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Stereotypes are total cliches. They are generalized representations of a particular culture and its people and are usually inaccurate. However, sometimes, these stereotypes are based on facts and have some resemblance to reality. Here, we discuss some unique physical traits common to the German people. Their rich cultural traditions and heritage all give the Germans a distinct identity.
Germany is a Central European country and is the second most populated nation on the continent.
Germany has some of the most vibrant and diverse cultures and a rich heritage of arts, literature, philosophy, and food.
Germans established themselves as an ethnic group after separating from the Middle Ages Frankish Empire and forming the Kingdom of Germany.
This empire expanded eastwards and established a new nation.
The Germans were pastoralists whose milk, cheeses, and meat came from their flocks and herds.
They crafted wood, clay, or leather utensils and farmed root crops, vegetables, and grains.
Germans have some unique physical traits that distinguish them from the rest of the world.
They have blue eyes, light skin, and a square face.
Here are a few physical characteristics common to most Germans.
Germany is one of the countries with the tallest people in the world.
While males have an average height of 5 feet 11 inches, females are around 5 feet 4 inches.
A small percentage of Germans have curly hair.
This is due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
Physical traits can offer a clue to a person's ancestry.
However, to be sure, you must check a person's family history, birth records, and online resources and archives.
Got an ancestry test done? Get access to 10+ health and wellness reports (starting at $30) using your raw DNA data.
Now that you know a few things about German personality and cultural traits, let's discuss some of the prominent people with German ancestry:
While many of these stereotypes associated with Germans, such as blonde hair and blue eyes, may be accurate, we should ultimately judge a person not based on their physical appearance.
Understanding these stereotypes can be an exciting part of understanding your ancestry and heritage.
It's essential to approach discussions with people based on individual differences and not on these stereotypes.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/germany/comments/12okc5q/what_does_it_mean_if_someone_looks_german/
With AncestryDNA's Ancestry Storymaker Studio, your ancestry test doesn't stop with just learning about your ethnicity and heritage! This tool not only helps preserve your family history but also turns it into a story. Whether it's your grandparents' immigration journey, great-great-grandfather's military service, or family's favorite holiday tradition, there are means to record, edit, publish, and cherish it all! Read on to learn more about this tool, its features, and whether it's available for free or requires a charge.
Ancestry Storymaker Studio is a new tool built into the app by AncestryDNA that effortlessly allows users to create and share stories within their family tree.
It has a suite of advancements that bring you some exciting features. The top 3 are explained below.
One of the core features of Ancestry Storymaker Studio is the ability to enhance photos easily.
Users can sharpen, crop, and add color to their family photos, breathing new life into old memories.
Here are a few examples:
| Before colorization | After colorization |
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| One photo - multiple filters | |
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Another powerful feature of Ancestry Storymaker Studio is the capability to capture audio and add it to your family ancestry stories.
Users can record up to 14 minutes of audio narration in their own words, providing a rich and authentic account of family events and cherished memories.
This audio feature allows users to preserve the voices and stories of their loved ones, passing down a legacy for future generations.
Note: iOS users can look forward to this feature soon, as the development is underway.
Crafting and sharing family ancestry stories has never been easier than with Ancestry Storymaker Studio.
Whether it's a tale of a revolutionary ancestor, a heartwarming family event, or cherished family recipes passed down through generations, the possibilities are endless.
Users can create a customized slideshow by adding images, audio recordings, and written memories that authentically capture the essence of the story they wish to tell.
After finishing the story, they can download it onto their phones or share it on their social media and the Ancestry platform.
Did You Know? Your AncestryDNA test DNA data includes 700,000 markers, which can be used to learn everything from disease risk and drug sensitivities to nutritional requirements and fitness parameters. Here's how others like you have benefited by uploading their data to Xcode Life:
To create a story in Ancestry Storymaker Studio, you need to use the Ancestry app on your mobile device and follow these steps:
We can access Ancestry Storymaker Studio through two methods, each offering unique features.
