Nothin' like spitting in a tube for SCIENCE! I'm sure you've seen these things all over tv.  You know, the lady stands there and tells you she had no idea she was 21% Native American, or some guy finds out he's 6% British, and the other lady buys a hat - but it's the most important hat she's ever owned. It seems like so many people are trying this kind of thing these days. Heck, even Buzzfeed did it.

So, why not? I only know my basic genetic background to my great grandmother, I think. Dad tells me that his grandmother was German, but other than that I don't really know too much.  I guess we'll find out! So here's how it works.

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You get the little kits, and you have one for each person.  They seemed a little pricey, though.  'Cos you buy the kit, but then you also have to pay to have it tested. There are different kits, you can choose to have your ancestry tested, or you can choose to have your ancestry AND your health tendencies checked.  They check for stuff like if you have certain genes that might make you more likely to get Parkinson's Disease and other various diseases, or if you're a carrier. So if you just want to know where you come from, you can choose that option, or if you want both... well, that's even more pricey. Like hundreds of dollars more.  SO, just a word of caution there. I think it cost about $400 just to do the Test for the two of us, and that doesn't count buying the kit itself (it's hard to tell how  much that might cost you, since the kits vary in price).

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It's pretty simple to do, really. They give you the basic instructions and they're easy to follow. It's pretty much just spit in a tube.

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BUT, you can't just spit in a tube and mail it off. You have to register your kit. They ask you a few questions and you have to tell them who is doing what kit, that kind of stuff.

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And then, you have to read a LOT of disclaimers and give permission for them to test your DNA and compare it to others.  When they're done, they compile it in a report for you online. The whole process probably took about a half an hour, I signed up myself and Husbando.

So now, we just wait and see. I wonder if I'll actually be surprised by any of this.  I think my Dad is interested in the health aspect, to see if there is a way to know if you're more likely to have Celiac or something. I guess science will have to tell me!

Genetically Yours,

Behka

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