Wouldn’t it be nice if their stock rebounds too!
23andMe is Opening Up Again
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Category Archives: 23AndMe
Here’s how to download your raw DNA data from 23andMe:
Here’s how to download your raw DNA data from 23andMe:
- Sign in to your 23andMe account on the website.
- Click on the down arrow next to your name in the top right corner.
- Select “Settings” from the menu.
- Scan all the way down to “23andMe Data” near the bottom and click “View” on the right side.
- For added security, enter birthdate of individual.
- Scan to type of data wanted (Raw Data), and click “Download Raw Data”
- Carefully review the disclaimers and warnings provided by 23andMe.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the page, click the box and click the “Submit request” button.
23andMe will then process your request and send you an email notification when your raw data is ready to download. This typically takes within an hour. The email will contain a link to download your data file.
Save the data file in “long term” storage. The file is compressed (zip extension). If you send this to another site, like Family Tree DNA or MyHeritage or Gedmatch, you can send it as-is. If you want to view the data, you will need to uncompress the file first, then use a text viewer or editor.
23andMe Data Download is Available Again
If you took a test at 23andme and have not yet downloaded your raw dna data, get thee to it soon. If you don’t know how, Google it. Or ask us at the DNA Discussion group. It isn’t hard, but you do need a computer. If you don’t have a computer, bring a thumb drive to the FamilySearch Center in Seaside and someone will help you.
I will add detailed how-to instructions later…. (after i google it :-))
CentiMorgan Percentages
23andMe is one of my favorite sites for DNA working. But it has a quirk that is irritating, it show percentages of matching centiMorgans on the Match list page, not a raw value. Sure, it is easy to click through to the chromosome browser, but that is an extra step. I have become used to seeing how many (quantity) centiMorgans I match with whomever.
This morning, while waiting for the rain, I decided to consult Google. Hey hey, all I have to do is multiply the percentage by 68 and I have a close approximation of the number. What the heck, I said to myself. 68? Where did that come from? Besides, multiplying by 68 in my head is kinda tricky. I need to at least understand this first….
Two sites proved useful.
Lisa Louise Cooke said: You can see the percentage of shared DNA from the main DNA Relatives home page. To convert the percentage into centiMorgans, just multiply your percentage by 68 (that will at least get you close). You can also see total shared cMs in the chromosome browser tool (go to Tools > DNA Relatives > DNA).
3.19% DNA shared => 3.19 * 68 = 217 centiMorgans
https://lisalouisecooke.com/2017/10/23/genetic-relationships-centimorgans/
Another site said: Every person has approximately 6800 centiMorgans of DNA. This number includes both copies of each numbered chromosome, or approximately 3400 centiMorgans inherited from each parent.
So, if you share 217 centiMorgans with a match, just do this calculation:
217 / 6800 = 3.19% shared DNA
fun genealogically speaking
Here is a simple diagram with a simple challenge. First fill in names of people that are related in parent/child relationships. For example, put you at the bottom and fill in your parents and grandparents. The challenge then => add some other information.
- For example, put in everyone’s birth date and birth place.
- Or, place of birth and place of death.
- Or, inheritable illness’s they had and cause of death.
- Or, religion, politics and socioeconomic status.
- Or, height and weight at mid-life.
- Or, haplogroups, mitochondrial for all and Y-DNA for males.
For example, my wife’s maternal grandfather was described as 5’ 11”, 135 lbs, and swarthy with grey hair at 69 years of age in his Petition for Naturalization. We know his religion but have no idea where he stood politically.
But I am really puzzled over his haplogroups. A haplogroup is a genetic population group of people who share a common ancestor on either their paternal or maternal line. Particular haplogroups are associated with well-known ancestral groups such as the Vikings, Aboriginal Australians, and the Celts. We know he was born on an island in Croatia, we know the mitochondrial haplogroup of his wife. My wife knew him until she was about 12. But there aren’t enough descendants testing at 23andMe to figure out his ancestral group!
This chart can be a challenge to any genealogist, amateur or otherwise. Take a copy and give it a go. Below is a chart for a female with haplogroups. I cannot figure out the mitochondrial groups for 2 of the men, but I am still working 😊
Haplogroup teasers
According to the International Society of Genetic Genealogy, a haplogroup is a genetic population group of people who share a common ancestor on either their paternal (Y-DNA) or maternal (mitochondrial) lines.
