level of satisfaction?

Thanks!

[Roger Slater]

My sister-in-law was adopted at birth. She recently used one of those services and it matched her up with a biological half brother. She just got back from visiting him and a few other biological relatives she likely would not have met had it not been for "23 and Me."

[Mark Blaeuer]

Just over a month ago, I mailed off a sample for testing via the membership my wife has at Ancestry.com. The sample is still being processed right now, but I'll be glad to share my opinion of the service when results arrive.

[Allen Tice]

The earlier form of this post was a rocket to Distinguishd Guest Michael Juster about his overbooked PM mailbox at a moment when he was doing important things. I apologize for the interruption.

[Michael Juster]

Deleted a couple. Will be back Friday night.

[Terese Coe]

I used 23 and Me and found the results a treat: knowing my varied ancestry confirmed some things I suspected and others that had been suggested. Anything that makes you look at yourself differently is a boon! Delighted to be a mutt with Asian, Middle Eastern Ashkenazi, Southern and Northern European dna! Now I understand why it has been so easy for me to identify with many people wherever I went around the world. Unless that happens to almost everyone, which is also possible.

It's an amazing trove of information. Though I'm not tracking down all the people they say I'm related to; at this point it would distract me from my work.

[William Thompson]

I came across this just now and thought I ought to share it:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...he-fda-thinks/

[Mark Blaeuer]

Mike, my results arrived yesterday. The website indicates that processing may take 8 weeks or more, but mine came in about 4-5 weeks. On my end, the instructions were easy to follow, and I mailed the sample to them in a postpaid package they provided as part of the overall kit.

The Ancestry.com test is oriented strictly toward 1) calculating “ethnicity estimates,” and 2) matching you with possible relatives who have also taken the test.

1) I’m certainly no expert in genetics, but the results appear to have been cautiously interpreted. The most applicable ancestral regions were listed and shaded in different colors on a world map (I had three of these regions). Then there were “trace” levels of regional heritage as well (I had four of those). There were percentage estimates provided for my descent from populations in various regions, e.g. 21% Scandinavian, but it was admitted that these “estimates” are only averages of the scores within a range (on a scale of 0-100). They do show your overall range of scores within each region where your overall score was above zero, and they list other regions were your overall score was zero.

2) They listed 748 people who were possibly my 4th cousins or closer. The entries at the top of the list were ones for whom they had the highest level of confidence that I was related; indeed, several top-of-the-listers were people I know myself to be related to. Some of the entries included family trees, but it’s well to remember these genealogies are only as good as the research that went into them.

Of course, it’s an evolving science, but they do provide methodology and explanations on the website. For what it’s worth, I feel satisfied that the results are useful in complementing my archival research about the family.

By the way, 23 and Me has been mentioned, but I’ve read that National Geographic offers a similar service.

[Michael Juster]

So my bride decided on her own to go with Ancestry.com. Some of you may remember my Michigan Quarterly poem about then years ago which considers my view that my surname comes from Spanish Jews who crossed the Pyrenees and settled in Southern France to escape the Inquisition.

We'll see this fall!