Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Wistful Wednesday: What we pass along

Far Guy got the results of his DNA story.

England, Wales and Northwestern Europe 69 %

Germanic Europe 17 % ( Northwest Germany)

Norway 6 %

France 4 %

Ireland and Scotland 4 %

Northwestern Europe covers a large area: Ireland, UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Northern Germany, Luxembourg, Northern France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, South Germany and Switzerland.  Some of these peoples were Celtic and some were Vikings.

The Vikings part is a bit interesting.  There is a Genetic connection to Far Guy.  The Vikings were eating raw fish and sometimes the fish had worms that would make you ill.  Over the years their bodies adapted and they developed a mutated gene…that gene is what causes Alpha One Antitrypsin Deficiency.   That is the good news/ bad news, you won’t get worms but your liver will not produce a protein to protect your lungs. 

Marvin and Evelyn 1955

Far Guy’s parents.  They were both carriers for the bad gene, one was an M (normal) and and S (deficient gene), the other was M (normal) and Z (deficient gene).  We do not know which is which.  ( If all relatives would take the free test we might be able to figure it out…as of yet few have been tested.)  Far Guy is a SZ (deficient), his sister is MM (normal) he got the bad genes and she got the good ones.   A child gets one gene from their father and one from their mother…the luck of the draw.  I am MM (Normal) so we knew right away that both of our daughters were carriers.  Only one of our Grandchildren is a carrier….four escaped and one did not.

Far Side

20 comments:

Val Ewing said...

Eeeks. Sometimes I think about genetic testing and other times I decide maybe I don't want to find out that much about my backround. I think I know that my family originates from Scotland on Dad's side and Denmark by way of Budweis on the other side.

linda m said...

Very interesting! From following my family tree i am mostly German. Haven't done any DNA testing yet.

DJan said...

My genetic makeup is pretty boring, really. Mostly European, but I've not done the health part so I don't know what I might have inherited. Very interesting! :-)

Miss Merry said...

My results are being processed. . .

Pauline Persing said...

Sorry all your grandchildren did not escape the bad genes but glad most of them did. One of our grandchildren has Ehlers-Danlows which is a genetic disorder which may be inherited or may be the result of mutation of a gene. Not sure I have the spelling of the syndrome correct. It is a nasty one, too. It affects the connective tissues of the body. As far as I know, no one in our immediate family has done extensive DNA testing.

Anonymous said...

It’s all very interesting isn’t it? I’m sorry that all of your grandchildren did not escape. It’s amazing the things we know now due to testing, that a few years ago they had no clue.
Blessings,
Betsy

Sara said...

How interesting, and a little scary too. I went through extensive genetic testing some years ago due to the high numbers of breast and ovarian cancer on my mom's side. And I've done the DNA testing from both Ancestry and 23andMe recently. I added the health testing from 23andMe, but so far haven't seen any detailed info.

Gemma's person said...

Good to know and not good to know. Better decisions can be made,than not knowing.

Rita said...

Supposed to be 100% Swedish. Would be interesting to find out, but it doesn't sound like they let you know which Scandinavian countries you're from, anyways.

Genetics is truly luck of the draw. Or bad luck of the draw. Dagan, with all his heart problems, also got the glaucoma my dad had and my degenerative spine has also recently popped up. Poor guy! It's great that they have testing for some of these health issues now.

Maebeme said...

Goodness, that's quite a mix of ethnicity. It's unfortunate your husband and grandchild were adversely affected. In your grandchild's case, perhaps there are steps that can be taken to lessen the impact?

Cynthia said...

Genetics are fascinating and it’s fun to know your complete ethnic background. I wonder if any of his background was surprising to FG.
There is a fascinating show (several seasons) on PBS called Finding Your Roots where they take well-known people and do a complete genealogy for them. It’s one of our favorite shows and very entertaining.

Kim@stuffcould.... said...

My goodness, this DNA stuff is so advanced.....I hope the bad gene stays inactive

goodnightgram said...

This was very interesting to read. Worms...? Wow! Our family knows about the luck of the draw, too, but for a different kind of situation and it was two recessive genes, also. So... curious, did you find the yarn for the Indianapolis hat knitting project? And thanks for telling me the $500 dollars I'm saving for raking my roof! I like that saving better than the $385. Makes me feel better off. My sis is picking up twigs from her yard. I won't even see my yard for at least a month... or more. Too much snow.

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

My daughter did a DNA story but I can't remember the results

Linda Reeder said...

Well, I knew there was a reason I don't eat raw fish. And I'm 88% Viking and the rest is Celt.
Seriously though, Far Guy got a bad deal.

Far Side of Fifty said...

No I need to go shopping for yarn! I have the colors written down someplace, thanks for the reminder!

Rose said...

Interesting...

Granny Marigold said...

Definitely very interesting also sad for those that got stuck with the defective gene. I'm amazed by what can all be found out these days.

The Feminine Energy said...

That's so very interesting, isn't it. Wow!! I've definitely thought of getting genetic testing done but... then again, I think I might just stick with what my mama and daddy told me, about my heritage, and leave it at that. :-) Love, Andrea xoxo

Sam I Am...... said...

That is fascinating about the origins of the disease but it's terrible that Far Guy got it.