From the app
To start with Storymaker Studio on mobile, first download the Ancestry app from the App Store (for iOS users) or Play Store (for Android users).
Once you have installed the app, you can follow these simple steps to access Storymaker Studio:
From a browser
For those who prefer accessing Storymaker Studio from a browser, the process is just as straightforward:
While certain functionalities are exclusively available on the app, they will soon be accessible on the Ancestry website.
The platform offers multiple ways to share your creation with your loved ones, including:
Yes, you certainly can! The sharing capabilities of Ancestry Storymaker Studio extend beyond the platform itself.
It offers a variety of customizable slide options that can perfectly fit the dimensions of popular social media platforms.
Whether you prefer sharing on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, Storymaker Studio lets you take your stories to the broader virtual world.
Got an ancestry test done? Get access to 10+ health and wellness reports (starting at $30) using your raw DNA data.
Currently, Ancestry Storymaker Studio is available for free through the Ancestry mobile app.
Users can access and utilize this powerful storytelling tool without any additional cost.
Ancestry Storymaker Studio has taken the genealogy world by storm, earning praise from journalists and users alike.
Let's look at what some prominent voices say about this innovative storytelling tool.
According to journalist @rolds22 from Deseret News on Twitter.
Storymaker Studio is a magical one-stop shop for creating, preserving, and sharing your family history stories.
You can upload voice recordings, edit and enhance photos, and even get some cool story prompts to help you along.
Another Twitter user praised Ancestry Storymaker Studio's user-friendly interface and interactive features that make storytelling engaging and captivating.
“The tool successfully tackles the common problem of "glazed-over eyes" during genealogy discussions, making it accessible and enjoyable for everyone.”
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Promethease is an online tool that analyzes raw DNA files inputted by users to generate personalized DNA reports based on genetic literature.
The information in the report is based on SNPedia, a wiki-based online database that summarizes health and ancestral implications of genetic variants.
Though popular, it is often criticized to be too technical and difficult to read. You can take a look at Promethease's sample report.
MyHeritage offered Promethease free of charge through the end of 2019 and continues to maintain SNPedia as a free resource for academic and non-profit users. For non-European users, the raw DNA data will be shifted to MyHeritage and added to new accounts, which will be created for them. However, the users will retain the ownership of their DNA raw data file and are free to delete it from MyHeritage’s server.
A Promethease report provides a comprehensive analysis of your genetic data, covering various aspects such as:
Before you get into reading your Promethease report, it will help to know the meaning of a few terms that are frequently used in them. They are tabulated below.
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Repute | This is a parameter that is applied to a genotype. It can be good, bad or not set. This is based on a general opinion. |
| Magnitude | It tells you how interesting your genotype is. It is purely a subjective parameter. It is a numerical value between 0 and 10, with 0 assigned to boring information and 10 being assigned to really significant information. This can be set to whichever value you prefer. Most users set this value up to a moderate 5. |
| Orientation | As we know, genetic studies are based on genes. Orientation is simply the chromosome position of these genes. These positions are based on a reference human genome. The present build is GRCh38 patch 12, that was released in December 2017 (you don’t have to remember this!). |
| Frequency | How rare or common a genotype is in your population. |
| Geno Time | Timestamp when the genotype page was last updated. This is with reference to SNPedia. |
| ClinVar | If you select that button, only health conditions that are found in ClinVar will be displayed. ClinVar is a public archive of reports of the relationships among human gene variations and phenotypes, with supporting evidence. |
| Genosets (gs IDs) | A genoset is a defined set of genotypes that are associated with a particular phenotype. |
