The availability of genetic ancestry tests has generated considerable interest among Americans eager to learn about the racial background of their ancestors. Last month, a University of Texas assistant anthropology professor, in association with 13 researchers from across the United States, urged the scientific community to better inform the public about the shortcomings of the tests and called upon consumers to consider the tests with caution.
In recent years, DNA ancestry testing has found unique favor among African-Americans. Given the tragic dislocation of the transatlantic slave trade, many African-Americans have had difficulty tracing their ancestry through surname research and other archives. DNA testing has offered African-Americans what many believed is a compelling new tool to discover more information about their heritage. In the PBS documentary “African-American Lives,” show host Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. and the producers had the DNA of prominent African-Americans, such as Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey and Quincy Jones, tested for the geographic origins of their ancestors.
Dr. Deborah Bolnick, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin, and fellow researchers urged caution with genetic ancestry tests in “The Science and Business of Genetic Ancestry Testing,” which appear in the Oct. 19 issue of Science. The article reports that at least two dozen firms offer genetic ancestry tests, which usually range from $100 to $900, to help consumers learn the racially and ethnically correlated origins of their ancestors. More than 460,000 people have purchased the tests during the past six years.
