What can DNA tests really tell us about our ancestry? - Prosanta Chakrabarty
Dig into the science of how ancestry DNA tests work, their accuracy, and why tracing ancestry is so complicated.
--
Two sisters take the same DNA test. The results show that one sister is 10% French, the other 0%. Both sisters share the same two parents, and therefore the same set of ancestors. So how can one be 10% more French than the other? Tests like these rely on our DNA to answer questions about our ancestry, but DNA actually can’t tell us everything. Prosanta Chakrabarty explores the accuracy of DNA tests.
Lesson by Prosanta Chakrabarty, directed by Artrake Studio.
Animator's website: www.artrake.com/
Sign up for our newsletter: bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletter
Support us on Patreon: bit.ly/TEDEdPatreon
Follow us on Facebook: bit.ly/TEDEdFacebook
Find us on Twitter: bit.ly/TEDEdTwitter
Peep us on Instagram: bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram
View full lesson: ed.ted.com/lessons/what-can-d...
Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Leen Mshasha, Mariana Ortega, Danny Romard, James Bruening, Ricki Daniel Marbun, Malcolm Callis, Sabrina Gonzalez, Al the Scottish Wildcat, سلطان الخليفي, Alexander Walls, Della Palacios, Vik Nagjee, Hiroshi Uchiyama, Adi V, Andrew Bosco, Craig Sheldon, Rishi Pasham, Joanne Luce, Jason A Saslow, Mary Sawyer, Scott Gass, Ruth Fang, Mayank Kaul, Kathryn J Hammond, Max Shuai Tang, Terry Minion, Sami Khan, Rob Johnson, Abdullah Abdulaziz, Angelo Urzua-Milla, Tommy Lewis, leorene, Mahina Bachiller, Marcus Andre Nery, Bruce Vieira Lopes, Chef , Charmaine Hanson, Michael Goldberg, Lydia Pflieger, Paul Aldred-Bann, Manav parmar, Susan Wang, Utkarsh Dubey, Thawsitt, Xuebicoco, Jezabel, Maeve, Kim Humphrey and Kristen Damas.
23 and Me (DNA ancestry test): Exists TED-Ed: Let me end this test's whole career.
If someone wants to know their ancetry they should instead record it so their decendsants tens of generation later could read it and nor rely on flimzy third party tests.
Actually that kind of DNA test could help some adopted children to trace their parents who (probably) got tested before.
My family and I have done a lot of genealogical research and have actually found 23andme to be pretty spot on with the records. There are variations like the video said between siblings, parents, etc., but you can still make out a general trend. I normally like to think of the percentages in terms of ranges of ancestry, not I am exactly so-and-so amount. The tests can be especially useful if you don't have any names to research or need a ballpark idea of what to look for.
@@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714 What about if some women lie about the father? will it mess up the whole thing?
@@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714 who knows someone would be Jon snow , someone would be Ramsey bolton
So basically, DNA tests don't show you your ancestry, but rather what ancestry you inherited.
Exactly. It's still interesting to know, but it can't show everything.
Ooooooh that’s why
This is the best summary I've seen yet.
You’re the dude who had great notes in highschool
No. It basically tells you where the DNA-company has found distant cousins of yours
Welp, I guess DNA tests are more wonky than we thought.
@Vihari Royal They didn't conveniently forget to mention it, it's just irrelevant to the whole discussion because they are focusing on that 1%. And it was pretty clear here that it matters because the narrator mentions that it's the only portion that makes us unique, which is really interesting to me.
Hey, leave me out of this. DNA tests are exactly as wonky as I thought they were!
But still fun 😊
its almost like they just want to collect your DNA info
Vihari Royal A lot of what is considered “junk DNA” is DNA that we haven’t seen work before or entirely figured out, but which may actually serve some niche purpose.
In these times of injustice and prejudice it's a great reminder that we're the same at 99%. thanks guys.
That's a really sweet way to look at it!😋
humans also share half there genomes with bannanas so take that with a grain of salt, or should I say a grain of potassium
Profound Ideas ...............
@@jacobschweiger5897 so ur saying we are part banana wow really degrading
@@jacobschweiger5897 Yeah, but not all of these 50% are active. Genes can be switched on or off, and I suppose that of these 50% shared genes, much less will have the same activation state, and those that are are for things that keep us alive, like the production of ATP for energy storage or cell proliferation.