| SNPs for the other sex | Many people are taken aback by this term. Don’t worry about this. It simply tells you that manifestations of these SNPs are irrelevant to your sex. For example it is irrelevant to a woman, how an SNP can increase the risk for prostate cancer. |
| GMAF | Stands for Global Minor Allele Frequency. The allele (an alternative form of your gene) that is less common in the global gene pool. This is as per the 1000 Genomes Project. |
| Carrier | Many of you may already be familiar with this term. Carriers are individuals who carry only one copy the risky allele. It is of significance only in disorders that are know to be caused due to a single gene mutation like Cystic Fibrosis or Huntington’s disease (a.k.a Mendelian disorders). Carriers do not manifest the disease but may pass on the mutant allele to the next generation. |
| CI | Stands for Confidence Interval. The range within which a value can be deemed true with a certain degree of confidence. It is usually taken as 95%. |
| de novo mutation | True to the name, it means a new mutation that was not found in both your parents. |
| CNV | Stands for Copy Number Variants. Number of copies of the gene you have in your genome. Large copy number of genes are commonly found in many forms of cancer. |
| Haplotype | A specific combination of SNPs all occurring on the same chromosome. This is all chromosomes inherited from your mother or father. |
| Diplotype | It refers to a specific combination of haplotypes. |
| Familial risk | It is a comparison between the risk of individuals with relatives with a disease to the risk of individuals with relatives who do not have the same disease. |
| GWAS | Stands for Genome-Wide Association Study. A study of the markers (usually SNPs) across the entire genome to see which ones are statistically more or less common in one group of people (often patients with a specific disease) compared to another group of people (typically people unaffected by that disease). |
| In/dels | They are a type of polymorphism that involves the insertion or deletion of slightly bigger sequence of bases. |
| SNP | Stands for Single Nucleotide Polymorphism. As the name suggests, it is a change occuring in only one base. |
| Odds ratio (OR) | It is a useful number to evaluate the association between an allele or genotype with a phenotype. The phenotype might be an inherited trait (like widow’s peak) or a disease (like Type 2 Diabetes). This number is arrived at by comparing carriers of a less common allele to people with 2 copies of the most common allele. |
| Penetrance | The degree to which you're likely to actually have a given trait or phenotype when you carry a given variation. Penetrance is considered high if over 80%, and moderate if between 20 - 80%. |
| Position | Location of an SNP on the chromosome. This position is however only relative to positions in the reference genome sequence. You cannot assign absolute positions to SNPs on a chromosome. |
| Prevalence | The proportion of people with a given condition at a given time. Usually a percentage or a ratio. |
| rs# | All SNPs have an rs identifier that is officially assigned by dbSNP, a public database of SNPs maintained by the National Institute of Health (NIH). |
| Wild-type | The genotype or the allele that is most common in the population and serves as a reference to evaluate all other types of alleles. |
A Promthease genetic report typically contains around 25,000 entries which can be very overwhelming, especially for those without a genetic background.
However, as per the sample files they have for analysis, only 24% of these entries are considered "good."
The reports frequently use scientific and technical language, making them difficult to understand for laypersons.
This complexity can lead to confusion and misinterpretation of the results
Promethease reports primarily present data without personalized interpretation or actionable next steps.
There are other genetic analysis services like Xcode Life, which offer tailored advice or recommendations based on the findings.
Users have criticized the interface for being user-unfriendly, which can make navigation and understanding the report more challenging.
Some users have expressed frustration with the overall experience of using the platform.
Further, the reports are primarily text-based and lack visual aids that could help users better comprehend their genetic information.
Some reviews suggest that Promethease analysis is known to produce false positives for conditions like breast cancer.
Promethease provides risk estimates based on genetic variants but is not intended for medical diagnosis.
There's no obvious mention of this in their reports.
