Discerning accuracy amongst DNA checks isn’t cut-and-dried as a result of the businesses are solely as dependable because the science behind them. In 2019, Embark stated its breed outcomes have been 95% to 99% correct. On the time, Embark analyzed 110 occasions extra genetic markers than Knowledge Panel, so its outcomes have been extra granular (200,000 versus 1,800, respectively). Since Knowledge Panel used fewer knowledge factors, its outcomes weren’t as exact, and it claimed a 93% accuracy fee. (As a result of DNA corporations use proprietary expertise, we couldn’t independently confirm the accuracy of their breed and well being studies.)
Knowledge Panel revamped its testing protocol in 2020 and now makes use of 100,000 genetic markers. The corporate claims the take a look at’s studies are extra exact however has declined to share an accuracy fee for its up to date product.
Each corporations declare to make use of the most recent human genetics science to check every canine’s DNA, however as we found whereas overlaying human ancestry checks, massive corporations depend on algorithms, or guesses, to estimate ancestry percentages—so there’s no strategy to know their accuracy for positive. And a Genetics in Drugs report discovered that outcomes from human genetic-testing corporations have been inaccurate 40% of the time.
