We all know how reliable Ancestry trees are...

[Lindsay]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-21/google-s-calico-to-scour-ancestry-com-data-for-longevity-genes

Apparently Ancestry are planning to use the trees people have uploaded to tie in with the genetic data they have from DNA testing.

“Now that we’ve got 1 million samples, there’s enough statistical power in the dataset to elucidate drug targets,” said Ken Chahine, Ancestry’s executive vice president and head of DNA and health. “If you aggregate a set of individuals who had long-lived families and we have their genetic information as well, that’s a way to start making hypotheses about the heritability of longevity.”

Have they looked at the trees? :eek::eek::eek:

[maggie_4_7]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-21/google-s-calico-to-scour-ancestry-com-data-for-longevity-genes

Apparently Ancestry are planning to use the trees people have uploaded to tie in with the genetic data they have from DNA testing.

“Now that we’ve got 1 million samples, there’s enough statistical power in the dataset to elucidate drug targets,” said Ken Chahine, Ancestry’s executive vice president and head of DNA and health. “If you aggregate a set of individuals who had long-lived families and we have their genetic information as well, that’s a way to start making hypotheses about the heritability of longevity.”

Have they looked at the trees? :eek::eek::eek:

“Now that we’ve got 1 million samples, there’s enough statistical power in the dataset to elucidate drug targets,” said Ken Chahine, Ancestry’s executive vice president and head of DNA and health. “If you aggregate a set of individuals who had long-lived families and we have their genetic information as well, that’s a way to start making hypotheses about the heritability of longevity.”

That statement doesn't actually make any sense at all as well as being nonsensical it is entirely cuckoo in La La land. These sorts of studies should be done by Scientists with irrefutable data collected sensibly, correctly and in a controlled environment.

There are no Long Lived families there are Long Lived individuals and he has used the word hypotheses which means "a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation." One million samples of 'what exactly' home DNA kits :D :D :D

I don't think forensic science has sunk this low yet.

[Olde Crone]

What a terrifying statement, but it does not surprise me one bit. I have always been worried about Ancestry's plans for the DNA data it collects.

However - as Lindsay says, have they actually looked at the trees?

One branch of my family does appear to have longevity...apart from a really high number of young males who died accidentally. I could hypothesise from that that the genes for longevity carry a high risk of accidental death! (Or maybe stupidity.....)

OC

[Kit]

This could explain the big push Ancestry has been doing lately to get people to do the DNA testing.