Not every DNA testing companies show us our haplogroups. AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, and FamilyTreeDNA kits do not test for the specific SNPs required to determine haplogroup, while 23andMe and Living DNA do test segments of the mtDNA and Y-chromosome and display our haplogroups and, most importantly, those of our shared matches.
FTDNA also includes Y haplogroup and mtDNA haplogroup information, only if you buy specific tests related to those traits. Gedmatch displays haplogroup info that is self-reported.
I have found the haplogroup information displayed automatically at 23andMe to be invaluable in some of my research. In a future DNA Discussion meeting, I will give a show-n-tell of how this additional information helped unlock puzzles in our family trees.
Meanwhile, when searching the internet for haplogroup information, I found this page which has lots of comparative details about the various DNA testing companies. Eupedia is a great sight for exploring. And this page in particular should interest most everyone who has read this far! Do page through it.
https://www.eupedia.com/genetics/which_ancestry_dna_test_to_choose.shtml
My Y-DNA haplogroup is I1a-A13294 and my mitochondrial haplogroup is H1e1a.
23andMe Tree Recalculation
Go ahead, drag the above slider left and right!
I have mentioned in the past about recalculating my tree in 23AndMe. I said you had to find out how to do it within the Help system. Arghh, finding where the function is located is a royal pain! But I did find it, and wrote the attached PDF document. If you are interested, you can download it. This is only for advanced folks. This worked for me, but let the buyer beware.
“If a machine is expected to be infallible, it cannot also be intelligent.” – Alan Turing
Using our tools
MoCoGenSo’s DNA Discussion Group will be meeting Wednesday with an open forum. Join us via Zoom. Feel free to drop in for conversation and stay for lunch.
They say that the pandemic has given lots of folks extra time these days to work on their genealogy. Perhaps, but there is still never enough time.
The wife and I have done our DNA tests at the “big 4” of course, and every so often I make the rounds looking for new matches. Never underestimate that auto-tree at 23andMe.com – it can be full of surprises. Once built, the tree remains static. But you can and should refresh the tree periodically. It is a pain to figure out how to refresh it, but it can be done via the help system.
We discovered a new branch of 4 cousins in my wife’s refreshed tree the other day that contained people we had never heard of before and the branch was placed in an impossible position. After a couple of weeks of sleuthing, we have decided that the stories about her grandfather’s escapades were true! How else can you have a half first cousin show up out of nowhere!
23andMe.com provides lots of information about DNA matches that are really useful in solving puzzles. Birth year, haplogroups, shared matches, triangulation, etc. Add a subscription to Ancestry.com to the mix for source searching and you can solve lots of thorny NPEs. Ancestry.com has tree building and a bigger match base, but 23andMe.com provides so many more DNA tools. You really need to test at both places.
The centimorgans Tool at DNA Painter is invaluable at justifying tree placement. In addition, Genetic Affairs can create an extremely useful cluster analysis from 23andMe data. I ran their Auto Cluster tool on the wife’s 23andme Me data and am still finding new information.
The MoCoGenSo DNA Discussion meetings are a better place to talk about this stuff. I hate typing…. Perhaps I can show-n-tell this case at some future meeting. Meanwhile, I am looking forward to learning about Gail Burk’s methods used at tomorrow’s meeting. See you tomorrow noon on Zoom.
DNA Discussions Wednesday Noon: Zoom Link
Meeting ID: 897 1823 5118
Passcode: 738495
Regarding These Sales
Personal views follow…
We advocate doing DNA tests for genealogical purposes. DNA testing is not required to do excellent genealogical work, but it can help break some roadblocks or just help discover new cousins that have those long lost pictures!
But testing at just one company is like only fishing in just one pond. Some of your relatives might pick a different sale this month, for example. So I always recommend that you test at each of the “big 4”: AncestryDNA, 23andMe, MyHeritage and Family Tree DNA.
That can get expensive! That is why we always mention sales around here.
Picking which place to test is a subject best suited for our DNA Discussion Group. But it is important that you remember that AncestryDNA and 23andMe do NOT accept data file uploads while MyHeritage and Family Tree DNA DO accept DNA data uploads at a considerable discount in price. Perhaps testing at AncestryDNA or 23andMe first might be a good idea for some.
” L.O.C.K.S.S. ===> Lots of copies keep stuff safe.
Big Sale
Discover your family tree with a $99 DNA test from 23andMe
Black Friday must be coming, because 23andMe‘s Health and Ancestry test is half off again. For $99, you get both Ancestry and Health. Maybe now is the time to splurge. Thru Nov 26th.
Monterey County Genealogy Society 