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Introduction

Are DNA ancestry tests a reliable way to trace your ancestry? Neil and Beth discuss it and teach you some new vocabulary.

This week’s question

How much DNA do humans share with each other?

a) 79.9%
b) 89.9% or,
c) 99.9?

Listen to the program to hear the answer.

Vocabulary

family tree
diagram that shows all the members of a family, usually over a long period of time, and their relationships with each other

ancestry
the origins of your family; your ancestors who lived long ago

take it with a pinch of salt
do not believe something to be completely accurate or true; to be doubtful or skeptical about something

ancestors
relatives who lived in the past

ethnicity
social, cultural, and linguistic characteristics shared by a large group of people

blows away
be extremely exciting or surprising

TRANSCRIPTION

Note: This is not a verbatim transcription.

Daniel
Good morning. This is 6 minutes of English from BBC Learning English. My name is Neil.

Beth
And my name is Beth.

Daniel
Nowadays, it is common to learn more about your family history by tracing your family tree – a diagram that shows all the members of a family over a long period of time. What do you know about your family history, Beth?

Beth
Well, my mother did our family tree and discovered that many of our ancestors had emigrated to the United States. But yeah, I don’t know much more than that. And you?

Daniel
Well, I’m lucky enough to have an unusual last name so it’s pretty easy to trace my ancestors and someone in my family went all the way back to 1700 and found someone with my name.

Beth
Wow, that’s amazing. Well, the internet has made it easier to find the historical records needed to research your ancestry – the origins of your family. But what if you want to learn about a time before historical records began? Fortunately, some companies now offer to trace your ancestry using DNA.

Daniel
DNA is the cellular information passed from parents to children that tells the body how to create life. The listener, Chris, from the UK, recently took a DNA ancestry test. When the test returned unexpected results, Chris called into BBC Radio 4’s Sliced ​​Bread program, questioning whether these results were actually accurate:

Listener Chris
Not long ago I sent in a home DNA test kit and the results that came back were mostly as expected, but there were a few small issues that made me think: is this accurate? ? Or will it be take with a pinch of salt?

Beth
Chris wondered if his results were accurate or if he take them with a pinch of saltan idiom meaning to doubt something is completely true. So, in this program we will discuss the accuracy of DNA ancestry tracing and as usual we will learn new useful words and phrases. And don’t forget that you can find all the vocabulary for this program on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.

Daniel
But first, I have a question for you, Beth. One reason to be wary of DNA ancestry testing is that humans are very similar to each other. Most of your DNA is identical to that of everyone else on earth, and only a tiny amount of difference explains all the genetic variation between humans. So, exactly how much DNA do humans share with each other? Is it:

a) 79.9%?
b) 89.9%?, or
c) 99.9%?

Beth
I’m going to guess 99.9%.

Daniel
ALL RIGHT. well, we will find out the answer later in the program. Another problem for DNA-based research is agreeing on the meaning of words like “ancestry” and “ethnicity.” Here, genealogist Louise Baldock explains the difference between these words on the BBC Radio 4 show, ‘Sliced ​​Bread’:

Louise Baldock
So “ancestry” is really about people, it’s about your true ancestors. Your ‘ethnicity’you would probably think in geographical terms, perhaps what continent or region your “people” came from.

Beth
Like “ancestors”, the term ancestors means real people – your family members from long ago. But Louise is more interested in the term, ethnicity – the shared culture, language and traditions of a group of people – and this is closely linked to a geographical location.

Daniel
And it was this question of geography that interested BBC presenter Greg Foot. Greg sent DNA samples to two different companies. The results of the first venture matched what he already knew about his family, namely that the last five generations had come from England. But hear what happens when Louise Baldock revealed the results of Greg’s second DNA test on her BBC Radio 4 show, Sliced ​​Bread:

Louise Baldock
How are you blows away! (ALL RIGHT). Can I tell you what you’re looking at?

Greg Foot
Yes, please do it.

Louise Baldock
It says that you are, first of all, 66% Northern and Western Europe, but that explicitly does not refer to the UK.

Greg Foot
OK, that’s a big geographic area.

Louise Baldock
27.5% Irish, Scottish and Welsh, but again, explicitly not English.

Beth
The second company’s DNA test blows Greg’s spirit – this makes him very excited and surprised. There is no proof that his ancestors are English!

Daniel
In fact, companies compare DNA with other samples in their database, and since companies use different databases, it’s not surprising that Greg’s results are so different – unlike his DNA real.

Beth
Speaking of which, what was the answer to your question, Neil?

Daniel
I asked you what percentage of human DNA is shared by everyone, and what was your answer, Beth?

Beth
I said 99.9%.

Daniel
Well, you must be very smart, because the answer is correct. Well done! Okay, let’s recap the vocabulary we’ve learned starting with family treea diagram showing all the members of a family

Beth
Ancestry refers to the origins of a family.

Daniel
If you take something with a pinch of saltyou don’t believe it’s completely true.

Beth
Ancestors are parents who lived in the past.

Daniel
Ethnic origin refers to the social, cultural and linguistic characteristics shared by a group of people.

Beth
And finally, if anything blows your mindit excites or surprises you. Once again our six minutes are up, but why not head over to the BBC Learning English website where you will find a worksheet and quiz specifically for this programme. See you soon there!

Daniel
Bye!