Three weeks ago I went to collect my DNA Kit from Calvin Woon‘s and Patricia Lin‘s office in Singapore. I paid for the 23 And Me DNA Kit and since they do not ship to Malaysia, I asked Calvin and Pat to use their mailing address as Singapore is the closest country that the DNA Kit is shipped to.
I went to Calvin and Pat’s office in Singapore to fill the sample with my saliva on the spot and submitted it back to the 23 and Me genomes lab in the US on the same day via DHL Express.
So What Is 23 And Me?
23andMe provides ancestry-related genetic reports and raw genetic data. The scientists at the lab will run tests on your saliva and from it, they can tell what your DNA says about you and your family, tracing your lineage back 10,000 years and discover your history from over 750 maternal lineages and over 500 paternal lineages.
Well, that’s what it says on their website.
Scientific research reveals that the idea of a ‘pure race’ is a myth. While many of us may identify to a specific race based on majority of our physical attributes, it is hard to believe that we are a product of generations of flawless ‘breeding’ strictly among our own kind. For example, are the Chinese, well, 100% Chinese?
I bought this DNA Kit from the 23andMe Lab out of curiosity as I’d like to see if it’s truly possible to trace my ancestry. After all, my mother could trace only up to her own grandmother from her mother’s side, and we know almost next to nothing about my father’s side.
Three weeks later and I just got an email from them saying that my complete 23andMe ancestry reports are ready to view! That’s pretty fast; I was expecting to wait for another month or two. 🙂
So here is an overview on my Ancestry composition:
That’s just the overview. Each of these sections are followed by detailed, lengthy explanations which I am still trying to ‘brain them’. Nonetheless, interesting! 🙂
If you want to find out about your own ancestry, you can give it a go starting at $99.
Note that they don’t ship to Malaysia; the closest is Singapore, which is why I needed to get help from my friends in Singapore with their office address.