Can you imagine a system with which you can navigate through your family tree and find out your origins and your ancestors? Well no, at the moment the Animus is just a concept of the Assassin's Creed video game (with which you live the life of genetic ancestors), but there are scientific tools to analyze your DNA and get to know it a little better . You will not be able to travel to the past or know who your ancestors are, but you will be able to where your markers come from. That is, to know if your ancestry was nomadic and traveled from different places on the planet. And not only that, but also to know if destiny has set any goal with your health due to your genetic load, and also to try to find out your abilities, talent and personality. All of this comes standard in your DNA.
Now it only remains to know how the process is done. But we already anticipate that you hardly have to make an effort. Just rub a special swab inside your cheek and let a company do the rest. It is 24Genetics , who is in charge of selling these genetic analysis kits to any part of the world. Thus, once the sample is taken, the swab is safely collected and analyzed in their laboratories.
The interesting thing comes right after, when comparing the data of your DNA against the database of markers that they have in their possession. With more than 700,000 markers analyzed in your DNA , you can start comparing and knowing, or rather intuit, where you come from and where you are going.
The process
All of this begins with a purchase through the 24Genetics website. Here you have to acquire the type of test you want to perform. There are different types of genetic tests: talent and personality, for skin care, sports DNA, nutrigenetics, pharmacogenetics Plus, ancestor study, health DNA or one of the packs such as the ancestor plus two reports or the all in one 7 in 1. These tests range from 150 euros to 290 euros .
Once purchased you receive the package with all the information and the swab. Just rub it inside your mouth lightly and put it away again. As soon as the notice of having the sample prepared is given, the company is responsible for collecting it at home and analyzing it in its laboratories. And now you just have to wait for the reports and relevant results to be sent to you .
The results
In the case of our test we have been tested in three areas: ancestors, health and talent and personality. That is why we have received three different reports in PDF with all the information about it.
Ancestors
In the ancestry test we find a first information sheet about how this study is carried out. In it we are explained that the analysis of a large amount of data from our DNA can be compared with other markers associated with places around the world . It is not an exhaustive or completely reliable examination (there are issues such as migrations that are not covered in this report), but it is indicative and, at least, curious.
Then, page by page, the data is shelled from more to less in terms of origin. At the continental level, according to countries and even at the regional level . In this way we will know from which province we have the highest percentage of our DNA. Does it necessarily mean that we come from there? Maybe not, but it is indicative compared to the 24Genetics database. The report only offers percentages, without explanations, but it is accompanied by simple graphics to fully understand our supposed origin.
Health
Even more curious is the health report. Thanks to the more than 700,000 markers of our DNA analyzed, we can compare them with people who carry a certain disease and see if there are similarities or not. 24Genetics informs that this study is in no way diagnostic , and that there are many other factors, in addition to the genetic, in the development of certain diseases. But it is useful to know if we are more predisposed to suffer an ailment.
With this in mind, you just have to navigate through the report sheets to see, with a color code, if we are more or less likely to suffer from any of the listed diseases. We must be attentive to the section on mutations, which focus on possible problems related to cancer, but you should not lose sight of the section on hereditary diseases, or see what type of drugs can be more effective. If we need a more detailed explanation of this legend, we just have to scroll down the report sheets to see what markers and what results we have received in each of these diseases. And be careful, because if there is something we do not understand, with this test we have the option to request a telephone appointment with 24Genetics in which to receive explanations from an expert in the field.
Talent and personality
More curious and abstract is the personality and talent test to which we have had access with our sample. And it is that the creativity and talent of people come from their experiences and other factors external to DNA. However, 24Genetics is based on scientific studies that speak of the predisposition of subjects with certain DNA to certain personality traits . And that's what is shown on the following pages of the document.
The report is especially visual thanks to the color code and the chosen bar system. In this way we can go from page to page and learn about our genetic predisposition to qualities such as reading comprehension and spelling, longevity, nightlife or even dependence on drug use . The interesting thing, if you are curious about all these topics, is that the report explains the markers and the importance they have in our body. That is to say, what skill after skill is revealed why and what impact it has on the result obtained.
Again, it is possible to consult the details of this report with one of the 24Genetics specialists via telephone . A good way to ask questions and understand all these graphs and data that detail our personality, or part of it, with just a little of our saliva.