Negosentro | What is genetic testing and why is it important? | Have you ever wondered who your ancestors are, and where you come from…? Ancestry genetic tests will give you the answer to these questions. If you are curious about where your family history begins and how much information you can learn thanks to this type of DNA test, we tell you about it below.
How do ancestry DNA tests work?
DNA contains a series of marks that remain over time, called mutations, in which there is a large amount of information stored. With a simple saliva sample, DNA sequencing scientists are able to decipher this information.
In addition, the fact that these mutations are endemic in some areas of the planet makes it possible to trace a large number of regions around the world to find out where your genetic information has been present.
With this information and the extensive scientific databases available today, it’s possible to carry out a comparison of your data with those of a multitude of studies and samples from a huge amount of people. Thanks to this, you’ll know in which areas of the planet there’s the presence of your genetic material and, therefore, there was the presence of your ancestors at some point in history.
What results will I get from an ancestry test?
There are different methodologies to perform ancestry genetic tests and extract results from them. The 24Genetics Ancestry DNA test, for example, uses a formula based on its own very exhaustive and efficient algorithms. Thanks to them, you’ll know very detailed information divided into:
- Global approximation: you’ll know what’s the probability that you belong to each continent.
- Countries: you’ll know the countries in the world where genetic material related to yours has been found and in what percentage.
- Regions in the world and in every continent: you’ll discover in more detail the regions of the world where your ancestors are likely to have been.
You should know that all the data contained in a genetic ancestry test report are statistical approximations. That means it’s not based on exact data but on the probability that your genetic data would have been present in certain geographical areas throughout history.
This doesn’t mean that the results aren’t totally reliable since, in this particular company, they are based on more than 700,000 genetic markers, which allows to reach a very deep level of detail and, therefore, very accurate data.
How far back do the results of an ancestry DNA test go?
Depending on the amount of genetic information related to your DNA available in the databases, ancestry test results can go back as far as 2,000 years. The 24Genetics test, on average, can go back 700-900 years, which corresponds to 25-30 generations.
Keep in mind that when searching for your genetic ancestry, the last 300 years aren’t taken into account because they are considered irrelevant. This implies that it’s not possible to know information about the passage through the world of the last 8 generations approximately.
In conclusion, a genetic ancestry test will provide you with very interesting information about the areas of the world that have been part of your history at some point in time. It’s a good way to learn more about you and your family history.
