Pricing and Features
National Geographic’s Geno 2.0 testing kit originally costs $199.95, but currently runs at a promo price of $179.95. Taking your DNA specimen is easy and painless: inside the package, you will find a swab that you will use to scrape your inner cheek with. You can also find instructions for sending in your specimen to their laboratory, and an informed consent form that you need to accomplish so that they can proceed with the testing
Geno 2.0 uses technology developed by National Geographic’s resident explorer Dr. Spencer Wells and team, which was originally based on the Genographic Project’s emerging technologies from the time it was launched. They make use of a custom-build genotyping chip which can identify and test over 750,000 DNA markers, which can provide accurate and specific results.
Information on Migration
What can you learn from taking the Geno 2.0 test? You will be able to trace the migration paths of your ancestors which can go back as far as 100,000 years ago. In this regard, results are then separated into different sections. The first one is hominin ancestry, which is for ancestors living around 60,000 years ago. The second is deep ancestry, which is for an estimated 1,000 to 100,000 years ago. And finally, there is regional ancestry, which is for 5,000 to 10,000 years ago. You will also be able to know the percentage of your ethnicity from over 50 different regions, which is almost double the usual references compared to other competitors.
Results
It is a bit disappointing to learn that results from Geno 2.0 take ten weeks to arrive, with a majority of customers receiving theirs a little over a month from the time that the kit was received in the lab. This is far more slower than the average in the market. In fact, some competing services take only a couple of days to let you know of the results. To help pass the time, you can check their website to see the status of your specimen and learn more about the process.
The results will be posted online via an individual ID that came with the kit, to ensure that no one else can access the information. Be sure to take good care of the ID, since there is no way to recover it if ever you lose yours.
For the Better Good
By now, you may have seen the Genographic Project mentioned several times in this review. Simply put, it is National Geographic’s take on solving the mysteries of where the human race originated and how our species managed to populate the Earth. With Geno 2.0, you have the opportunity to become a participant in the research by contributing your results to their database. With your data, you can help the research team expand the map of the of the origins of human history. Of course, your participation for this project is not compulsory; only when you give out your consent will they look into your profile.
Even if you don’t have any plans on joining the study, you are already helping its continuity just by buying the Geno 2.0 kit. A portion of the amount from sales goes directly into funding additional research, together with support for cultural cultivation and indigenous communities.
Customer Service
National Geographic has a lot of information regarding the Geno 2.0 tucked under their FAQ page, covering topics from pre-ordering factoids to details on results and research. If you want to reach their support team regarding your results, you can call their phone line or send them an email. They also have social media accounts in Facebook and Twitter that you can follow to get the latest news and updates.
What's the Verdict on Geno 2.0?
Geno 2.0 Review 2020 – Conclusion
Aside from migration lines and ethnic percentage, Geno 2.0 falls short in providing a more meaningful set of information, which is a shame given that their price tag is steeper than most in the competition, and results take 10 weeks to arrive. The extra cost is a bit understandable, though, given that a portion of it goes to the Genographic Project and other charitable causes. Plus, you get the chance to contribute to the study and help the researchers get a clearer picture of mankind’s origin and migration history. So if you want to learn more about your ancestry, and help science learn more about mankind, then Geno 2.0 is definitely for you.
3 Comments
My brother had his DNA analysis through the Genome project. The migration of our ancestors was interesting, but not surprising since some information is common knowledge to educated people through historical references. The most interesting find was that English ancestors arrived from Scandinavian countries like Norway and Finland in my case, but also Mongolian markers on paternal side from Bulgaria. Interesting stuff and great for discussions with others.
While your comments on the what you appear to get for what you pay are certainly true on the surface you’ve skipped over one of the most significant features of the product. GEN 2.0 does your entire genome. Virtually all of the other providers give you a limited about of information focused entirely on what you decide you want and can provide. If they provide any raw data at all it is a very limited raw data set based only on the “features” you ordered. Why does that matter? If you buy a genealogy analysis and later decided you want a health analysis you need to pay again and send in another cheek swab. You get back the analysis and another limited raw data set.
With the GEN 2.0 you can either order an add on product – no 2nd cheek swab required. But the real value is having your entire genome raw data set. With that raw data set you can do your own analysis on whatever factors of the genome you are interested in. And there are literally dozens of free or low cost analysis tools on the internet to help you. There are even DNA apps in the Apple IOS Apps Store that will provide you with any niche you might be interested in. There are DNA health apps, DNA sports apps, DNA based dieting – the list goes on. All you need is the app and complete raw data set. Sounds like it could get kind of geeky and it can depending on the app and your interests. But if geeky intimidates you there are dozens of third party providers that will do the analysis for a small fee and much less expensively than the name brands charge.
Thanks for the in-depth explanation, Jim! 🙂