DNA tests you do at home

For years, Art Thomas sifted through the stories and rumors traded among relatives and he wondered: Exactly where did I come from?

Last fall, Thomas, a retired information-technology manager in Springfield, Ohio, turned to his body for answers. He scraped a cell sample from inside his cheek, mailed the swab to a lab and waited for science to supplement his genealogical research.

Thomas' quest to unlock the secrets of his own DNA is far from a solitary one. A small, but fast-growing number of consumers are paying for a proliferation of partly self-administered genetic tests, hoping to determine everything from paternity to their propensity to develop certain diseases to their own ancestry.

Some health-related tests have stirred skepticism among doctors and geneticists concerned about their validity and consumers' ability to interpret the results. But more consumers are proceeding with such tests and marketers are responding.

Discount retailer Target now sells DNA collection and profile kits online. Some specialty drugstores have begun stocking DNA-based nutritional tests.

The increased marketing of self-administered DNA testing is most evident on the Internet, where numerous companies offer an array of products.

Some direct-to-consumer DNA tests have attracted negative attention. Last year, a group of women sued the marketers of the Baby Gender Mentor test, which promised to determine the gender of a fetus. They accused the company of failing to honor its guarantee when the test results proved wrong.

Other types of tests have attracted new interest, like those featured in a recent television show on the Public Broadcasting Service that traced the ancestry of Oprah Winfrey and other black celebrities.

For the past 15 years, Thomas has poured his free time into researching his family tree. But Thomas, who is black, remained uncertain about pieces of the family legend that said both a great-grandmother and a great-grandfather were white.

He studied a photo of a family reunion, taken in 1920, that shows five rows of relatives gathered on and around the porch of an Ohio home, noting that some of his predecessor were, indeed, much lighter in complexion than others.

Thomas, whose undergraduate degree is in biology, knew something about genetics. So, when companies began marketing tests that might help clarify his family's past, he paid attention. But it wasn't until last year that he felt comfortable with the products being offered.

He spent just under $300 for two tests from Family Tree DNA, owned by Genealogy by Genetics of Houston, and $175 for a test marketed by Ancestry by DNA, owned by DNA Print Genomics of Sarasota, Fla.

The results confirmed and amplified Thomas' earlier findings that his family tree includes some white ancestors. In fact, the test showed, his genetic makeup was 49 percent European origin, 48 percent African American and 3 percent Native American.

"It confirms a lot of oral history," Thomas says.

Chuck Bryceland of Bronxville, N.Y., became interested in genetics seven years ago when his daughter was born with a condition that caused breathing difficulties. Tests determined the condition was not caused by genetics and it was remedied through surgery.

But Bryceland, who runs a financial-advisory firm, remained fascinated and bought stock in several biotech companies. It wasn't until a month ago, though, that he purchased two tests — one to examine his genetic propensity for heart disease, another to screen for his body's ability to absorb nutrients — after spotting them on a drugstore shelf.

He paid $199 for one test, $99 for the other, which told him that he is unlikely to develop heart disease but that his body poorly absorbs Vitamin B. Since then, he's been campaigning to get his wife and other family members to take the tests, too.

"If there's information out there that we can use to help our health then why wouldn't I take it?" Bryceland said.