DNA Why I urge caution

[davidft]

My DNA analysis has confirmed certain suspected "recent family ancestral oddities". 

I don't understand how people can be dubious and untrusting about DNA tests, yet happily leave a load of it on every coffee cup, wine glass and beer mug they use.

Martin

BIB Well I guess it depends on which part of DNA tests you are talking about doesn't it.

If you are looking at counting chromosomes in common and working out the degree of kinship or not there is a lot of good scientific rational behind it and all testing companies will produce broadly similar answers.

However if you are talking about DNA testing to establish ethnicity traits then this is notoriously flaky and testing with different companies can produce widely varying results. Indeed there is a thread on here that illustrates this very well with a number of people giving their differing results from different companies.

[AdeleMarie]

Thank you and if I find out any more info I will certainly let you know. 

[Guy Etchells]

My DNA analysis has confirmed certain suspected "recent family ancestral oddities". 

I don't understand how people can be dubious and untrusting about DNA tests, yet happily leave a load of it on every coffee cup, wine glass and beer mug they use.

Martin

Possibly because they do not expect others to try to take a DNA sample for said items and realise despite the impression that TV and Film and books may give extracting uncontaminated DNA from such items is far more difficult than may be imagined and I doubt if they general public would ever have such a sample analysed.

Cheers
Guy

[melba_schmelba]

My DNA analysis has confirmed certain suspected "recent family ancestral oddities". 

I don't understand how people can be dubious and untrusting about DNA tests, yet happily leave a load of it on every coffee cup, wine glass and beer mug they use.

Martin

Possibly because they do not expect others to try to take a DNA sample for said items and realise despite the impression that TV and Film and books may give extracting uncontaminated DNA from such items is far more difficult than may be imagined and I doubt if they general public would ever have such a sample analysed.

Cheers
Guy

I wonder what became of the MyHeritage CEO's plan of extracting long dead celebrity's DNA (i.e. Churchill, Einstein etc.) from envelopes/stamps they may have licked so you could see if you were related, possibly fell into the difficulties you suggest?

[Guy Etchells]

I was going to send a number of envelopes sent by my mother but when I looked at the charges changed my mind. I think possibly very few people would pay the charges involved
Cheers
Guy

[melba_schmelba]

I was going to send a number of envelopes sent by my mother but when I looked at the charges changed my mind. I think possibly very few people would pay the charges involved
Cheers
Guy

I didn't realise they were officially offering it yet Guy, is there a link? I see LivingDNA was informally offering such a service for $400-600 (per envelope?!)

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/03/dna-tests-for-envelopes-have-a-price/583636/

[BushInn1746]

What if someone else licked the stamp, like a Wife or Secretary? As kids we licked stamps for visitors too!

Possibility of acquired DNA too, due to transplant / transfusion.

Wasn't Great Britain glue made from ground animal bone & boiled animal tissue?

That would throw you  and give some totally wrong or strange results!

Upon realising the raw materials, I've refused to lick envelopes etc and used tap water for 30 years!

Mark

[Guy Etchells]

What if someone else licked the stamp, like a Wife or Secretary? As kids we licked stamps for visitors too!

Possibility of acquired DNA too, due to transplant / transfusion.

Wasn't Great Britain glue made from ground animal bone & boiled animal tissue?

That would throw you  and give some totally wrong or strange results!

Upon realising the raw materials, I've refused to lick envelopes etc and used tap water for 30 years!

Mark

Wrong sort of glue, the glue on postage stamps & on envelopes was made from potato starch, glue on envelopes was sometimes made from gum arabic, i.e. tree sap.
Cheers
Guy

[BushInn1746]

I wonder what became of the MyHeritage CEO's plan of extracting long dead celebrity's DNA (i.e. Churchill, Einstein etc.) from envelopes/stamps they may have licked so you could see if you were related, possibly fell into the difficulties you suggest?

I was going to send a number of envelopes sent by my mother but when I looked at the charges changed my mind. I think possibly very few people would pay the charges involved
Cheers
Guy

I didn't realise they were officially offering it yet Guy, is there a link? I see LivingDNA was informally offering such a service for $400-600 (per envelope?!)

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/03/dna-tests-for-envelopes-have-a-price/583636/

What if someone else licked the stamp, like a Wife or Secretary? As kids we licked stamps for visitors too!

 ... I've refused to lick envelopes etc and used tap water for 30 years!

The DNA route - you can't always have it licked