Ancestry updates DNA ethnicity estimates again

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has again updated its ethnicity projections for those who have taken DNA tests, due to an expanded reference panel. From the news release:

Ancestry® Expands Reference Panel to Deliver More Precise Results and New Regions

Consumer genomics is a new and evolving field and Ancestry® is at the forefront, constantly developing new ways for you to learn about yourself through DNA. Today, we’re proud to announce that our team of scientists have increased the AncestryDNA® reference panel to more than double its previous size with samples from more places around the world, resulting in the latest update to AncestryDNA ethnicity estimates.

Over the next several months, AncestryDNA customers may receive updated ethnicity estimates, thanks to our expanded reference panel, which allows us to determine ethnic breakdowns with a higher degree of precision. This means there may be some changes to your results.

For example, previously we had North and South America as two large regions: Native American–Andean and Native American–North, Central, South. With this new update, we are able to refine the areas into 11 smaller ones. If you received one of the older regions before, your new report will most likely have one of the newer, more precise regions instead like Indigenous Eastern South America, Indigenous Cuba, and Indigenous Americas–Mexico, among others.

While not common, some customers may also lose a small percentage region as a result of this update. One way this can happen is if that ethnicity has been re-assigned to a nearby region. This is because people from neighboring areas tend to look similar genetically. For example, some people with ancestors from southern Italy will lose their small amount of Turkey/Armenia and possibly gain a bit of Near East instead.

The full announcement is at https://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2019/10/21/ancestry-expands-reference-panel-to-deliver-more-precise-results-and-new-regions/, whist a list of the categorised regions now available to Ancestry's DNA customers can be found at https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/List-of-AncestryDNA-Regions

COMMENT: My own DNA page has advised that there was an update, but for me it does not seem to be drastically different to what was previously there.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. My next Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course starts 4 November 2019 - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Ancestry upgrades its DNA ethnicity profiles

Ancestry (www.ancestry.com) has announced an upgrade to its ethnicity estimates for Europe and Asia today "through a new algorithm that analyzes longer segments of genetic information, marking an important evolution in the way we interpret DNA data".

I'll be honest - I get bored rigid reading about ethnicity estimates from DNA testing companies, because every one of them tells you something different. And so on that front, I'll say no more other than that you can find Ancestry's press release at https://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2018/09/12/ancestry-unveils-more-detailed-precise-ethnicity-estimates/...

Comment: Ancestry already impresses me immensely with its cousin matching facility - absolutely superb. If it wants to further impress me, ADD A CHROMOSOME BROWSER!!!!!

Come on lads, ye know ye want to...! :)

Chris

For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

Ancestry updates DNA platform ethnicity presentation

From Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk):

Your DNA story
From today, AncestryDNA results look slightly different. We’ve combined the ethnicity estimate with the sub-regions previously called ‘Communities’, to create one powerful view of your family’s origins.

Sub-regions are now listed under ethnicity regions – for example ‘Devon & Cornwall’ or ‘Wales & West Midlands’ under Great Britain. Some people will also see Migrations listed – for example, if you have family that travelled to the United States, you might see ‘Settlers of Northern Arkansas’. You can then learn more about how you’re connected to each group, and track your story over time.

TIPS AND TOOLS

Timeline
AncestryDNA results now also include a timeline, revealing the key events that may have affected different parts of your family – and showing the people in your tree who were around at the time.

For more on AncestryDNA visit www.ancestry.co.uk/dna

COMMENT: So this is my new ethnicity map:

The break down is slightly confusing. When I click on the tabs showing me to be 52% Ireland/Scotland/Wales, 24% Great Britain and 18% Europe West, all of them basically tell me that my DNA has ancestry from those regions but that I am specifically linked to Scotland.

I think it is telling me that the non-indigenous percentages are likely part of my Scottish DNA make-up as derived further back in time from immigrant ancestry. Could now be the time when I 'trade in my lederhosen for a kilt'...?!
 
Interestingly the Scotland group tags in Nova Scotia in Canada within its reference population.

I'll have to get my head around what this is all actually trying to tell me - it's time to dig out Blaine Bettinger's book, and to get properly stuck into Ancestry's own help guide on all of this...!

Chris

My next 5 week long Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs course commences Nov 6th 2017 - details at https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=302. For my genealogy guide books, visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html, whilst details of my research service are at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. Further content is also published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritishGENES.

MyHeritage launches DNA ethnicity analysis

From MyHeritage (www.myheritage.com):

MyHeritage Launches New Comprehensive DNA Ethnicity Analysis

MyHeritage DNA’s new Ethnicity Estimate covers 42 different ethnic regions, more than any other major DNA company; and is uniquely provided for free to those who upload their DNA data from other services

TEL AVIV, Israel & LEHI, Utah, May 30, 2017 - MyHeritage, the leading global destination for family history and DNA testing, and the makers of the successful MyHeritage DNA product, today announced the launch of its new and improved Ethnicity Estimate. The new analysis, developed by the company’s science team, provides MyHeritage DNA customers with a percentage-based estimate of their ethnic origins covering 42 ethnic regions, many available only on MyHeritage, representing the most comprehensive report of its type available on the market. This fascinating report gives users a much better understanding of who they are and where their ancestors came from. The Ethnicity Estimate is presented in an original and engaging format, making it not only interesting but also fun to watch and share.