Genetic test : we can accurately predict your ancestry Ted : Swiggty swooty the test ain't your ancestry
He's adopted
I guess this explains why nobody recognizes me as the rightful heir to the Mongolian Kingdom
😂😂😂
DNA tests can be useful. We just confuse them as identity markers instead of tools. I found relatives on 23andme and reconnected my grandma with her cousin before he passed. I also found my other grandma's nephew and told him of her passing. And my ancestry results helped my geneology search.
Yes, they are useful for that purpose.
admit, had this in the background, but the way he talks i *thought the vid was over at the end of every sentence*
Same
😂
😂
The sister when she realized she's 10% French: Bonjour! The other sister: Hi :
Video's thumbnail : what your dna can't tell you Video's title : what can dna tests really tell us... Smart way to trick the algorithm.
wait how did it trick the algorithm?
@@lalzng thumbnail attracts more audience
DNA tests can tell you, that you now have less money in your checking account if you purchased their product.
TED-Ed is like Sesame Street for Adults
im a teen actually lol
And we need it! Now if only they could teach us some manners.
One important thing left out of this video, likely for time, is mutation of genes. Many of these markers that tests look for are the difference between a single base pair, and the supposed ancestries they give you are based on how common these varieties of markers appear in certain regions based on their databases. However, your DNA mutates a lot, changing out one base pair for another. These markers are especially prone to being mutated and passed on, due to complicated DNA repair, genomic, and evolutionary mechanisms. Just because you might have one marker that looks like one found in France, does not mean you are French at all, since it is entirely possible (and perhaps likely) that you or an ancestor experienced a mutation that gave you the French-like version of that marker.
That is a god point.
You’re right, and mutations can do that - it’s not a high probability, but it’s possible
0:26 she eat more Baguette.
It's not that the tests don't show you your ancestry, necessarily. Let me explain: 1) You don't get the same trait or percentage as your sibling from each parent, grandparent, or ancestor (hence why we do not look identical) 2) Most of the tests are based on modern day comparisons (unless you're running an ancestral database, like on Gedmatch, for example). 3) Not all of your 1% variance from other members of the modern human species is being tested. But this 1% determines what genetic-ethnicity you are. Not all of this 1% is tested equally - hence why different tests reveal different results. It's best to take an average between them and infer. 4) Humans are essentially the product of different hominids mixing, each hominid dependant on where they come from geographically. 5) Y-DNA goes back to a long line of males unchanged from your father going straight back, as does mtDNA for the mother's side, but only males can be tested for Y since we have that chromosome. DNA testing is complicated and nonlinear, but that doesn't mean it's pointless. It can reveal a lot about what you've inherited. Of course, just because you carry certain genes doesn't mean you'll express them all. It's best to believe with a healthy amount of skepticism.
Thanks for your consideration response to the video 👍🏽
Basically, you just wanted to restate what was said and add your own non-scientific evidence to the video because you whole-heartedly want to believe in your "ancestry" results. Stop being so desperate.
All that is left is for you to answer "Where are we going?"
To Every possible places that we can.
Back to Cali?
Unless we die out.
Is this a Gauguin reference?
@An1e3 how can someone go back to the future.... 🤣🤣🤣🤣
“Like branches of a tree, our lives may grow in different directions. Yet our roots remain as one”- Wise person
That means yo don't know who sayed it :v?
"Did you mean yourself by wise person?" - Person with 690 iq
africa
That's not how the roots of trees grow. At all. Roots sprawl in every direction, just like branches do. This metaphor tries to sound profound, but is a complete fail.
"LOL " - Random person
Me: Finds out that I am 1% Italian *DI MOLTO*
iS tHaT A jOjo ReFeREncE !?!?!?!??!?!?!
This makes me so glad that I didn't order one of those dna tests to see my ancestry for fun
U could think of it as contributing to science by building the database
@@adeshkantha7034 so they can clone us in the future and kill all of us off one by one, slowing replacing everyone with workaholic doubles
The Hamster Army! I like that, I wanna be killed by my clone it seems legit
The Hamster Army! This reminds me of the film Us
@@thehamsterarmy2380 I would love a workaholic double!
