genealogy tests

is anyone else curious about this stuff ?

• View reports on over 70 health conditions and traits
• Learn how your genetics can influence your risk for certain diseases
• Discover your lineage and find DNA relatives

sounds pretty cool to me.

this one above though costs 250 can. worth it or rip-off?

Undoubtedly interesting but I think when it's done privately this sort of thing is mainly about cashing in on people's curiosity/uncertainty for profit; there are a lot of privacy/data protection issues with these companies as well. There's no cast-iron guarantee that your genetic data won't be shared with other corporations in years to come. Not trying to put you off or paint some dystopian picture, just something to be aware of!

did the 23andme thing. super easy. really informative. happy to have done it. also ignited an interest in lineages and how these threads run through various societies during history (eg. http://www.eupedia.com/europe/Haplogroup_I1_Y-DNA.shtml). so it not only gives personal information, but also drives a more broader interest.

the thing with the privacy issues is both a matter of trust and consent. at 23andme they make you pretty aware of each choice you can make with regard to sharing info. so they do a pretty good job of not letting people press OK like they tend to do with the iTunes agreements. imo, they do a good job of positioning you to be able to make a choices. it's not like one OK allows them to do everything. they make an explicit effort to teach you about the implications of your choices. and you have plenty options to selectively OK to whatever you think is appropriate.

i can only recommend it, based on what i have experienced so far. don't have experience with other companies though. 

  On 8/16/2017 at 1:38 PM, Leon Sumbitches said:

There's no cast-iron guarantee that your genetic data won't be shared with other corporations in years to come. 

There will always be an agreement between two parties: you and the company you pay for a specific service. These companies are legally bounded to do whatever is necessary to protect your information (according to the mutual agreement). It is important however which laws hold. In Europe things are more skewed towards protecting privacy. In the US that can be different.

At 23andme I believe the agreement is under local law. So, if you from the EU, you agree under EU laws. Have to check this though. But there are definately options not available for people from the EU that are available for people from the US simply because of the different rules in the EU. 

yeah 23 and me seems like the best one. and you can opt out of the disease thing and just go with genealogy. my mom did it and learned my jewish now (12%) Mazel Tov! (it made my gf's super jewish mom v happy lolol)

My parents and my parents-in-law both did these, which is nice because with basic math it save my wife time and money from doing one.

Haven't done a medical one yet, not because of ethical and religious issues, but because of privacy concerns for now. Interested in it down the line though.

The privacy aspect has been a bit concerning to me but that might be my paranoid bones rattling. I think that having a list of diseases you could be at risk of developing could potentially be life saving and is worth the price of admission alone. And while I think that $200 is a fair price for everything that you get, a lot of people would (and do) impulsively buy something else for instant satisfaction and keep putting this off for months. Why spend $200 on a DNA spit cup when for a little more you can add-on to the eurorack? Knowing about your health is overrated anyway

when it comes to the medical stuff, at 23andme, you get a lot of insight in some fairly easy stuff (ability to break down alcohol, lactose tolerance, eye color, sprint muscle and 'features' that are generally low impact - fun to know).

there are a couple of genetically burdened diseases though which do have a potential impact (think of breast cancer, parkinsons and alzheimers). in those cases, at 23andme you don't get immediate access to outcomes such as those.

before you get presented with those outcomes you first get an explanation about what a possible outcome might mean/imply followed by a question whether you're sure you want to continue. you really have to put in a conscious effort to get to the outcome. so at the time you get there, you're basically ready to see whatevers there. 

personally, i rather know about all those things than not. i'm not into the "ignorance is bliss" thing. so for me it was an easy thing.

and with respect to privacy concerns, again, this largely depends on local law. and i'm afraid that in the US privacy law seem pretty lacklustre from a EU perspective. so whether peoples concerns are valid also depends on what country they're from.

a lot of info here. i too was thinking about the privacy thing when i posted this thread, now to think if i really want to know about the health issues.

also just weighing in to say that if your parents did it or your sibling did it doesn't mean that's what you are 100%. Things show up differently. A sibling could have different "percentages"