Ancestry yesterday announced it has updated the “science behind” the DNA ethnicity estimates.
New ethnicity estimates will roll out to new and existing customers over several months, resulting in potential developments for customers, such as new ethnicity regions. For example, AncestryDNA went from 2 to 11 ethnicity regions in the Americas — an “unprecedented industry improvement.”
This update was made possible due to an increase in the AncestryDNA reference panel. The reference panel is now more than double its previous size with samples from more places around the world, allowing Ancestry to determine ethnic breakdowns with a higher degree of precision.
The region, “Native American,” which is a term used only in the United States, has been replaced by new regions that include Indigenous Eastern South America, Indigenous Cuba, and Indigenous Americas–Mexico. The designation, Native American–Andean, always had a bizarre ring to anyone living outside the US.
My ethnicity estimate was updated August 2019, and was revealed to me yesterday.
If your estimate has been updated, you will see a large pop-up message with the words, “Your updated estimate is here,” when you first open your ethnicity estimate.
You will also see Updated in the top right corner above your ethnicity estimate. Click on Updated to reveal a message and a link, “Learn more about this update.” That is where you will see the date of the update.
Why the change?
So, why does your ethnicity estimate change about every year or two even though you still have the same DNA? Barry Starr, director of Scientific Community at Ancestry, explains in a YouTube video. He says, “Your DNA doesn’t change. The science of interpreting it does. Changes to your ethnicity estimate are the result of scientific advances using our larger DNA database.”
My husband’s ethnicity took an interesting and rather surprising change. His father’s paternal and maternal ancestors are all descended from some of the earliest European (French) settlers in Quebec. Two weeks ago, my husband’s DNA was 47 percent from France. With the update, it has dropped to 25 percent. His English, Welsh and Northwestern Europe ethnicity has remained the same, but his Irish and Scottish portion has increased six-fold, which doesn’t support the genealogical research.
With 15 million people tested and more joining Ancestry’s DNA network each day, the company expects that the number and granularity of regions it can offer will continue to increase over time.
To learn more about why the ethnicity estimate changes, watch Ancestry’s video on YouTube and read the blog post, Ancestry® Expands Reference Panel to Deliver More Precise Results and New Regions.
