Using DNA to Learn What Is Your Heritage and Ancestry
We appreciate that learning about your heritage is one of the most exciting opportunities in life, and we recently experienced this first hand when conducting user research. As part of that research, we were truly honored to hear amazing stories about people connecting with their past as a result of DNA testing.
In some cases, we heard people who were just curious or maybe history buffs looking to explore the lands and cultures their relatives came from. In other cases, we heard from people who for one reason or another do not know much about their past, and through DNA testing have been able to connect with a past finally they never had.
However, in both cases, the joy and excitement were the same, and this left such a lasting impression on us, we are stepping up our efforts to help you all learn more about your heritage through your DNA. Over the coming months, we are going to be introducing additional genealogy apps in our DNA App Store.
Currently, we offer two genealogy apps, the 
As we stated in our recent blog post Genetic Genealogy Apps on Sequencing.com, that will grow to several more throughout 2019.
However, we are not stopping there!
We are committed to this because each DNA genealogy app provides unique insights. Since each app is based on different sample populations and algorithms, each app interprets the DNA data slightly differently. Our goal is to provide you with more options to learn what is your heritage, but before you use the new genealogy apps, we wanted to share a few tips to help you have the best experience.
Tip 1: Mentally Prepare Yourself
You will likely learn that your heritage is made up of more ethnicities than you think. Some people are initially shocked by this; others embrace it. Either way, you should be aware of this because you almost certainly will learn something new about your families genetic history. Also, keep in mind, revelations like this are typical for everyone, as are emotional reactions.
Through our research, we find that in the end most users come to appreciate their diverse backgrounds, and even acquire a growing appreciation of others whom they thought were different.
Tip 2: Understand How Genetic Genealogy Apps Work
To calculate ethnicity, an admixture analysis is conducted. An admixture analysis is a biogeographical analysis that is used to infer someone’s geographical origins based on an analysis of their genetic ancestry. The test compares single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) against a sample or reference population and provides results based on the similarities to one or more reference populations. However, as we stated above, because reference populations differ, so do the test results from app to app.
Tip 3: Share Your Genealogy App Results
Through our own experience and user research, we know the fun in taking a genetic genealogy app test is sharing the results with your family and friends. But besides the fun of sharing the results, it can also help others understand more about who they are and their place in the world, in relations to others. By learning and sharing what your heritage is, you will find you are much closer to many more people than you thought.
That is why we have made it easy for you to share the final results. Sequencing.com helps you do this simply by clicking the ‘Share’ button and then entering in the person’s email address you want to share the results with. It’s as easy as that.
So try the Ancestry & Genealogy app from EDGC and the Nutrition Heritage app from Athletigen today, or come back for the other genealogy apps soon, and start learning and sharing!