MyHeritage is unique among the main industry players in allowing users who have tested their DNA already with another service to upload - for free - their data to MyHeritage. Those users receive DNA Matches for free, for finding relatives based on shared DNA. Beginning this week, users who have already uploaded their DNA data to MyHeritage, or who will upload it in the coming months, will receive - for free - the new Ethnicity Estimate. This benefit is not offered by any other major DNA company.

Development of the new Ethnicity Estimate raises the number of ethnic regions covered by MyHeritage DNA from 36 to 42. It was made possible thanks to MyHeritage’s Founder Populations project — one of the largest of its kind ever conducted. For this unique project, more than 5,000 participants were handpicked by MyHeritage from its 90 million strong user base, by virtue of their family trees exemplifying consistent ancestry from the same region or ethnicity for many generations. All project participants received complimentary DNA tests and allowed MyHeritage’s science team to develop breakthrough ethnicity models based on the generated data. Thanks to this analysis, MyHeritage DNA has become the only mass-market percentage-based DNA test that reveals ethnicities such as Balkan; Baltic; Eskimo & Inuit; Japanese; Kenyan; Sierra Leonean; Somali; four major Jewish groups - Ethiopian, Yemenite, Sephardic from North Africa and Mizrahi from Iran and Iraq; Indigenous Amazonian; Papuan and many others. In some cases, competing products can identify and report an aggregated region (e.g., Italian & Greek), whereas MyHeritage has better resolution and identifies Greek, Italian and Sardinian ethnicities separately.

MyHeritage’s new Ethnicity Estimate is delivered to users via a captivating “reveal” experience (view example). It features animation and, as of this week, also original music composed by MyHeritage. Each of the 42 ethnicities has a distinctive tune, based on the region’s cultural elements; all tunes seamlessly connect to each other. This makes the report fun to watch and share over social media.

MyHeritage DNA user Tiffany Bowden said “I'm very happy, and very proud to discover where I come from, and through my MyHeritage DNA ethnicity results, now I have the background which helps me understand who I am as a person.”

“DNA is the future of the family history industry and we’re delighted to enter the DNA space with strong energies and a fresh perspective”, said Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage.

“Leveraging MyHeritage's top assets which are its talented, technology-focused engineering team, and the gigantic internationally diverse web of family trees encompassing more than 2.5 billion profiles entered by our users, our comprehensive new Ethnicity Estimate has Innovation written all over it. We’ve been able to dig deeper where others had considered their work complete. Presented in a fresh look and generously given for free to DNA data uploaders, our users will be thrilled and can count on us to continue to innovate in DNA and delight them with new discoveries about who they really are.”

Dr. Yaniv Erlich, Chief Science Officer at MyHeritage, said, “For MyHeritage's science team, this major update of our Ethnicity Estimate is only an appetizer. There are excellent installments on the way, and users can prepare for a feast! We have detailed plans to increase accuracy, extend our Founder Populations project further, and improve the resolution for ethnicities of great interest to our users from highly diverse origins. Our goal is to use science to further the public good, and to bring the best innovations of our science team to the public.”

The MyHeritage DNA test consists of a simple cheek swab and takes less than two minutes to complete, with no need for blood or saliva. The sample is then mailed to MyHeritage DNA’s lab for analysis and the user is invited to view the results on the MyHeritage website, approximately four weeks later.

MyHeritage strengthened its position as the leader in global family history, when it launched the MyHeritage DNA kits in November 2016, which have rapidly become hugely popular ever since. The company’s mammoth user base of 90 million users worldwide, more than 7.7 billion historical records, massive user-generated family tree database and availability in 42 languages, all provide a robust foundation for MyHeritage DNA. The company’s DNA offering currently provides two main features: detailed ethnicity reports that reveal the user’s ethnic and geographic origins, and DNA Matches for finding relatives based on shared DNA. In recent months, people have been successfully using MyHeritage DNA to reunite with long-lost family members.

MyHeritage DNA kits are available at the affordable price of $79 + shipping. Order MyHeritage DNA, or alternatively, upload DNA data for free.


