Autosomal DNA Tests

If you want to really get the most from the DNA test that you took, read through this list of the most common mistakes people make with their DNA results.

Did you get the Eastern Europe and Russia DNA ethnicity in your ethnicity results?  If you did, you are among almost 20 million Americans who can trace their ancestry back to Eastern Europe or Russia.  The Eastern Europe and Russia DNA region is a fascinating region made up of more than twenty countries and spanning …

Have you been examining your Ancestry DNA results since they went through the major 2018 update?  You are not alone!  Many people find themselves confused, frustrated, excited, or even sad and angry about the major changes their results have undergone.  To some people, their ethnicity estimate is confirmation of their identity – especially when it …

Have you checked your Ancestry DNA results lately?  If you have, you might have noticed that they have gone through a very big change.  In this post, I will help you learn how to explore your newly updated Ancestry DNA results. The 2018 Ancestry DNA update offers us a more nuanced insight into our ancestry, …

Did your Iberian Peninsula DNA region completely disappear from your ethnicity estimate after the Ancestry DNA September 2018 update?  If this happened to you, you are not alone.  In this post, I’ll explain a little bit about why Iberian Peninsula might have been removed from your list, and what it may have been replaced with. …

The moment that we have all been waiting for has finally arrived!  Ancestry DNA has officially rolled out the biggest update to its ethnicity estimates since the company began offering DNA testing.  In this post, I’ll share details about the update as well as discuss how the latest Ancestry DNA update can help us learn …

Do you have Filipino ancestry?  Are you thinking about taking a DNA test like the one offered by Ancestry DNA?  If so, you might be wondering how Filipino would show up on a DNA test. In this post, I’ll explain what someone born in the Philippines or someone with Filipino roots could expect to see …

When you are doing genetic genealogy, the common advice is to ignore small segments because they are almost always identical-by-state (IBS), or false positives.  The key phrase is “almost always”, and in this post, we’ll explore segments smaller than 10 centimorgans (cMs). You will learn: The reason that it’s important to understand small segments is …

Do you want to know how much DNA second cousins should share?  What about half-second cousins?  In this post, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about shared DNA between second cousins, including whether it is possible for second cousins to share no DNA. If you have second cousins on your DNA match list, …

Are you curious about the ethnicity of your My Heritage DNA match?  In this post, I’ll explain how your DNA match’s ethnicity can help you figure out how you might be related, how to access this information on My Heritage, and how to sort your matches by ethnicity. I’ve really enjoyed my My Heritage DNA …