Thus, there's a risk of users misinterpreting the information, leading to unnecessary anxiety or inappropriate health decisions.
| Xcode Life | Promethease | |
| No. of report categories | 11 | 4 |
| Easy-to-understand reports? | Yes | No |
| Actionable insights | Included | Not included |
| Information sources | Several reputable journals and databases like JAMA, ClinVar, etc. | Only SNPedia |
| Personalized recommendations | Included | Not included |
| Sample reports | Present | Present |
| Report interpretation assistance | Provided | Not provided |
Did you know that gluten sensitivity affects about 6% of the U.S. population, making it more common than celiac disease, which only impacts roughly 1%? Many people experience bloating, fatigue, or digestive discomfort after eating gluten, but not all of them have celiac disease or a wheat allergy. Could gluten sensitivity be in your genes, or are other factors influencing your reaction to gluten? How can you tell if you're at risk? Read on to explore the complexities of gluten sensitivity and uncover what science reveals about the role of genetics and beyond.
Gluten sensitivity, also termed non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), is a condition where individuals react negatively to gluten, a protein in barley, wheat, rye, and other grains.
While commonly associated with foods like bread, pasta, and beer, gluten is also found in some non-food items like cosmetics and medications.
It’s important to understand that NCGS differs from celiac disease, which is an autoimmune disorder influenced by gluten consumption.
Unlike celiac disease, NCGS does not cause damage to the intestines and is also distinct from a wheat allergy.
People with gluten sensitivity often experience bloating, gas, fatigue, and nausea.
Genetics plays a pivotal role in gluten sensitivity, with the condition often running in families and appearing in siblings or cousins.
The genetic basis lies primarily in variations of the HLA-DQ gene (HLA stands for human leukocyte antigen), which individuals inherit from both parents.
Specific combinations of HLA-DQ genes, particularly HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8, significantly increase the risk of developing gluten sensitivity.
Gluten exposure in sensitive individuals can cause a wide range of effects. These can be as mild as slight stomach discomfort or as serious as damage to the intestines.
When the intestines are damaged, the body may have trouble absorbing essential nutrients from food. This can lead to various health problems over time.
The severity of the condition depends on both genetic factors and gluten intake.
Dietary management is crucial for those with pronounced gluten sensitivity, especially celiac disease.
Eliminating gluten from the diet is often the most effective approach to prevent symptoms and avoid long-term health complications.
Gluten sensitivity is linked to certain genetic markers, though the connection is less clear than with celiac disease.
Research by Dr. Alessio Fasano from the University of Maryland found that only 56% of those with gluten sensitivity carry the HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 genes.
These genes are strongly associated with celiac disease, suggesting that while they may play a role, they are not the primary cause of gluten sensitivity.
Another study by Dr. Kenneth Fine, developer of EnteroLab testing, suggests genes like HLA-DQ1 and HLA-DQ3 might also contribute to gluten sensitivity.
He believes that only a small fraction of the population lacks the genetic potential for gluten sensitivity.
However, further research has yet to accept or validate these findings widely.
Yes, there is a gluten sensitivity gene with certain variants that are more influential:
Gluten gene mutations like HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 increase the risk of developing gluten sensitivity, but their presence doesn't definitively predict the condition.
While strongly associated with the condition, not everyone with these mutations experiences symptoms.
Gluten sensitivity can also occur in individuals without these specific genetic markers, indicating that other factors contribute to its development.
Not everyone carries the HLA-DQ8 gene.
According to studies, approximately 30%-40% of the general population has either the HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 genes without developing celiac disease.
Among those with celiac disease, about 95% express the HLA-DQ2 gene, while the remaining 5% typically have the HLA-DQ8 gene variant.
If you have done an ancestry genetic test with companies like 23andMe, AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, etc., you can download your raw DNA data, order the Gene Nutrition test, and upload your file for analysis.
While genetics play a significant role in gluten sensitivity, other factors can also affect its development and severity. These include:
It's important to note that while these factors can contribute to gluten sensitivity, ongoing research is working to understand their specific roles better.
At present, no diagnostic procedure exists specifically for gluten sensitivity. The gluten intolerance gene test is more precisely a genetic risk assessment for celiac disease.
This test examines DNA for specific gene variants, especially in the HLA-DQ complex, associated with an increased risk of developing gluten intolerance.
