Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN!
Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2024.
I received this information from MyHeritage today:
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We're pleased to introduce you to MyHeritage DNA 360°, our newest and most comprehensive DNA test. This test unlocks valuable genetic insights about your health and wellness. It also lays the foundation for enhancements in genetic genealogy superior to anything we've ever provided before.
MyHeritage DNA 360° is a premium DNA test that uses 30x Whole Genome Sequencing: it reads all 3 billion base pairs of your genome, 30 times over on average, to provide you with 360 health and wellness reports.
This depth of analysis is possible only with high-resolution sequencing, not with DNA data read using lower-resolution technologies. That's why MyHeritage DNA 360° requires a new DNA kit and sample.
Genetic risk for many types of cancer, including hereditary BRCA cancers
Cardiovascular & Respiratory
Heart disease, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, and respiratory conditions
Brain & Neurological
Cognitive performance, brain health, and risk for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
Metabolism & Hormonal Health
Blood sugar control, weight tendencies, thyroid, liver, and kidney health
Autoimmune & Blood
Autoimmune conditions and blood disorders
Family Planning
Carrier status for 27 hereditary conditions that can be passed from parent to child
Nutrition, Vitamins & Minerals
How you metabolize fats, process vitamins and minerals, and respond to specific foods
Longevity & Healthy Aging
Cellular and tissue aging, longevity markers, and age-related vision conditions
Sleep, Stress & Energy
Sleep patterns, stress resilience, and energy levels
Fitness & Sports
How your body responds to and recovers from exercise
Skin Health
Skin sensitivities and how your skin ages, hydrates, and renews
MyHeritage DNA 360° wellness reports go beyond insights. They provide practical guidance for putting your results to use, including optimal fitness and nutrition plans, and tailored recommendations for better sleep, more energy, aging well, and more. This personalized guidance is among the unique benefits of MyHeritage DNA 360°, so you can live healthier and be your best self.
MyHeritage DNA 360° was developed by MyHeritage's science and engineering teams. It is based on robust science and guided by our Scientific Advisory Board, a group of world-class experts in genomics and healthcare technology.
Future enhancements in genetic genealogy
30x Whole Genome Sequencing will also power enhancements for genetic genealogy that will be available exclusively to MyHeritage DNA 360° customers, including:
Richer, higher-resolution Ethnicity Estimates
Thousands of additional Genetic Groups
Higher-quality DNA Matches
Physician oversight included
For customers in the United States, your health reports are reviewed by an independent physician at no extra cost. If genetic counseling is advised, a session with a certified genetic counselor is included.
Privacy and security
Genetic data is encrypted, and reports are secured with Two-Factor Authentication. MyHeritage will never sell or license your DNA data without your explicit consent.
Take the test and gain deeper insights into your health and wellness. MyHeritage DNA 360° also makes a thoughtful holiday gift for your loved ones. The more people in your family take this test, the more useful its insights will become for you as well.
Best regards, The MyHeritage team
You may visit our Help Center to get instant answers or to contact our customer support.
Disclosure: I receive a complimentary PremiumPlus subscription to MyHeritage, and have received other material consideration in past years. I uploaded my autosomal DNA raw data to their DNA product. This does not affect my objective analysis of MyHeritage products. I am a paid subscriber to Family Tree Webinars and love it.
The URL for this post is:
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I received this information frrom Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage recently:
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I’m excited to share that we’ve just released an amazing new way to experience MyHeritage DNA Traits. Now you can create a fun, free, personalized Traits Video that highlights some of your most prominent traits! The video is created with AI and showcases your strongest traits with a witty, playful twist — like steam coming out of your ears because you’re sensitive to chili peppers. It’s the kind of video that makes you smile and think “I’ve got to show this to my family and friends.”
Since its release, MyHeritage DNA Traits has quickly become a popular add-on, enabling users to discover why they might be an early riser, love to exercise, or tend to take the lead. I’ve shared my own Traits Video below so you can see how it looks.
If you’re a MyHeritage DNA customer and already received your MyHeritage Trait reports, head over to the Traits overview page to create your video. Simply upload 1–3 selfies and within 15 minutes you’ll have your video. You can create a Traits Video from the MyHeritage website on desktop and mobile web, and from the MyHeritage mobile app.