Thank you, I was watching videos regarding those tests and I was a little overwhelmed and confused about them. Now it's clearer
What nobody in media ever points out is, in the world of genetic science a 1% difference in dna is not trivial. I fact it is gigantic.
Enough to make at least 7B different humans (and counting).
@@MsBimbobear - Yes. I find it incongruous that out one side of their mouths they insist people in the world are starving. Not enough food. Better eat bugs. Yet out the other side they say population swelled to over 8B people. I guess they survived on air.
Conclusion: We need a Time Machine to find about our ancestors......
I knew it was possible for siblings to share 0% of the differing DNA but didn’t realize it’s possible to not share any DNA with grandparents and above (or conversely share a lot more DNA)
My mother and my aunt have different results my mother has bantu tribes DNA, European and dutch were my aunt has Irish, Scottish, Austria we are white my aunt has darker skin color than my mother who shows to have African DNA it's amazing to discover these things about yourselves..
Favorite part of DNA test: 1:39
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
This is important information to make accessible/understandable for the public. and you've done a great job of that. Thank you.
Boy did he make it understandable.
Thanks!!!, it was a good summary of all complexity associated with this process.
Even though I studied biology for degree, DNA and genetics always make me confused a lot.
The more you study, the more you realize how little you know. You end up very confused.
The voice is soooo relaxing its probably the best part!
The way this video designed is poetic. Great work, team.
We’re all 99% the same. Why do we fight over the 1%?
You are sharing near 50 Percent of the Same DNA with Banana so why do you eat your brother? and the answer that you are looking for in the "The Selfish Gene" Book by Richard Dawkins
That 1% makes a big difference.
It matters not. I dare say we would fight even harder if we were exactly the same.
This is the most polite way of saying ancestry dna tests are bollocks 😂
If you are doing the test to find your ethnicity, yes. In the genealogical community, we know that determining ethnicity from DNA is a song and dance routine. If you want to do genealogy research, DNA tests are a huge help.
True but lots of people like things that are even more so. Horoscopes, crystals, homeopathy, religion, good luck charms, playing the lottery with numbers that have some personal meaning, etc. Even worse is people paying good money for things promoted as healthy that are actually unhealthy- such as the "hydration" industry- the current fad of drinking lot's of water all day long before you even get thirsty. In marathons these days more people have health emergencies from drinking too much water than not drinking enough. As they say- there's a sucker born every minute.
No. I was adopted at birth. AncestrydNA gave me two families.
@@kindnessfirst9670 The irony being that many fields of 'science' are just as imaginary as YHWH
It's an imprecise science for sure, but to dismiss its value entirely is ignorance. It has massive value for fairly detailed ethnicity information, and can definitely find matches and provide several other types of information
Watching this Channel should be made Compulsory for All Humans. Great Job of Delivering such Information to us in such a Neat and Profound Way. ❤️❤️
You even got the bigger size of the purines right. That's amazing attention to detail.
This is so interesting. I had two cousins that are brother and sister and it showed their ancestry being different and I was very confused. This helped so much!!!
Obviously 100.00 % accurate results are not possible always
Thank you Ted,for the amazing education!
Makes so much sense but I never thought about it that way. Thank you!
Thats so great and informative. Love you Ted-Ed
This animation reminds me of life noggin. It's pretty cool, keep being awesome Ted-Ed!
omg, this makes so much sense! Thanks for debunking all these freaking ads for dna tests, so annoying.
I recently received my DNA report, and while I find it fascinating, I'm also aware that there's a lot to understand about the results. I noticed that it shows my ethnicity as 33% Sweden & Denmark, 29% England and Northwestern Europe,12% Germanic Europe, 10% Ireland, 8% Scotland, 4% Eastern Europe & Russia, 3% Wales, 1% Baltics. The DNA report provided information about which parent I inherited specific ethnicities from, my British (England & Northwestern Europe, Ireland, Scotland, Wales) ethnicities were all attributed to my mother, which made sense and was consistent with the genealogical information we already knew. The Swedish & Danish, Eastern European & Russian, and Baltic ethnicities were all attributed to my father's side. Given that my father, his parents and paternal grandparents are all German, I'm particularly interested in understanding how recent my ancestors would have had to be in Sweden or Denmark to contribute to my Scandinavian DNA percentage. Additionally, could you provide insights into the historical and demographic factors that might explain these results?My father left Germany when he was 27 years old and he passed several years ago, we spoke very little about his family and life before. All I know is that my close German relatives are from Hamburg, Germany, in the northern part of the country, is it possible that there could be some overlap or genetic similarities with populations from neighbouring regions, that may have been mistakenly attributed to Sweden & Denmark? Also, because it is a third of my DNA, I'm curious about the timeframe for when my ancestors might have lived in Sweden or Denmark to contribute to this percentage. Are there any historical or demographic factors I should consider that could help explain this result? Thank you in advance for any assistance you can offer.
