Race in general includes both a cultural and biological feature of a person or group of people. Physical differences between populations are often accompanied by cultural differences, it has been difficult to separate these two elements of race. Over the past decades there has been a movement in science to oversimplify the this by stating that race is "merely a social construct". Whilst this could be considered correct, depending on what aspect of variation between people one is considering, it is also true that there are biological differences between the populations of the world. A simple & clear example of a biological difference is an individuals skin colour. A strong genetic component to the level of pigmentation in a person's skin and there are numerous differences with global populations. Pigmentation is only skin deep and really a simple heritable trait in light of the complex environments in which we all live and how these environments affect our individual and group quality of life is far beyond our ability to understand as scientists.

Biological aspects of race is mostly based on the genetic structure of human populations. This structure is a nested hierarchy from East to West where populations in the Americas and the South Pacific are a subset of the genetic diversity found in Eurasia which itself is a subset of the diversity found in Africa.

• It is clear that the human species is still relatively in its early stages. According to most archaeologists, humans most likely originated in east Africa, 100,000 to 300,000 years ago, and diverged as groups, increased, travelled, and settled in various locations. During these migrations, and in time since, there has been some degree of independent evolution of the populations that settled in various continents of the world. Obvious evidence of this evolution can be viewed in the differences in allele frequencies at genetic markers. Generally, we see that alleles found in one population are also found in all populations and the alleles that are the most common in one are also common in others. These similarities between populations highlight the recent common origin of all populations and strong connections between populations throughout human history. However, there are examples of genetic markers that are different between populations, called Ancestry Informative Markers (AIMs), which can be used to estimate the ancestral origins of a person or population.

Race is a complex & multivariate make up that we tend to over simplify but with analysis, we're measuring an individual's genetic ancestry - not their race. DNA has no recorded history of your political, social, personal or religious beliefs. A simple four-letter code that records all changes in DNA from one generation to the next. We report & evaluate those changes; they are similar to fingerprints, unique, individual & complex.

BioGeographical Ancestry (BGA) is the term given to the biological or genetic component of race. BGA is a straightforward and objective description of the Ancestral origins of a person, in terms of the major population groups. (e.g. Native American, East Asian, European, sub-Saharan African, etc.) BGA studies are able to represent the mixed nature of many people and populations today. In many countries across the globe, there has been far-reaching integration among populations that had initially been separate. In the fields of human genetics & anthropology, this combination is referred to as admixture. BGA estimates can also be understood as individual admixture proportions, which take the form of a series of percentages that add to 100%. For example, a person in question may be found to have: 75% European; 15% African; 10% Native American ancestry, or they may be found to have 100% European ancestry.

The ancestry test uses a specific selected panel of Ancestry Informative Markers (AIMs) that have been categorized in a large number of distinct population samples. These markers are selected on the bases of showing considerable differences in regularity between population groups & can tell us about the origins of an individual whose ancestry is unidentified. For example, the Duffy Null allele (FY*0) is very common (approaching fixation or an allele frequency of 100%) in all sub-Saharan African populations. Thus, a person with this allele is very likely to have some level of African ancestry. After the investigation of these AIMs, in a sample of a person's DNA, the probability that a person is derived from any of the parental populations and any of the possible mixes of parental populations is calculated. The population (or combination of populations) where the likelihood is the highest is then taken to be the best estimate of the ancestral proportions of the person. Confidence intervals on these point estimates of ancestral proportions are also being calculated.

DNA Solutions deem that an objective evaluation of the biological component of human ancestry is possible and that such research could enhance our lives in numerous ways:

• Understanding health disparities. Are there genetic contributions to the higher rates of hypertension and diabetes in African Americans or the higher rates of dementia in European Americans? If not, then what are the cultural or environmental differences that underlie the prevailing differences? Studies of these and other diseases require independent, objective measures of BioGeographical Ancestry (BGA).
• Estimates of BGA can help reconnect individuals separated by adoption, or some other event, with their ancestral populations.
• Even if an individual is not interested to find out about their ancestors, they can reveal the past of their family either to verify family legends or to search for forgotten roots.

In the near future, we hope to allow customers to compare their ancestral proportions to others in their family, town, city, or state who have chosen to participate. Because it is based on DNA, and unlike the census, this new tool will provide the most accurate demographics data that is possible. We will call this our 'personal demographics' tool.

The medical worth of BGA estimate is negligible. Although some diseases are found at different frequencies in populations across the globe, hardly any are restricted to one group. The usefulness of BGA estimates, in biomedical research, comes from epidemiological analysis where many individuals are analysed together to make very general statements about differences in threat. Even though these results can be very significant, they have almost no meaning regarding the level of risk for any one person in the population.