Individuals suspecting gluten intolerance can use the test to evaluate their genetic risk before changing their diet or seeking medical advice.
Being positive for DQ8 means carrying the HLA-DQ8 gene, which is part of the HLA gene complex.
This gene variant is linked to a higher risk of gluten sensitivity and celiac disease.
While having the DQ8 gene does not guarantee that you will develop these conditions, it does indicate a higher genetic predisposition.
The presence of DQ8 suggests that your immune system might react adversely to gluten, potentially leading to intestinal damage if celiac disease develops.
Testing positive for DQ8 can help in diagnosing celiac disease, especially when combined with other medical tests and symptoms.
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https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21622-gluten-intolerance
https://celiac.org/about-celiac-disease/what-is-celiac-disease
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/wheat-allergy/symptoms-causes/syc-20378897
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11892082
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3641836
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6502200
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10096482
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21622-gluten-intolerance
https://www.verywellhealth.com/gluten-sensitivity-genes-562967
https://www.verywellhealth.com/hla-dq8-one-of-the-main-celiac-disease-genes-562571
Ancestry DNA testing is a booming industry at the moment, with millions around the globe learning more and more about their genetic heritage and ancestry each day. Ancestry tests can connect you with relatives you never knew about and unveil the rich history of your ancestors. Just how far back do ancestry DNA tests go, though? The answer to this question varies depending on the kind of ancestry test you opt for. This article will explore ancestry DNA tests- how they work and what you can (and cannot) learn from them.
Your genes comprise only 3% of your DNA but contain a world of information about you, your relatives, and your ancestors.
Due to different inheritance patterns, you and your sibling may inherit different genes from your parents, giving both of you slightly different ancestry results.
With over 26 million people adding their DNA to the four leading commercial ancestry databases, many people naturally have questions about these tests.
Genetic ancestry tests or genetic genealogy tests allow people to learn more about their ancestors, sometimes going beyond what relatives have told them.
Examining an individual’s DNA variations can provide clues to who their ancestors may have been.
It also helps determine relationships between families.
The genetic patterns and variations are shared between people of particular backgrounds.
Closely related individuals share more genetic patterns and variations.
There are three main types of DNA tests:
How far back ancestry DNA tests go depends upon:
Most people can learn about their maternal and paternal ancestry as far back as six to ten generations.
Mitochondrial or mtDNA is a type of DNA testing that takes you back the farthest.
This is because mtDNA mutates slower than Y-DNA over generations.
Thus, it’s exceptionally well-conserved.
Additionally, since we have mtDNA in almost all our cells, studying these DNA samples is more reliable than studying ancient ones.
Y-DNA testing follows your paternal lineage.
Since this kind of DNA occurs on the Y chromosome, only biological males can learn about their heritage through this test.
Additionally, you cannot learn anything about your maternal lineage through a Y-DNA test.
Y-DNA is well-conserved across generations and can be traced back thousands of years.
mtDNA testing can trace your maternal ancestry back 150,000 to 200,000 years.
The mitochondrial Eve lived hundreds of thousands of years ago and is the most recent common ancestor.
Her direct descendant is alive today and carries a fragment of her mtDNA.
Certain mtDNA types can help you trace direct-line maternal ancestry nearly 52 generations or 1300 years prior.
Even though mtDNA testing takes us back into your family history, we can only learn about 1% of our ancestors using this method.
Several companies offer autosomal DNA testing, including:
This type of DNA test provides information about a wide range of ancestors, going back up to five or six generations.
Traveling back one generation halves your DNA.
Your parents carry 50% of your DNA
Your grandparents carried 25% of your DNA, their parents carried 12.5%, and so on.
After a point, the percentage of your DNA becomes too small to track reliably.
Thus, autosomal DNA tests only help trace recent ancestry.