Traits Videos are perfect for sharing on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and other social media platforms. We encourage you to share your videos with the hashtags #MyHeritage and #MyHeritageDNA. You can also download your videos to your computer or mobile device, and share them later however you’d like.
Read more about the Traits Video and view wonderful examples in the blog post.
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NOTE: I couldn't wait to try this. I checked that I had my Traits shown on my MyHeritage account. But I could not see the purple "Create Traits Video" button. I contact ed Daniel and he wrote back that "I am very sorry as I just learned that due to legal restrictions this feature is not available in California ;-(" Well, that sucks, doesn't it?
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Disclosure: I receive a complimentary subscription to MyHeritage, and have received other material consideration in past years. I uploaded my autosomal DNA raw data to their DNA product. This does not affect my objective analysis of MyHeritage products. I am a paid subscriber to Family Tree Webinars and love it.
Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com. Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.
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I received this information from Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage:
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2025 was an incredible year at MyHeritage, one filled with major breakthroughs, meaningful discoveries, and powerful moments that reminded us why genealogy matters so much.
We’ve just published our MyHeritage 2025 Year in Review, a comprehensive look back at all the big news from the past year: new AI-powered tools, massive historical record releases, DNA innovations, and the deeply moving user stories that brought it all to life.
Here are just a few highlights:
Major product milestones, including Ethnicity Estimate v2.5, Cousin Finder™, LiveMemory™ expansion, and Whole Genome Sequencing for all new DNA kits
Record-breaking content growth: 6.6 billion historical records added in a single year, including huge advances in AI-extracted newspaper content
New DNA experiences, from Ancient Origins to DNA Traits
Unforgettable discovery stories, including long-lost siblings reunited, Holocaust-era family lines restored, and life-changing DNA breakthroughs
Please enjoy the blog post. It's amazing to reflect on how far genealogy has come in just one year... and inspiring to think about where we’re headed next!
Wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year!
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Disclosure: I receive a complimentary Complete subscription to MyHeritage, and have received other material considerations in past years. I uploaded my autosomal DNA raw data to their DNA product. This does not affect my objective analysis of MyHeritage products. I am a paid subscriber to Family Tree Webinars and love it.
Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com. Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.
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I received this information from Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage today:
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As you know, we love to save at least one big announcement for the end of the year, and 2025 is no exception. Meet MyHeritage DNA Traits, a fascinating new product that reveals how your genetics may influence characteristics such as food preferences, sleep habits, personality tendencies, fitness traits, and cognitive patterns. MyHeritage DNA Traits includes 40 personalized reports that are beautifully designed, easy to understand, and backed by scientific research.
Check out the launch video to discover what MyHeritage DNA Traits could reveal, and please spread the word far and wide! Feel free to use the graphic below, and read on for more details.
The 40 reports are organized into five categories: Personality, Nutrition, Fitness, Lifestyle, and Cognition. They are available to anyone with DNA results on MyHeritage, including those who uploaded their DNA files in the past, and no new test is required.
Traits is available for an affordable introductory price of $19 (one-time fee). In addition, we already have 15 new Trait reports planned, and a Traits subscription is available to unlock new reports as they are released, for all DNA kits that you manage. For a limited time, the Traits subscription is FREE for the first 12 months, which is especially valuable for anyone who manages multiple kits.
Read the full announcement and see sample reports in the blog post.
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Disclosure: I receive a complimentary Complete subscription to MyHeritage, and have received other material considerations in past years. I uploaded my autosomal DNA raw data to their DNA product. This does not affect my objective analysis of MyHeritage products. I am a paid subscriber to Family Tree Webinars and love it.
The URL for this post is:
Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver
Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com. Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.
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I received this informaton from Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage today:
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We’re heading into the final stretch before Christmas, and this is the last chance to order a MyHeritage DNA kit and have it arrive in time for the holiday. MyHeritage DNA is on sale for an excellent price, making this a great opportunity for anyone still searching for a meaningful, genealogy-oriented gift.
