Are you part neanderthal?

It’s confirmed. I’m part caveman. Somewhere down the line, one of my ancestors did the dirty with a Neanderthal. At least, that’s the current prevailing theory.

I’ve just received my DNA analysis results which show I carry 2.5% Neanderthal DNA. Think this is unusual? According to genetics research that this test relies on, the average European user of the service carries around 2.7%. I have to admit, I’m a little disappointed. I had hoped my results would show I’m more Neanderthal than average - they did have bigger brains than modern man after all.

A number of companies are now providing retail DNA analysis services at a reasonable price. They go beyond the more established services that provide insights into fertility, paternity or crime. There are a whole range of other areas that they look at, and an increasing amount of competition in the field.

Besides a glimpse into your ancestor’s interbreeding with Neanderthals, other key services offered by the company I tested with include:

Ancestry - One of the more popular functions of all DNA testing companies.

Family and Friends - The ability to connect with other users of the site whose DNA is similar to yours, and see how similar you are to people you already know.

Health - A guide to the likelihood of people with your genetic makeup developing or being resistant to specific illnesses as well as your likely reactions to medical treatments.

Ancestry

The testing company I went through provides a number of insights into ancestry, including your ancestry composition. The idea behind this tool is to give you some insight into where your ancestors were 500 or so years ago, before there were major population movements between countries.

The tool provides a look at three levels of ancestry. At the top is the global level, which suggests I’m 89% European with 1% Middle Eastern/North African and over 9% of my DNA ‘unassigned’ or unknown. The regional level suggests I’m 33% Southern European, and 49% Northern European, with 7.5% non-specific European. The split between north and south was expected given what I know about my parents’ backgrounds.

The deepest level of insight this tool provides is at the sub-regional level. At this level, the highest contributor to my DNA is the Italian population group, at 26.5% - that both was and wasn’t a surprise. No one in my family claims Italian ancestry, however both my maternal grandparents are from Malta, whose original inhabitants were from Sicily. It’s a pity they couldn’t distinguish that, but the system is still learning and research still being conducted.

Besides composition, you can also learn about your maternal and paternal lineage stretching back thousands of years, and see which celebrities share your lineage. In my results, I found I was a distant relative of Katie Couric, Meryl Streep and Stephen Colbert - almost as fun as learning about my Neanderthal heritage.

Family and Friends

This part of the service offers users the ability to find other users they are related to. I’ve seen 2nd and 3rd cousins relationships here among others which is providing me more information about my direct ancestors and distant relatives. I also connected with a relative who recently found out she was adopted and with other users am helping her build out her family tree.

Also in the family and friends section, you can compare your genes to people you already know to see what DNA you share and how closely related you are. You can also match two people and check the possible traits of their potential offspring - interesting feature!

Health

The risks section of health was most interesting to me. I learned about a few illnesses where my chances of developing are higher than average. This section also helped me understand how much DNA plays a part in these diseases and other useful information for me to make decisions with. I decided to then get tested for a number of those illnesses after talking with my GP.

The health section also shows your likely reaction to certain drugs, such as blood thinners, diabetes treatments etc. Again, quite useful information to be armed with.

The other two sections of health contain traits such as eye colour, which you should already know about, and genes for inherited conditions that you may carry such as hemochromatosis.

Currently, the US FDA has requested the company I tested with suspend the health results for new users as it goes through a review process. However, you can still use the raw data the company provides and send it to numerous smaller companies who will be able to give you the same results, if in a less user friendly format and without the detailed background information.

There is still some learning to do about our own DNA. The health results seem somewhat contentious given the FDA request and the ancestry composition is still developing. As more people take part and research labs gather more samples, hopefully these results will be further finely tuned. In the meantime, for the cheap price of $99 USD I’m happy to take a glimpse at what we know now.

Find a DNA testing company and discover your ancestry for yourself.