Here’s how you can get the most out of your DNA raw data in 3 simple steps:
The amount of your autosomal DNA halves with each generation.
Thus, after around 8 generations, you are related to fewer and fewer ancestors on your family tree.
The Lurie family is known as the oldest family in the world.
Their lineage can be traced back to the 11th century BCE.
No human can be classified definitively under only one ethnicity.
Migration is inevitable, leading to the mixing of DNA from different ethnicities.
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Ancestry tests are all the rage these days. With a few clicks of a button and a sample of your DNA, you can find out all sorts of things about your family history. But what does it mean if you get 23andMe Native American results? For many, the results can be both exciting and daunting. The test aims to provide individuals with an understanding of their ethnicity and ancestral heritage, but it can also raise questions about what the results mean for them. To help those who have taken the test gain clarity on the results, this article will provide an overview of 23andMe's Native American-specific testing, what data points it covers, and how to interpret your own results.
23andMe analyzes your genes and provides information on the percentage of DNA that you have from different worldwide populations.
The ancestry composition is calculated by comparing your DNA with more than 14,000 people’s ancestries.
If a portion of your DNA resembles that of 1 of the 46 populations, that particular ancestry is assigned to the corresponding portion.
In a similar way, different ancestries are added to different portions of your DNA.
They are then computed together to calculate the overall ancestry composition.
23andMe’s ancestry service includes features that can identify genes associated with Native American ancestry.
These results, however, aren’t confirmatory in nature.
Several million people have availed 23andMe’s ancestry services, and many have discovered at least a small percentage of Native American ancestry in their results.
Whether or not your results indicate Native American ancestry, it is important to understand what it means.
The 23andMe Indigenous American population includes the following genetic groups:
In the above example, the Native American ancestry is pretty high.
This means that certain sections of their DNA match a set of Indigenous American reference individuals more closely than other global reference populations.
Furthermore, people who have indigenous ancestry in North and South America have a common shared ancestry with the people of East Asia.
This is because many thousand years ago, populations migrated from Central to Southern Asia.
Descendants of these populations began to move north to populate the rest of the eastern regions of Asia and Siberia.
The test results should be taken with a pinch of salt, owing to the limitations of this technology.
This can happen when you inherit certain genetic markers that are not yet included in 23andMe’s Native American population reference database.
Further, certain communities of Native American ancestry are underrepresented in genetic research.
Some common physical genetic traits associated with native American ancestry include:
Got your 23andMe test done? Now, you can upload your raw DNA data to Xcode Life to learn 1000+ things about your health, including nutrition, fitness, methylation, and health risks.
Along with the ancestry composition report, 23andMe provides various tools to dig deep into your ancestry.
Map view
Gives a quick and easy overview of your ancestry composition by highlighting the regions in the map associated with your ancestry.
Ancestry details and recent ancestor locations
Provides a microscopic view of your ancestry by narrowing down your results to city and state levels.
This section also comes with cultural, language, and other information about the reference populations.
You can also see a more recent and granular view of your ancestry in this section.
Ancestry timeline
Helps you find out how many generations ago you had a single ancestor from just one population.
Parental inheritance
Applicable only if you match with a biological parent who is also a 23andMe user.
Ancestry composition will display which portion of your ancestry was inherited from which parent.
However, this is not available for everyone.
Chromosome painting
Overview of all 23 pairs of chromosomes, highlighting where your different ancestries are located on your genome.
With the information present in your DNA data, you can uncover insights into several aspects of your health and well-being.
To get your 23andMe raw data, follow the instructions from this page:
How to download your 23andMe Raw Data for 1000+ Health Reports
Yes, 23andMe's ancestry test analyzes markers associated with Native American ancestry.
While DNA tests can identify markers associated with certain ancestral populations, they may not be able to zero down on the exact tribe or clan.
Your ancestry test results may not be consistent with your cultural identity.
While you can celebrate the “Native American” ancestry results, claiming your identity solely based on these results is not advised.
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