MyHeritage DNA is the leading DNA test for family historians, thanks to our robust suite of genetic genealogy tools, from shared segment visualization to AutoClusters and Theory of Family Relativity™. For those members of your audience who don’t have a subscription, there’s also the option to add a 30-day free trial of our Complete plan, which grants access to all family tree features, 36.9 billion historical records, Ancient Origins, and advanced DNA tools.
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Disclosure: I receive a complimentary Complete subscription to MyHeritage, and have received other material considerations in past years. I uploaded my autosomal DNA raw data to their DNA product. This does not affect my objective analysis of MyHeritage products. I am a paid subscriber to Family Tree Webinars and love it.
The URL for this post is:
Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver
Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com. Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.
Subscribe to receive a free daily email from Genea-Musings using www.Blogtrottr.com.
I received this information from Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage today:
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Great news! Our team just rolled out an update to Theory of Family Relativity™, adding an impressive 103 million new theories — a 44% increase that brings the total to over 336 million.
Theory of Family Relativity™ is the ultimate tool for smashing brick walls and solving DNA-Match-related mysteries. It’s the only DNA tool on the market that leverages historical records as well as family tree and DNA data to suggest how a given DNA Match may be related to you.
Because of the vast amounts of data involved, Theories of Family Relativity™ are calculated and refreshed on a periodic basis. With this update, 3.5 million DNA kits now have at least one Theory of Family Relativity™ — a 20% jump since the last time the data was refreshed.
Look for the purple banner at the top of your DNA Matches page that indicates that you've received new theories! For those who don’t get any new theories, this is a great reminder to build out their trees as much as they can to increase their chances of receiving new theories next time. More information on the update is on the blog.
By the way, we just launched our Early Black Friday DNA Sale — another great opportunity for all to stock up ahead of the holidays.
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NOTE: The last update to MyHeritage's Theory of Family Relativity was in late 2024. Since then, my list of Theories has grown from 21 to 26 DNA Matches with a Theory of Family Relativity. I have already added the lines from a common ancestor for one of the five new DNA matches with new Theories to my RootsMagic family tree database. I rejected the other four new ToFR because I judged them to be inaccurate (all of them with same name, different family/place problems in the generation after the claimed common ancestors).
Disclosure: I receive a complimentary subscription to MyHeritage, and have received other material consideration in past years. I uploaded my autosomal DNA raw data to their DNA product. This does not affect my objective analysis of MyHeritage products. I am a subscriber to Family Tree Webinars and love it.
Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.
Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.
That’s 67% off the best DNA test for exploring global origins and discovering relatives around the world. For those who are new to MyHeritage, the offer also includes a free 30-day trial of the MyHeritage Complete plan, giving access to all family tree tools and 36.7 billion historical records — plus free shipping with the trial.
It’s the perfect time for them to gift a kit or finally take the leap into genetic genealogy.
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Disclosure: I receive a complimentary Complete subscription to MyHeritage, and have received other material considerations in past years. I uploaded my autosomal DNA raw data to their DNA product. This does not affect my objective analysis of MyHeritage products. I am a paid subscriber to Family Tree Webinars and love it.
Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com. Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.
Subscribe to receive a free daily email from Genea-Musings using www.Blogtrottr.com.
"Whole Genome Sequencing reads almost the entire human genetic code, covering around 3 billion base pairs (nucleotides). This is superior to the standard genotyping arrays used by most consumer DNA tests, including MyHeritage until recently, which read only about 700,000 base pairs. More data enables deeper insights across all types of genetic analysis. Whole Genome Sequencing is now being applied to most new MyHeritage DNA kits currently being processed at the lab, and to every new MyHeritage DNA kit sold moving forward. MyHeritage DNA kits already processed with the older genotyping array technology will not be reprocessed with Whole Genome Sequencing. Customers whose MyHeritage DNA kits are processed with Whole Genome Sequencing will be able to download their entire genome from MyHeritage at no cost, in CRAM format."
At first reading, MyHeritage seems to be saying "We are not going to do Whole Genome Sequencing on previously submitted DNA kits - only on currently in-process kits and new kits."
That implies that if I want to have my Whole Genome Sequencing performed, I need to buy a new MyHeritagte DNA test and have it processed by MyHeritageDNA.
1) My first reaction to this was: Huh? If I have WGS test results, how can I use this information? Where can I use it? What will it tell me?
