23andMe Health + Ancestry Service

I spent a bit of time researching the various options for DNA testing before deciding that 23andMe would likely be the most detailed. The results took just under 7 weeks to arrive. What happens, for UK customers at least, is you send your saliva sample to a facility in Milton Keynes (using the prepaid return box) they then hung onto it for a few weeks in my case, presumably so they can package up and send a bunch of them in one go to the main lab which is in Los Angeles. A FedEx tracking link appeared in the Android app after week 4, which allowed me to track the sample to LA (up until this point, I was a little worried it had been lost in the post). About 7-8 days later, I received the notification that my sample had arrived at the lab. It took a further maybe 10 days to process and review, then the results appeared in the app. The data provided is *extremely* detailed. My DNA was actually traced back to being predominantly from the correct ancestral hometown (the town I was born in). The "DNA Relatives" section had filled in a family tree, correctly, with some cousins who'd also apparently done 23andMe tests in the past. I discovered I'm just under 2% Neanderthal (explains a lot...) and the detail on some of the traits is incredible (e.g. "you have two variants associated with having a worse sense of direction". and "you have one variant associated with being less likely to have a fear of heights"). The health info also correctly identified the fact I'm at increased risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (both my mother and grandmother suffered from this) and various other details I won't bore you with. It's also reassuring that it correctly identifies hair colour, eye colour, skin tone, etc. I was a little bit dubious about this entire process before getting the results, and wasn't sure how much I'd learn but I have to say I'm extremely pleasantly surprised by the quantity and the quality of the data provided. You can even download the raw data for your entire genetic profile from the website (about 5.6MB) and perform your own search against particular genetic markers that may not have been covered by the standard reports they provide. I'd highly recommend this to anyone.

Within 2 days of getting results I was finding out about the 'lost' family - I knew nothing except for my grandfathers name. Now know I have hundreds of relatives nearby and many more worldwide to contact and maybe learn more about. One has already furnished me with a wealth of information. Now, this works best if you have done your research and know your family tree. It can't tell you how you're related to most people and can only suggest how closely related you are. I had already spent years working on my family tree (through Ancestry) so had a great deal of info (as I said, nothing on my grandfathers side though). And it of course works best if your ancestry is white simply because more white Europeans have taken the test. HOWEVER, you have lifetime access so results will change over time and become more refined. In the last week, 3 more people have now been flagged up as my relatives... So if you take it and don't get what you're immediately looking for, don't be disheartened. This includes the region's your ancestors are from. It is a rough guess and different tests will give different results, as can using the same test with different family members. Again, it helps to know your family tree. Some branches of my tree go back over 1000 years and the results I obtained here match the paperwork and records I have. But %'s are likely to change over time, and some new regions may appear whilst others disappear as the database grows and is refined. That's normal! As for the health component - take it at your peril. For me, for the diseases tested, I have no chance of developing them. I don't know how I would have felt discovering I had both variants (alleles) needed to cause age-related blindness for example. It did show I have more Neandertal DNA than average - again relating to what I already knew (I'm a biologist), that I have more genes that contribute to me being overweight (sigh) etc. The results are refined by you answering about 300 multiple choice questions. I recommend answering them AFTER you have your results rather than whilst waiting for them. I have found this really useful. Not everybody will. Remember, you may not be who you think you are (I now have a cousin who's daddy wasn't his daddy! Shown up by this test) and you may discover you have a risk of developing an illness... Not everybody is happy with such knowledge. But if you're ok with whatever knowledge this saddles you with - go for it and I hope you gain as much enjoyment from it as I have!

Bought for a secret Santa gift for a family member, they sent it off and got their results in about 3 weeks. They're very happy with their results, and some of the facts/predicted health conditions or traits are accurate. This is good for people who may have no previous idea on ancestry, or for people who want to find out what health conditions they're most likely to get and look after their bodies to prevent it.

Un test completo e accurato, con un sito (in inglese) zeppo di informazioni di supporto. Il problema è che il laboratorio è negli USA, mentre il terminale di raccolta è in UK: tra Brexit e COVID il giro che ha dovuto subire il pacchetto è stato 3 volte più lungo del lavoro di analisi (2 mesi in tutto).