About MyHeritage

MyHeritage is the leading global destination for family history and DNA testing. As technology thought leaders, MyHeritage has transformed family history into an activity that is accessible and instantly rewarding. Its global user community enjoys access to a massive library of historical records, the most internationally diverse collection of family trees and groundbreaking search and matching technologies. Launched in November 2016, MyHeritage DNA is a technologically advanced, affordable DNA test that reveals ethnic origins and previously unknown relatives. Trusted by millions of families, MyHeritage provides an easy way to find new family members, discover ethnic origins, and to treasure family stories, past and present, for generations to come. MyHeritage is available in 42 languages. www.myheritage.com

(With thanks to Daniel Horowitz)

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102.
For details on my Scottish & Irish genealogy guide books, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.
For my genealogy research service, please visit http://www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk.

Confusion and joy from AncestryDNA test results

A few months ago Ancestry very kindly supplied me with an AncestryDNA kit for a review. The results from my test are now available - was it worth the effort?

There are two ways that AncestryDNA says it can help with your ancestral understanding, based on an examination of a tester's autosomal DNA, which is inherited from both parents. The first is to give you a statement as to your ethnic identity and make-up, the second is to match you to potential cousins. My conclusion from the results is that one of these is just odd in terms of what is presented, whereas the other is indeed likely to be a massively major tool for the ancestral toolkit.

Let's deal with the weird bit first - the ethnicity estimate. According to AncestryDNA, the following is my ethnic make-up:

 

Apparently I am 52% Irish and 24% Great Britain, with a superbly exotic 18% from 'Europe West'. But what is this actually telling me? What does Ancestry mean by 'Ireland'? What does 'Great Britain' mean? What does 'Europe West' mean?!

Superficially, my documentary research shows that in terms of geographic locations, I am about half to three quarters Irish, in the sense that I have a lot of ancestors from Ireland. And about a quarter of my documented lines do indeed come specifically from birthplaces in Great Britain. The problem is that those geographic locations do not take into account the specific ethnicity of those born in those regions - if such a unique thing even exists, bearing in mind what a mix of folk we are from town to town, and country to country, within the UK and Ireland.

Well over half of my lines do come from Ireland - but the vast majority of those lines are originally of Scottish stock from the 17th century Plantations period, possibly later, and mainly from Lowland Scotland - with, I suspect, a couple of lines possibly even coming from England, just beyond the realms of what I have been able to prove so far by way of documentation. Only one line I have identified so far is of Irish Catholic stock, my Mooney ancestors from Dublin. Another major chunk of my ancestry is directly Scottish, but that is a mixture of Highland and Lowland Scots - but again, some lines much further back, such as my Graham and Bruce ancestors, are likely to be of Norman French stock. So on an 'ethnic' level, well over half of my ancestral stock actually comes from Scotland, albeit with several lines taking the scenic route via Ulster in recent generations, possibly England, France, and perhaps even elsewhere in Ireland much further back.

AncestryDNA's definition of what 'Ireland' and 'Great Britain' mean is so vague it is effectively useless. I've read reports online that suggest 'Ireland' in this context actually means descent from some wider Celtic stock, i.e. Ireland, Scotland, Welsh and even some English (Cumbrian etc). Great Britain supposedly means 'Anglo-Saxon'. But if that's true, the Anglo-Saxons came from western Europe, so why would they not be classed as Europe West? What exactly is AncestryDNA describing me as? The only word I can find is 'paranoid'!

Anyone who has followed this blog knows that I suffer from Sruth na Maoile Syndrome, with my identity stuck somewhere between Ireland and Scotland, and on that front, this really doesn't help...! The red rag to a bull idea of an American genealogy corporation trying to tell an Ulsterman whether he is 'Irish' or 'British', given our recent troubled history, and the baggage that comes with both labels in terms of cultural identity as well as ethnic identity - when it doesn't actually clarify what they mean by those terms - probably means such a description lies somewhere between being delicously ironic and just irresponsible. I was seriously unimpressed with this, because I actually haven't got a baldies what it is supposed to mean.

On another front though, things are considerably more exciting...

AncestryDNA matches my results to others in its database who share parts of my autosomal DNA, which is inherited from both parents. Some matches will be from my father's side, some from my mother's, with the descendants of my most recent ancestors having enough lengths of identifiable DNA to flag up a possible connection to me. First cousins will share a lot of that DNA, making a match more likely, whilst fourth cousins may contain a much tinier fragment that is barely long enough to make a confident match. Ancestry identifies those with possible matches, indicating a possible relationship and a probability of them being connected.

So far, two of those results are spot on, identifying fourth cousins who I have in fact already been in touch with long before doing this test. The probability for each having a match to me is reassuringly noted as 'high'. So far so good. What is more exciting is that a couple of further matches are there, cited as possible third cousins - a closer connection by one generation - with an 'extremely high' probability of being connected to me. I've not heard of either of these folk before, so this bodes well. I'll be chasing them up shortly to work out exactly where the matches lie.

So is the AncestryDNA test worth doing. Yes absolutely. Just take the ethnicity descriptions with large columns of salt...!

AncestryDNA kits are £79, available from http://dna.ancestry.co.uk.

(With thanks to Ancestry for supplying a testing kit for review)

Chris 

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.