My Dominant Left Foot

Ancestry recently informed me I had a new trait. I tend to find these revelations slightly interesting, so I headed right over to check it out. I was a little perplexed to see it was about my dominant foot. Why it would be a useful trait to know is a bit of a headscratcher for me... but ok. 

In the traits screen it predicts I'm left foot dominant. Hmmm....I clicked to get more information. Apparently, dominant foot and hand tend to be on the same side because of how the brain controls fine motor skills. Given I'm right handed, it doesn't seem to be the case for me. 

I'll be honest, I usually look at the trait and move on. Clicking to read about it isn't my normal modus operandi. So when I read further and saw this information it actually troubled me a little.

"Dominant foot is at least 1% genetic
At most 99% environmental
We compared your DNA to the DNA of more than 860,000 people who answered the question “Which is your dominant foot?” We can attribute 1% of this trait to genetics"

Of course, I'm well aware genetics is only part of the equation. But 1% genetic?! 1% is barely worth the time it takes to mention the word trait. And really, I read this as "You're in our database and so are 860,000 other people who took the time to self-report their dominant foot. Based on this self-identified data, we think you might be left foot dominant." I'm sorry, but this seems no better than flipping a coin and picking left or right. 

If you want the broadest group for DNA matching, Ancestry is an absolutely fantastic choice! Push to shove, if I only had one DNA test to recommend, it would be Ancestry for the family historians. But in my opinion, Ancestry DNA traits are generally more for amusement than anything else. If you want more useful health information, 23andMe is probably a better choice (at least right now). Yes, they still offer up traits (and they're probably based on similar self-reporting), but they also provide so much more in terms of easy to understand potential health related results. And they release new reports fairly regularly.

MyHeritage is also offering more in depth whole genome sequencing (WGS) results in 2026. You'll be able to download considerably more detail on your DNA, but interpreting all the raw data is another story. Making use of the information may involve uploading to another 3rd party site, and potentially paying additional subscription fees to gain insights. Not to mention it's only going to be 3 passes (3x). For reference 1-2x are considered low-pass sequencing. So 3x is "better" relatively speaking, but if you want clinical grade, you'd need 30x. 3x is used in research, while 30x is clinical or medical standard. The accuracy difference between research and clinical grade is minimal, but for serious health concerns, or the potential to pass on a genetic mutation to an offspring, every percent can mean a lot. If research level results are right for you, MyHeritage is a very cost effective option for this type of WGS test.

I could fill a dozen posts on the nuances of the various providers and DNA tests, but I'm going to jump off the train now. Personally, since I've done both Ancestry and 23andMe, I'm going to pass on MyHeritage for now. Their kits are often on sale, and I'd like to wait and see the types of new data reports their WGS is going to provide to users. If all they do is provide a big file for download, I'm not inclined to spend a lot of time trying to decipher my DNA, or interested in paying another provider to deliver more insights to me. And if I ever have a health condition, where DNA results become vitally important, I'd likely fork out the money for a clinical grade test. If however, MyHeritage offers something more useful than 23andMe currently does, I'd definitely reconsider my choice. For now, the WGS is a wait and see for me.

Bottom line, Ancestry traits can be fun. You may get a little enjoyment out of whether they predict correctly, or they seem to miss the target entirely. But Ancestry isn't a go to for health related DNA information, and it sure isn't whole genome sequencing. DNA research is constantly evolving. A 30x pass may be clinical grade today, but may not be the gold standard of the future. Your goals with DNA testing are yours alone. You have more options than ever before when it comes to reasonably priced DNA tests - it's all about selecting the one (or two, or three!) you feel are right for you.

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