DNA Solutions have additional tests of mtDNA (female contribution) and Y-chromosomal(male contribution) markers, which are a useful insight in to learning one's ancestral background. Although these tests could provide information regarding the origins of some of a person';s ancestors, that allows the client a detailed & broad overview.

AncestryByDNA™ 1.0 is the first version of the test, and it is specifically designed to provide information to uncover the levels of Native American, European, and African ancestry, as three component groups. The current BGA tests that DNA Solutions is offering, AncestryByDNA™ 2.0 and 2.5, are expanded to provide information on the proportions of ancestry on the continental level for most continents, Native American, European (which includes European, Middle Eastern and South Asian groups, such as Indians), African, but we distinguish ancestries within Asia and the Pacific Rim by adding East Asian, (which includes the Pacific Islanders) as an additional group. Since there will also be interest in defining the levels of ancestry within continents (such as distinguishing Japanese from Chinese, or Northern European from Middle Eastern), DNA Solutions is in the process of developing a new series of Ancestry Informative Markers that will provide more insight into where within a particular continent a persons' ancestors were most likely derived. This test, AncestryByDNA™ 3.0 is currently under development.

Specialist software for generating and presenting results was recently upgraded & modified. The current version of the software builds on the knowledge gained during the development of AncestryByDNA™ 2.5. Prior to the change, we reported the results in terms of a single triangle plot, showing the confidence contours in the three dimensions corresponding to the three most likely ancestries for the individual. The new software shows BGA estimates using a more complex triangle plot and a bar graph. The new triangle plot and bar graph show the confidence contours in all four dimensions (Western Sub Saharan African, European, Native American and East Asian).

• The 15% East Asian means you are most likely share sequence identity with East Asians at some marker levels. Studies have indicated that, although there is a measurable level of noise in the test, we do see a pattern of minor contribution among certain populations. These findings will be published at a later date.
• Your range bars and confidence contours are also part of the findings. The values within these determined ranges represent other possible outcomes that are statistically significant but are less likely. Therefore, if your range bar on the bar graph includes zero, you should consider that possibility.

There are two ways for an individual to confirm this:

• You may have access to historical records or other provenance that leads you to confirm or refute the admixture. For example, if your records suggest that you have a grandparent of East Asian heritage and you register with the test as of 5% East Asian, the two observations combined make a stronger case for East Asian ancestry than either on their own
• You can obtain the admixture proportions for your father and mother. Lets say you register with 4% African and you want to know whether this 4% is in error or is accurate. You obtain the admixture proportions from your parents and each is 100% European. Chances are the 4% was a result of statistical noise. However, if your mother was 15% African and your father was 100% European, your non-zero percentage of African is likely to be an accurate indicator of African ancestry.

Eliminating adoption and paternity issues, your range bars and confidence contours are also part of the answer. The values within these determined ranges represent other possible outcomes that are statistically significant but are less likely. Therefore, if your range bar on the bar graph includes values greater than zero, you should consider that possibility.

Without direct genetic testing, it is may be uncertain that your ancestor was 100% Native American. If you only had one such ancestry in your family this would make detection all that much more difficult. In addition, the number of generations between a limited number of ancestors with Native American markers and your self will also influence the probability of detecting such a connection.

Your results are derived to how well you compare to our reference populations. Your range bars confidence contours are also part of the answer. The values within these determined ranges represent other potential outcomes that are statistically significant but are less likely. It is probable that your intervals and ranges encompass a number of values for both Native American and East Asian populations and this should be considered when questioning these types of results.

5 Generations ago, you had 32 Great Grandparents, all of whom contributed to your genetic makeup. Understanding the contributions from each of these individuals is difficult. It is possible that some of these people had some minor East Asian component and their contributions are influencing your results.

During the testing process, we've observed a number of samples from Scandinavia Eastern regions of Europe that exhibit some East Asian admixture. This is probably due to past migrations and is possibly telling us something about the interaction of various groups in those regions. In addition, cultures from these areas travelled to region of Asia and it does not seem unreasonable that children may have been produced from some of these travels introducing new genetic markers into the Scandinavian population.

Pedigree studies have shown that the level of admixture follow known inheritance patterns, supporting the validity of these low values. However, as stated above, the confidence intervals are important for understanding your results and the scores are the most likely estimates from your DNA. If your confidence interval overlaps zero your value may be within the statistical noise threshold of the test and should be considered a possible result. As the number of markers tested goes up the statistical noise should decrease as evidence in the change in confidence interval size between the 2.0 and 2.5 tests.