What can DNA tests really tell us about our ancestry? - Prosanta Chakrabarty episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 4, 2026 · 9 MIN

What can DNA tests really tell us about our ancestry? - Prosanta Chakrabarty

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Dig into the science of how ancestry DNA tests work, their accuracy, and why tracing ancestry is so complicated. --Two sisters take the same DNA test. The results show that one sister is 10% French, the other 0%. Both sisters share the same two parents, and therefore the same set of ancestors. So how can one be 10% more French than the other? Tests like these rely on our DNA to answer questions about our ancestry, but DNA actually can’t tell us everything. Prosanta Chakrabarty explores the accuracy of DNA tests.Lesson by Prosanta Chakrabarty, directed by Artrake Studio.Animator's website: https://www.artrake.com/Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterSupport us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagramView full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-can-dna-tests-really-tell-us-about-our-ancestry-prosanta-chakrabartyThank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Leen Mshasha, Mariana Ortega, Danny Romard, James Bruening, Ricki Daniel Marbun, Malcolm Callis, Sabrina Gonzalez, Al the Scottish Wildcat, سلطان الخليفي, Alexander Walls, Della Palacios, Vik Nagjee, Hiroshi Uchiyama, Adi V, Andrew Bosco, Craig Sheldon, Rishi Pasham, Joanne Luce, Jason A Saslow, Mary Sawyer, Scott Gass, Ruth Fang, Mayank Kaul, Kathryn J Hammond, Max Shuai Tang, Terry Minion, Sami Khan, Rob Johnson, Abdullah Abdulaziz, Angelo Urzua-Milla, Tommy Lewis, leorene, Mahina Bachiller, Marcus Andre Nery, Bruce Vieira Lopes, Chef , Charmaine Hanson, Michael Goldberg, Lydia Pflieger, Paul Aldred-Bann, Manav parmar, Susan Wang, Utkarsh Dubey, Thawsitt, Xuebicoco, Jezabel, Maeve, Kim Humphrey and Kristen Damas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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What can DNA tests really tell us about our ancestry? - Prosanta Chakrabarty

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