My second reaction was to ask the FREE OpenAI ChatGPT5 with this prompt: "What can I do with a Whole Genome Sequencing file of my own
DNA? What companies can "read" it, and what information can
they provide about my genetic makeup?"
2) OpenAI ChatGPT5 helpfully (I think!) replied:
Great question — having your whole genome sequencing (WGS)
(or data derived from it) opens up a lot of possibilities — but
also a lot of caveats. Below is a breakdown of what you can
do, what limitations/challenges you’ll face, and what companies or
services exist to help you interpret it.
What is a “whole genome sequence file”?
First, by “whole genome sequence file,” you might mean
different file formats:
Raw read files (FASTQ) — the direct output
from the sequencing instrument, containing millions to billions of
short reads.
Aligned reads (BAM / CRAM) — those reads
aligned to a reference genome.
Variant calls (VCF or gVCF) — this is the
interpreted file that says: “at position X you differ from the
reference in this way (SNP, insertion, deletion, structural variant,
etc.).”
Annotation reports / interpreted reports —
the clinical or consumer‐facing summaries of what variants might
matter, what traits or risks they link to.
Most consumer / downstream services work with the variant file
(VCF) or derived annotation files. The raw data files are huge and
require specialized tools to handle.
As an example, companies like Dante Labs or Nebula Genomics
provide your genome in multiple file formats (FASTQ, BAM, VCF) so you
can use downstream tools. (Sequencing)
What you can do (on your own or with
tools)
If you have the sequence / variant data, here are some things you
can do (or try):
Activity
What it
involves / tools
What you
might learn
Challenges /
caveats
Ancestry
/ population genetics
Use tools
that compare your genome with population reference panels (e.g.
PCA, admixture analyses)
Proportions
of ancestry from different populations, relatedness to others
Interpretation
is probabilistic; reference populations may be biased
Gene
/ trait association scanning
Annotate all
variants (SNPs, indels) for known trait/disease associations
using resources like ClinVar, GWAS catalogs
Known risk
alleles, protective alleles, carrier status for recessive
conditions
Most
variants are of “unknown significance” — i.e. no clear
known effect; many trait associations have small effect sizes
Pharmacogenomics
Look up
variants known to affect drug metabolism (e.g. CYP genes)
Whether
certain drugs may be more or less effective or more likely to
cause side effects for you
Must be
careful — drug decisions should always involve a medical
professional
Rare
disease / Mendelian variant search
If you or a
relative has a phenotype (disease, symptom), you might search for
rare or damaging mutations in genes known to cause such
phenotypes
Candidate
causal variants or genes
Requires
good variant filtering, interpretation, domain knowledge. Many
variants are inconclusive (“variants of uncertain
significance”)
Structural
variant / large rearrangement detection
With
sufficiently good sequencing or additional analysis, detect
duplications, deletions, inversions, translocations
Variation
beyond SNPs / small indels
Tools are
more complex; signal/noise issues; many structural variants have
unclear clinical meaning
Re‐analysis
over time
As
scientific knowledge advances, a variant previously “unknown”
might become better interpreted
You can
re‐interpret your genome periodically
Requires
good recordkeeping and access to updated annotation databases
Sharing
/ comparison with others
You might
upload parts of your genome (or select variants) to genealogy /
matching services, or share with researchers or family members
Privacy
risks, data security, ethics, consent issues
Some in the bioinformatics community mention tools and services
like Geneiobio, OpenCRAVAT, GATK, bcftools etc. for doing your own
analyses. (Reddit)
One blog post notes that once you have your WGS, you have many
files (FASTQ, BAM, VCF) and you must decide which files to feed into
“DNA analysis apps / reports.” (Sequencing)
What companies / services “read” your genome
and what they provide
There are several commercial and academic/clinical services that
accept your genome (or will sequence + interpret) and provide
reports. The offerings vary quite a bit in depth, cost, regulatory /
clinical validity, and what they promise. Below are some examples and
categories.