I love the NES sound used. Your animations are still awesome.
When you’re not early enough to say first but are just early enough to see people fighting over who’s first
These 8-bit animation matters more than my ancestry
Great info with awesome artwork! I love it!
That quote in the beginning though..window to sheer perspective of society towards science
0:13 I'm French and I have to admit I couldn't live without bread
Bread sure, does it need to be a baguette though?
*Oui*
@@sneed472 D:
@@grivza yeah, it tastes much better... ah, yes, fresh out of the bakery.
@Anthony Tsatsis aw yiss
The mere fact, that "287" people have given this amazing video a "thumbs down", shows that a "complete lack of understanding, or an unwillingness to learn" & a sheer "delusional ignorance", is well & truly alive in this world. If this reliable video, does not teach us all the 'basics", regarding "random DNA inheritance", then i don't know what will.
Best KZhead channel . Fun ... knowledge ... And amazing animations
Since this quarantine situation, I watch so many Ted Ed videos. It's becomes my lullaby 😂👍
My question has always been, "Does it matter?" Outside of health risks or benefits, it shouldn't. If your great great whatever used to be a badass, that doesn't mean you get to be proud of their accomplishments because you didn't do it. The same goes for their bad acts.
I more look at it as “The story of me”. Without all these people, I don’t exist.
@@mrgoats and?
@@jacobstaten2366 answering your question "Does it matter?" That's why it matters to me
@@mrgoats that doesn't really answer the question. If not for these people, it'd be somebody else, and instead of you, it'd be somebody else. They don't have any impact on who you choose to be now. 🤷♂️
@@mrgoats that's not what I said. It'd be somebody else in my place likely very different from me, and that's fine. Every person is a fresh slate. All you've done is confirm that it's an ego thing.
I had a feeling that it couldn't be as accurate as people made it out to be, so I'm so glad that I refrained from buying it - especially considering the costly price of the product
That. Not to mention freely sending your DNA to data banks for entities to mine at their will
@@tashalynn29exactly
Actually this is wrong, the ancestry site I use takes DNA samples from ancient sources, allowing for a fascinating reconstruction of ones genetic heritage geographically, historically and culturally.
TED-ed, one of my favorite channels in KZhead.
We are all identical in the ways that matter and different in the ways that don't.
Think history would tell you differently.
@@skadiwarrior2053 What would history tell me?
I've taken two DNA Tests, My Heritage DNA and Ancestry DNA. The results were different.
How much different?
yeah how much difference?
Because they are fake.
@@Michael_Vzhari it’s just MyHearitage that is fake
Very nice animation! Great work
Excellent and very clear explanation thank you.
We learned about recombination, etc. by studying Gregor Mendel's work on the fruit fly. Back when I thought I wanted to be a genetic engineer. DNA tells us a lot. I watch these videos all the time, and this is a great place for education. In fact, it inspired me to create my own. If you use technology, but don't always understand it, we have simple and easy explanations for you. Head over and check it out, your support is always appreciated.
Right, because the fruit fly has such a short life span. Btw cool channel too.
I agree Because I tried DNA and I have 13%Japanese Dna and I'd realized that we're all mixed in different kinds of countries. Thank you for the video now I fully understand what's dna and also we're it comes from.
I had a DNA test about 12 years ago and it has been updated about four times. No telling what they will say about my ancestry in another 12 years.
Love this, so Cuuuuuute pixel style!!!
6:14 "...makes it difficult to say certain things with 100% certainty. " - I see what you did there, TED-ed.
