Have you gotten your DNA done?

[cntryZTA5]

Originally posted by TheEpitome1920
Dec. 28 — Wayne Joseph, the principal of a big suburban high school in southern California, had an unequivocal sense of his black heritage, having written extensively about race in America.

But after seeing a TV story last April about a Florida company, DNA Print Genomics, which marketed an ancestry-by-DNA test, he began to wonder exactly how much of him was African, how much wasn't, and what else there might be in his genes.

"I sent away for their kit and received the kit, happened to swab both sides of my cheek and sent the swabs in," Joseph said.

A few weeks later, the results arrived at his comfortable Claremont, Calif., home.

"I just glanced at it, just a cursory glance initially — didn't really notice it much," Joseph said. "Then, I went back to it, because all of a sudden it hit me exactly what I had read. And it read, 57 percent Indo-European, 39 percent Native American, 4 percent East Asian and 0 percent African.

After a lifetime as a black man, Wayne Joseph discovered he probably isn't black at all.


Article

Just an aside....Wayne Joseph is the principal at Chino High School, where I substitute taught for 2 years!

[angelic1]

I have been curious about this more and more, ever since my boyfriend's uncle did this. He did it through the company Family Tree DNA and I guess they are participating in the National Geographic project.

I have looked at the websites on this and I am confused on the test I should take.

First off, the reason I am interested is this... my dad was adopted and we have no real clue about what ancestory he is. My grandparents adopted him in DC from an orphanage and have some info on him, but he has never wanted to know his parents. I understand this, but would like to know where they were from at least. Whenever people meet me they are always curious. I have gotten spanish, italian (when I went to Europe people would speak italian to me randomly), and greek (because of my father's looks).

So what test would show from me his daughter my father's lineage?

[Glitter650]

I've had a DNA chromosome map done by the Doc. It was for medical purposes only though... to test for something specific.. so I didn't get any other cool info from it.

[CutiePie2000]

Questions regarding identical twins (i.e. where there was one zygote but it split in 2 resulting in 2 babies)....would identical twins have identical DNA? Just wondering. Paging the GC scientists...

[DolphinChicaDDD]

Originally Posted by CutiePie2000

Questions regarding identical twins (i.e. where there was one zygote but it split in 2 resulting in 2 babies)....would identical twins have identical DNA? Just wondering. Paging the GC scientists...

Sure do. DNA (genotype) is the same. One of my students asked the same question today.

[breathesgelatin]

Didn't Oprah get this done? If I remember correctly, she discovered she has heritage with the Zulu tribe in South Africa, and that's part of the reason she has been so active with educational charities in that region.

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by breathesgelatin

Didn't Oprah get this done? If I remember correctly, she discovered she has heritage with the Zulu tribe in South Africa, and that's part of the reason she has been so active with educational charities in that region.

Yeah, I saw that too. On the same show, Henry Louis Gates (Harvard Professor of African-American Studies) had his done--and he was 50% European (probably from Scandinavia).

[AlexMack]

Originally Posted by breathesgelatin

Didn't Oprah get this done? If I remember correctly, she discovered she has heritage with the Zulu tribe in South Africa, and that's part of the reason she has been so active with educational charities in that region.

A quick hijack-there were no tribes in Africa until the colonial period where Europeans came in and screwed everything up. I have probably blown your mind with this information.

Carry on-but remember, no matter where you came from, you're 100% American now. Not Irish-Scottish-English-French-Italian-German-Antarctic-Russian-American. Just American.

[epchick]

Originally Posted by breathesgelatin

Didn't Oprah get this done? If I remember correctly, she discovered she has heritage with the Zulu tribe in South Africa, and that's part of the reason she has been so active with educational charities in that region.

Oprah did get this done, but she found out that she was NOT Zulu. She thought she was, but she ended up being from a different tribe (can't remember the name at the moment though).

[CutiePie2000]

Originally Posted by Jen

I remember reading about a case where they needed to do an analysis because of a crime committed by an identical twin and they had to determine which one actually did it.

Think of all those soap opera characters who are in jail for crimes that they didn't commit...it was their EVIL TWIN!!!