Mother's Day is right around the corner.
It can be fun to find out what traits can
be passed down from your mom.
Ancestry genealogist Krista Cohen joins us to give us some
insight on it.
Hi, Krista, how are you?
I'm doing so well. Thank you for having me.
I'm very excited for this because most recently I've been
joking with my mom that one of the many traits
she passed down to me was my huge forehead,
and I keep messing with her about it.
So other than the big forehead that she has given
me,
what traits are most likely to be passed down from
our mommies?
Well, my mom gave me light sensitivity,
which I'm not thrilled about.
But if you've ever heard that,
maybe you have your dad's eyes or
your mom's exotic palate for food.
Or if there's something that you don't like or something
that you love,
you just might be able to credit a specific parent.
Whether it's a physical trait you can see or a
behavioral or personality trait that you can't see,
DNA holds more information than a lot of people realize.
I didn't realize that because when I think of DNA,
I think of like the physical things I didn't think
of.
Like, for instance, hankiness is a fun trait that I
saw,
and it might be of some of our genetics.
So what are some other fun traits that we might
get that we don't realize actually comes from our DNA?
Yeah, you know, there are currently
43 traits available when you take any ancestry DNA test,
from dancing skill to caffeine sensitivity.
Cilantro aversion, of course, things like eye color and hair
color,
but also risk taking propensity even whether you're a morning
or a night person,
night person hair.
And with the test, you can identify exactly whether that
trait came from mom's side or dad's side.
Yeah. So I love tea because my mommy and I
are always having tea parties.
But how much of us like loving something is us
being exposed to it?
And how much of it is responsible for the DNA
portion of it?
Yeah, that's a great question.
We can see things in your DNA that would give
you a propensity towards something,
But you're correct, your environment then plays an additional role
in that.
So there are some people who,
for example, have a a genetic propensity for musicality but
never learn to play an instrument just because they've never
been opposed to that or had that opportunity.
Yeah. So you talked about how you said your mom
gave you
light sensitivity. What are some other fun things that your
mom gave you that you didn't really think about?
You know, it's it's so funny because I have to
actually tell on my dad to explain this.
My dad apparently has a gene that makes cilantro taste
like soap to him.
OK, Which, which just breaks my heart because I love
cilantro.
Turns out my mom does too.
What? I think it's crazy because because one thing I
love about I took the Ancestry DNA kit and like,
my mom and I were looking at it and she
was so excited to be able to see,
like, I wonder what you got from your for me,
and I wonder what you got from your dad.
So how can taking the Ancestry DNA kits like,
bring our families closer together?
Yeah, you know, it's such a fun experience.
And I did this with my family recently where
I have taken the Ancestry DNA test.
Both of my parents have tested and I was able
to compare with them.
But your parent doesn't have to test.
My parents were then able to see what they inherited
from each of their parents,
even though my grandparents are long deceased.
And so that was kind of an interesting conversation because
because I tested 2 generations,
I didn't just get to see what I inherited from
mom or dad.
I also got to see what I inherited from which
grandparent.
Yeah. So one thing I do want to know is
I recently went home and I there was something on
my mom's dresser that I made when I was a
little kid. So I want to know,
is there anything that you made your mom?
And you were, like, very surprised that she kept it
years later.
You know, I used to do a little bit of
creative writing when I was a kid,
and I have have a sneaking suspicion she's got a
little folder of that tucked away somewhere.
Oh,
where can we go? It wasn't very good.
Where can we go For more information?
If you just go to
ancestry.com on any web browser or download the free Ancestry
mobile app,
you can order your Ancestry DNA traits kit and kick
start your family history process.
Well, perfect. Thank you so much,
Krista, for joining us today.
Absolutely. Thank you. Kevin Pokey is in next for Tuesday
tips.
We'll be right back.