More like “Learn how DNA tests work in general” cause whew
Astute Cingulus you mean facism?
lol
Full marks to the artist or team of artists who did the visuals on this one. So cute!
I like the 8bit animation and the background chiptune too👍
0:18 or do they?
When you are early but don't know what to comment.... That's the worst!
Hayrettin Yavuz I know what you mean
but out fo this lack of saying anything you made a comment :C
well thanks for talking me out of doing one of those DNA tests i have wanted to do but couldn't afford for at least the last 10 years or so.
Excellent video. Thank you.
This is why some Americans today continue to say they have European blood.
Not me. I don't say any of that and I'm American. Sounds to me like all these people are having some sort of identity crisis. They take some questionable ancestry test and find out they're 10% Irish, 18% German, 40% French, 32% Italian and an ancestor was some prince who died 200 years ago and suddenly they believe they're Germenchianish royalty. I won't get into it, but I think these tests are bogus, a money making scheme and people are just craving attention. I'm just American and my ancestors came from somewhere else. Don't really care. Maybe I can find out they were from Scotland so I can buy myself a kilt and learn to play the bagpipes lol. No thanks!
@@Justafeller "Americans" were and still are the natives of the land, whom the immigrants from Europe murdered
That's because being a nation less than 300 years old there is no well established tradition of ideas and developments that we have in the old world. 1000's of years identity vs 300 Not to say if that is good or bad, but a lot of Americans have closer ancestral ties to where they came from than where they are
@@shangopal2332 The Americas are continents. What you speak of are natives of what we now call the U.S. or loosely "America," but it wasn't called that when the Europeans came. It was likely called Abya-Yala by the natives. So really I'm not sure they would consider themselves Americans at all since the Europeans were an invading force who named it that. Although, we did pay them and give some of it back, but that's another conversation. If you look far enough back, you'll find that many nation's current inhabitants around the world are not truly native.
Just Some Guy Native Americans do consider themselves Indigenous Americans it’s in their name. The U.S. also hasn’t followed through on many treaties with the Native tribes. The reason most Native Americans have mixed ancestry is because of colonialism and the United States stealing native children and placing them in boarding schools with the main goal of assimilating them.
So, I am from the east coast of Canada, and all my ancestors, as far as I can tell, came from the Dorset area of England. But there is a family story that one ancestor was a sailor on the Spanish Armada who was shipwrecked in Dorset, and ended up settling there. When I did a DNA test with one of the commercial companies, it showed 15 % DNA from the Iberian peninsula. Would you consider this a confirmation of the family story ? It seems a lot of generations for the DNA to have survived, but on the other hand, I have no other explanation of where that DNA would have come from.
That's exactly was I was thinking (and even wrote on my blog)! Your result is tested against the people currently living in that one given country!
Wow you learn something new everyday
6:18 It seems as if the French ancestors are showing middle finger to the girl.😄😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆
Now more than ever, I want to get an ancestry test done.
Awesome and informative video
TED-Ed: Wanna know how much your DNA can actually can tell you? Me: 3:53 How are their last names "Chevrolet?!"
*laughs in Genghis Khan
TED-Ed: "how French are you" Julien: " _how can you be_ "
Im born Canada, native Ojibwe. Was then very curious, i took ancestry and omg, i can't say im full blooded native, i have to bloodlines straight from france traced another from scotland. Did some history...dna is crazy.
the animation is so cheeky I love it
This video just canceled all the commercial ancestry tests 😂
I heard in France , they made it illegal to use DNA tests for personal recreational use.
People misinterpret the information and then get radical based on a misinterpretation.
Basically nobody who isn't a geneticist gets to do research on genetics.
Have we ever seen a case with identical twins having genetic differences?
I don’t believe so, simply because the separation of twins occurs post-fertilization. If there are differences, it’s probably due to mutations that occur when DNA is replicated in the individual cells. I’m not a geneticist, though, so grains of salt and all that.
Ted-Ed has made a video about epigenetics, a phenomenon through wich identical twins can differ in DNA sequences. Radioactivity can also alter DNA sequencies. Through CRISPR (again, Ted-Ed made a video on the subject and it's linked at the end of this video) we can edit the DNA of one of the two twins but not of the other (although there would be ne reason to do that if beforehand they had an identical genetic makeup).
