Thursday, January 26, 2012

Update on the New Autosomal DNA Test from Ancestry.com

Many of you have been asking if I there are any updates in regard to Ancestry.com's new autosomal DNA test. I don't have much new information yet, but just a couple of tidbits to share:

1. Just before Christmas I received a kit from AncestryDNA with an envelope to expedite the sample back to the lab. It contained three swabs intended for collecting samples from inside the cheek and lips. The expedite request gave me the impression that they are getting close to releasing the first results.

2. Today I received a call from Ancestry.com in regard to the new DNA test. I was told that as soon as the interface is fully functional, results will begin to be released. They will not wait until they have all ~10,000 free kits processed to allow access to results, contrary to my earlier speculation.

3. Ancestry.com will not have a beta-testing period with the ~10,000 free kits before offering the test for sale to the public. I was told that the kits will be offered for sale as soon as the results start rolling in.

4. The folks at AncestryDNA are working "around the clock" to get the service ready to roll-out, more reason to suspect the first wave of results will be available very soon.

5. A contact from Illumina told me that they are not the provider of the genotyping chip in use by Ancestry.com. I was surprised since Ancestry.com has announced that (like the Illumina OmniExpress Plus Genotyping Beadchip) their test will cover 700,000 "markers". I have not received any information as to what chip they might be using from Ancestry.com. [Update - The information provided to me may have been in error and I now believe that my initial thoughts on this were correct and that Ancestry.com is using an Illumina chip.]

I am looking forward to seeing the results! Ancestry.com has made a substantial investment to enter the autosomal DNA testing market and has great potential due to the ability to attach DNA results to the already existing family trees on their site. As a result, I am optimistic that this test will be a positive addition to the current options for genetic genealogists. I will post a review of the service as soon as possible.

*Update - Check out this clip at 1:02. You can see what appears to be the Ancestry.com interface. Thanks Shannon for pointing this out!

Related posts: 
Ancestry.com Venturing into Autosomal DNA Testing?
More Details on Ancestry.com's New Autosomal DNA Test Offering
Ancestry.com's Autosomal DNA Product - An Update  by "The Genetic Genealogist" Blaine Bettinger

Ancestry.com DNA testing - Get the first look here.

9 comments:

  1. Thanks for this update CeCe. It will be interesting to see how all of this unfolds. Another provider of autosomal testing can be a positive development for those seeking to match with relatives. This third option will make it even more important that we have we have user friendly procedures that allow us to compare results with each other even if we have tested at different labs.

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    1. on the subject of autosomal ethnic testing, has anybody done more than one company(Populationfinder from Familytreedna,Ancestrypainting from 23andme,Mydnamix from Africanancestry,Ancestrybydna from Dnadiagnosticscenter,Foggpopper from Genetictestinglab,Dnafingerprint from Dnaconsultants, or Dnatribes' products)? How different were the results? I've never done any of them but plan to sometime.

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  2. True, Dr D, however we don't even know if AncestryDNA will allow raw data downloads yet, so we may not be able to cross compare between all three companies.
    Howard, I have done FTDNA's Population Finder + 23andMe. I am a boring 100% European at both, so I am probably not a good example. Anyone else who has done multiple tests, please feel free to comment in response to Howard.

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    1. I am new to your site and genealogy and would like to know: if scientists/genealogists claim we are all descendants of African-American people, why IS your test 100% European ancestry? I am just trying to understand? Which DNA tests prove African-American ancestry or are there any as of now? Personally, I believe we all come from Africa but when some of the people I know who have had these tests with results coming back 100% European, I don't know how to understand all of it. I will explore more of your site, of course.

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    2. Yes, all of our ancestors came from African many thousands of years ago, but there tests are only looking at where our ancestors were hundreds of years ago. At that time, mine were all in Europe. Further back they were from Africa, however.
      Thanks,
      CeCe

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  3. So I take it you have to have a male MOORE do another test for DNA to do this with Ancestry.com. my brother did it for us once and I do not think I can talk him into it again nor do a fund raiser as we did last time between us. I have registered the Family Tree DNA results to Ancestry but we have not come up with any matches but one and he does not seem to be interested since July. Ours is kit 206322 at Family Tree DNA I am told we are Scot's most likely Ulster Scot but for some reason ancestors say we are Irish. Thus the ulster idea plus our personalities fit theirs and religion. Many were school teachers but many were ministers. Anyway I do not know if you can do anything to help open up our DNA results to a wider arena but if you can with our results it would be great. Thanks Anita Moore Austin

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  4. Hi Quilterwannabe - No, you don't have to be a male to take the test. With autosomal DNA anyone can test and receive equal opportunity to discover their ancestry, even you! ;-)
    Are your Y-DNA results in the Moore Worldwide Project? Are they uploaded to www.ysearch.org? You can also search for matches at http://www.smgf.org/ychromosome/search.jspx
    BTW, if you ever decide that you want your brother to take the Family Finder autosomal test at FTDNA, they could, most likely, use your his stored sample, so you wouldn't have to get another one.
    Thanks for commenting!
    CeCe

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  5. Is there any word when this will be made public? I am going to be getting an autosomal test done soon and am waiting on this ancestry.com one. I don't want to wait too long though. Also do any companies search all of our genome to determine percentages? I know FT DNA does 5 generations back. But my questions are from generations further back.
    Thanks!
    Courtney

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  6. I recently checked out 23andMe and hope to be able to get a free genetic DNA test kit. I'm just wondering if there are any other reliable companies that offer the same service? I am curious as to what my true background is but I don't have the kind of money to pay for extensive testing. I have a few health issues that no one in my family seems to have and I would like to know if they are native to a specific group or region in the world. Thanks!

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