This is an important resource for many professional and amateur researchers using DNA testing for genealogy. As always, protecting yourself and your DNA should be at the top of your list when choosing which company to pursue. This same argument should also factor into whether or not you upload the GEDcom and DNA data into a site separate from where it began (such as Ancestry to FTDNA). As someone who works with genealogists and assists others with research, I highly recommend trying this book out before going too far into the genetic DNA testing world (and don’t be afraid of all the science talk!).

Understanding DNA Ancestry
by Sheldon Krimsky

When my husband asked me what I wanted for my 60th birthday, I decided it would be a treat to find out more about my ancestry. I had read good things about 23andMe, so—after having paid for two kits (one for me and one for him) and spitting into tubes (which reminded me of various experiments performed during college microbiology)—we shipped off our samples. Eventually, we were presented with a report with my ancestry composition and a list of genetic relatives.

I have noticed that, since the test was performed, my ancestry details (mostly the percentages) have changed, and I assume that’s because more and more Black Americans have had their ancestry analyzed as well.

Because I have a science background, I had a firm understanding of genetics, but what I wasn’t as familiar with was the idea that my information may be used and sold.

“Understanding DNA Ancestry” Sheldon Krimsky is a well-researched book on the industry of ancestry analysis, as well as exploring how ancestry analysis data can be used beyond constructing family trees. While I had briefly considered the privacy aspect before sending off my spittle for my personalized report, I hadn’t realized how companies can/may use the information they gather from all those samples.

While the issue of privacy wasn’t high on my list of things, I was worried about it. I understand that others could be worried about it, too, especially with the information being used in forensic genealogy, which was used to capture the elusive Golden State Killer. This case and others bring up the fact that, once your sample is submitted, it could lead investigators to a family member whom they subsequently suspect of having committed a crime.

It was also interesting to read about how the DNA sample you submit is compared against the standard that each unaffiliated ancestry company has established independently. This would explain why there could be differences in results if you request analyses from different companies.

I recommend “Understanding DNA Ancestry” to those who are interested in having their DNA analyzed, whether you are thinking about having it done, or have your results and wish to know more about the process. While the book is technical in some sections – in fact, I would suggest that readers have a basic understanding of genetics and how traits are inherited – most readers will find the discussion of privacy to be eye-opening. I know I was surprised, and I’m sure you will be just as surprised as I.

[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest and objective opinion which I have given here.]

I felt like this book was too advanced for the average reader but if you know much about DNA, it didn't add any new knowledge. I will be watching other review before I purchase a copy for my library.

I found it really interesting, concise and very well explained. Even some terms that the reader may be unfamiliar with were explained in parenthesis. I was interested in the DNA Ancestry subject and overall my curiosity was satisfied.

I read this book to learn more about the popular DNA Ancestry testing that's available to the public. While I have read a lot of the criticism of DNA testing, and I am not personally interested in taking such a test, I wanted to see what a book would have to say on the topic.

Sheldon Krimsky is a professor at Tufts University with a broad and intimidating portfolio of editorial and advisory positions. His work has been focused on conflicts between science and public interest, and it shows in the scope that "Understanding DNA Ancestry" undertakes.

Much of what the book discusses concerns the arcana of DNA testing. I certainly discovered I knew less about this than I thought I did even as I realize that there is far more to know. But the gist of this part of the book is to lay plain how a complex technological process has matured to the point where it is inexpensive enough to offer to consumers a genetic test for "entertainment purposes."

The book describes how the marketing is pushed to the boundaries of puffery to sell the product to consumers. It describes what the tests can and cannot do. It also goes into some of the hazards of the tests, from discovering family secrets, to laying family members bare to law enforcement fishing expeditions. The danger that these ancestry tests might seem to give legitimacy to "race" as a biological concept is also discussed.

Krimsky does not recommend any particular company or types of tests, even though a lot of his detailed information about the tests references particular companies - so if I were reading this book as a sort of long form Consumer Products Review, I'd be disappointed. But given that Krimsky's focus is more on the interactions of science or technology and the public interest, that also isn't surprising. Krimsky does give the impression that he'd like to see national laws to protect the data and the civil rights of persons participating in these tests. While he makes no arguments against law enforcement using "public" data to troll for suspects, I think he makes his sympathies clear.

Overall the book is clearly written in most places. There were some confusing parts where the book describes genetics and cellular division (keywords meiosis, alleles, genes, chromosomes), but I'll chalk those up to either quotes from confusing (confused?) sources, or my personal misunderstanding how those things work. None of these problems made the main topic difficult to understand.

I would recommend this book to anyone considering a DNA test, as well as to anyone curious about this new technology.