@@DCBfanboy so, hypothetically speaking of course, if someone were to take a DNA/ancestry test before and after exposure to radiation, would that change it? As, being 10% more french after radiation
There’s a video where identical twins take tests from all the dna companies and their results are different.
@@DCBfanboy Radioactivity could only change DNA in some cells of your body, which may or may not replicate and form small portion of your tissue.
Amazing video!
All true, all fascinating, all necessary to understand if going on your 'DNA Quest'.
Still my test was able to identify a lot of origins I can confirm through my family tree, as well as oral information passed down through generations. Furthermore, my ancestry test determined specific (US regions) migrations I know to be true of my ancestors. It even picked up African ancestry I’ve also confirmed through my family tree. So, I feel like mine was pretty accurate. The changes that have occurred over time involving percentages seem to just be more detailed information explaining more vague regions from earlier. I don’t believe it’s picked up every genetic region of my ancestors, but I feel like the test was pretty good.
I suspect that those companies will use available information like your family tree to spin their story. If you can find it, so can they’.
Which company did you use?
@@HeinRichKocHPretoriaI second this question
Whenever he finishes a sentence I feel as if the video has ended.
I had mine done and it showed about what my research had shown. Then the testing company did an update and my results changed drastically. I did not change my family tree because of it.
Now that was eye opening
Very interesting. Who else wants to take the DNA test? 🙋♀️
Jade Choi - Million Dollar Challenge wtc you didnt even watch
Me
Yo mama
Soooooooo 23andMe is useless?
Not maybe after the next 50 years!
Yes, it’s overhyped. And media coverage of science will continue to overhype progress and implications of a particular type of findings, until some things are changed systematically
it depends on what you think is useful
Scamming
As an African American it was very helpful. Though it won’t tell me which tribe I came from, it does confirm my west African heritage. My family had a story of coming from Madagascar and Native American descent. DNA proved this to be incorrect. Some of my family still doesn’t believe it, even though we now have proof, but that’s a different story!
Clicked on this video and the first ad I get is an ad from "My True Ancestry". Made my laugh so hard. 😂
Very cool, very very informative
*french guy* : “just le tip.”
One slight oversight with your explanation, due to getting 1/2 DNA from each parent (+/- crossover DNA), it is entirely possible that you will receive no DNA from one of your grandparents, (i.e. father only passes down his father's DNA/chromosomes to you, not his mother's) hence that entire lineage leading up until you, could be classified genetically as dissimilar to you, despite the fact they were required to make you in the first place. Now yes there's billions of base pairs so that event is unlikely, but when we each have 4 grandparents and there are 7 billion of us, so that event is actually quite likely to have occurred to one of us. And failing that, great grandparents etc, not great great + like explained in the video. In short, the DNA that comprises you may have come very little from one specific grandparent due to the way maths and 1/2s work
Not quite true. Your mitochondrial DNA can only be inherited from your mother, who could only have inherited it from her mother, etc. Therefore you will always have a trace of your maternal line in your mitochondrial DNA. Likewise, if you are a male you can only have inherited your Y-chromosome from your father, since he is the only one of your parents who has a Y-chromosome. And your father could only have inherited it from his father etc. If you are a female you won't have a Y-chromosome but you can just get a brother/father/grandfather to get a DNA test. Therefore, each person does have access to both their maternal and paternal lines. Thus you must have DNA, or have access to DNA via a male relative, from both your grandparents and their grandparents etc
LOVE ALL YOUR VIDEOS !!!!!!
Do a video about the hanging gardens of babylon, please 🙏
I did ancestrys and still after this am curious to see what 23&me says about my ancestry/DNA . One of the funny things I saw when I first received my results was the less than 1% Finnish ... My paternal relatives came from Finland to Germany and part of my last name was taken from the Finnish language. But i also know before my g (g?) Gfather came to America and before his family was in Finland they were in Germany before that and that could be the reason for my lack of "Finnish DNA" (not the entire reason of course though but it's interesting).
Wow. My mother told me that we have an Arab lineage in our blood. That is why I am hopeful to see a relative from a different part of the world lol. However, after learning this, I am convinced that it would not be possible. It's not a big deal though. Thank you for this Ted-Ed, I have learned a lot.
I love the 8-bit style of this
I love the animation and style of this 😂