<i>Ancestry DNA</i> from Sheldon Krimsky provides a glimpse into the technical, ethical, and business aspects of direct-to-consumer ancestry testing services (e.g. 23andMe). It's a brief read that tries to tackle too many subjects at once. Krimsky's quick survey of weighty, controversial topics like race and genetics, genetic vs genealogical heritage, unexpected findings from genetic testing (e.g. non-paternity), and privacy of genetic information are too cursory to be enriching for readers. These topics are given mere paragraphs or pages when there exist volumes of literature on these subjects. Moreover, Krimsky's coverage of the scientific details of ancestry testing and the field of population genetics are particularly lacking. This is likely because Krimsky (trained as a philosopher) doesn't have an actual background in population genetics (or genetics for that matter) and is not eminently well read in this literature. For example, the "further reading" section that concludes the book is quite thin, missing a number of seminal studies or even popular works that cover relevant subjects.

Instead, what's more evident from reading this work, is this is a book with particular sociocultural anxieties about the ideas raised by ancestry tests. Krimsky is overeager to dispel these supposedly mistaken ideas or prevent purported breaches of genetic privacy by law enforcement or industry. It is of course true in part that Krimsky is raising legitimate concerns, but he fails to provide enough depth or perspective in his work to make raising these concerns worthwhile or interesting or edifying. Furthermore, he is a bit behind the implications of the science here. For instance, Pandora's Box has already been opened when it comes to genetic privacy. It is possible to identify any individual with a sample of their DNA and little to no other information already (Lippert et al., 2017 in PNAS). I don't think this means we should or have to be fatalistic about the end of genetic privacy, but the perspective Krimsky provides is somewhat superannuated.

This book is a passable read in this area, but there are just so many better options when it comes to population genetics and genetic ancestry testing.

*Disclaimer: I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Sheldon Krimsky has written an accessible introduction to how DNA ancestry tests work, what they can be used for, and the associated ethical issues. The science on which DNA ancestry is based is real, however there is inconsistency in the implementation and interpretation of data between the somewhat unregulated companies that serve consumers. Protective of their private algorithms and databases, the companies (AncestryDNA, 23and Me, etc.) do not disclose much beyond their marketing materials – and that tends towards proprietary jargon. As a result, there are imprecise understandings of the accuracy and meaning of the results by consumers. Personally, I’ve not had such tests performed on myself, but I’ve heard folks laying claim to ethnically stereotyped behaviors in themselves, based on small percentages of correlation to possible ancestral populations. And that just isn’t right.

It's not difficult to understand Professor Krimsky’s explanations, with a minimum of genetic biology vocabulary. The math parts do not go beyond basic information theory and statistical variance, and so I think this book could have wide appeal, falling somewhere between consumer marketing and the science. His writing style is sometimes bluntly matter-of-fact, and can be repetitive. Some readers might prefer to be taught through analogy, but I do appreciate when someone just directly describes how things work.

He begins with the original applications of the technique, which were the study of population movements by anthropologists, and forensic matching by law enforcement agencies. The core of the book is an explanation of how consumer DNA samples are analyzed by correlation of particular alleles of selected Ancestry Informative Markers to Reference Panel Populations – where the AIMs and RPPs are proprietary data. He explains how one person can come out with different results from different vendors or even from the same vendor – and that definitely does happen. But beyond the consumer Ancestry DNA business, he also discusses social implications of widespread testing, sales of genetic data to third parties, privacy issues, misleading claims about anonymization, and law enforcement capabilities. He even explores a little of what it is that motivates individuals to investigate ancestry. In one relatively short book, it contains an up-to-date introduction to many of the implications of DNA ancestry.

Probably the most important takeaway is simply this – Genetic ancestry is not genealogical ancestry. I do wish more of the people who purchase these tests understood the assumptions and limitations of the technique, perhaps through reading books like this.

Sheldon Krimsky is Lenore Stern Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences and Adjunct Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA. His research has focused on the linkages between science/technology, ethics/values and public policy. His areas of specialization include biomedical sciences, bioethics, science and technology studies, risk assessment and communication, social history of science, and environmental health. He is the author of over 200 articles and reviews, and author, co-author or editor of 16 books.

I read an Advance Reader Copy of Understanding DNA Ancestry, by Sheldon Krimsky in Protected PDF using Adobe Digital Editions, which I received from Cambridge University Press through netgalley.com, in exchange for an honest review on social media platforms and on my book review blog. This new title is scheduled for release in October 2021.

Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 The Business of DNA Ancestry
3 What Our Genomes Tell Us about the Geographical Origins and Movements of Early Human Populations
4 The Science behind DNA Ancestry Testing
5 Ancestry Informative Markers
6 Ancestry DNA Population Reference Panels
7 Comparing a Donor’s DMA to Reference Panel Populations
8 Probing Your DNA
9 Forensic Applications of Ancestry DNA Results
10 Privacy, Personal Identity, and Legal Issues
11 Discovering Unknown, Missing, or Mistaken Relatives
12 Accuracy, Consistency, and Validation of DNA Ancestry Tests
13 Conclusion
Summary of Common Misunderstandings
Further Reading
Index

Errata
Page 35, Paragraph 3, Line 7: “populations 1 and 2 share” should be “populations A and B share”
Page 59, Paragraph 1, Line 2: “6/8 and 4/4 STRs” should be “6/8 and 4/3 STRs”.