Consumer / Direct-to-Consumer / Genomics startups
These tend to provide health / trait / ancestry reports, often not
strictly clinical (i.e. for informational / wellness purposes):
Veritas Genetics — historically has done
WGS + interpretation (cancer risk, pharmacogenomics, etc.). However,
their operations have had some changes. (Veritas)
Genetic Genie — a third‐party
interpretive service; you can upload VCF / raw data and get trait /
methylation / pharmacogenomics style reports. (Genetic
Genie)
These companies might report on:
Carrier status (for recessive diseases)
Risk or predisposition to common diseases (heart disease,
Alzheimer’s, diabetes, etc.)
Pharmacogenomics (how you metabolize certain drugs)
Traits (eye color, height, etc.)
Ancestry / genealogical estimates
Genetic “wellness” traits (some feel these are
speculative)
But note: many such associations are probabilistic, not
deterministic. Also, consumer reports may not have clinical
regulatory oversight (i.e. not necessarily CLIA / CAP certified in
the U.S.).
Clinical / Diagnostic / Medical Genomics Labs
These companies or labs operate under regulatory frameworks, and
aim to provide medically actionable results (particularly for rare
diseases, cancer, or diagnostics). They interpret variants in the
context of disease phenotypes. Examples:
Baylor Genetics — they run clinical WGS
and interpret variants in disease / diagnostic contexts. (Baylor
Genetics)
CentoGenome / Centogene — they offer
comprehensive WGS for rare / neurodegenerative diseases. (CENTOGENE)
Broad Clinical Labs — they offer research
and clinical WGS services. (Broad
Clinical Labs)
Revvity Omics — provides WGS as a clinical
service. (Revvity)
Other specialty molecular / genomic diagnostic labs often
partner with hospitals or academic medical centers.
These services typically provide:
Pathogenic / likely pathogenic variant identification in
genes relevant to your condition
Variants of uncertain significance (VUS), with appropriate
notes / disclaimers
Insight that may guide medical decisions (if known and
validated)
Reports with genetic counseling included or recommended
In some cases, reanalysis in the future as evidence evolves
One recent review notes that in clinical practice, WGS is
increasingly used and is done at ~30× coverage, paired‐end, and
allows detection of structural variants. (BioMed
Central)
What kind of information you can get
(and what you probably won’t get)
What you can reasonably expect
Carrier status for many recessive disorders
(if you carry one “bad copy”)
Strong risk / causal mutations (if present)
for some monogenic diseases, particularly if there is supporting
evidence
Pharmacogenomic guidance for certain drugs
(metabolism, dosing)
Ancestry / population genetics insight
Some trait / phenotype associations (often
small effect size)
Structural variants or CNVs in
well‐characterized disease genes
Variant reanalysis over time — updating
interpretations as new research emerges
What you probably won’t get (or will
get with low confidence)
Complete insight into polygenic / complex disease
risk (e.g. for common diseases) — many variants have very
small effects, and environmental / lifestyle factors dominate
A perfect “blueprint” of health — presence of a risk
allele doesn’t guarantee disease (penetrance, gene–environment
interaction, epigenetics, etc.)
Definitive answers for all traits / conditions — many genes
or variants are poorly understood or remain “variants of uncertain
significance”
Fine‐scale regulatory / noncoding variant interpretation —
these are still actively researched and often ambiguous
Accurate prediction of future disease beyond what genetics +
environment allow
In clinical genetics, many variant calls remain “variants of
uncertain significance (VUS)” — meaning we don’t currently know
whether they’re harmful, benign, or somewhere in between.
Things to watch out for / caveats / ethical
considerations
Privacy & data security — genomic data
is sensitive. If a service is hacked or data leaked, there could be
implications for insurance, employment, etc. (laws like GINA in the
U.S. provide some protection, but not perfect).
Regulatory / clinical validity — not all
variant associations are validated; consumer reports may overstate
certainty.
Psychological impact — learning of risk
for serious diseases can be stressful; genetic counseling is
recommended with clinical tests.
False positives / false negatives —
sequencing and variant calling are not perfect; also rare variants
might be missed.
Reinterpretation over time — a variant
might be classified as uncertain now and become known later (or vice
versa).
Consent & sharing — if you share your
genome with relatives, they’re indirectly affected (they share
parts).
Strategy advice: how you might proceed
Check what you already have — is your file
a VCF, gVCF, or something else? How many variants are called?
Choose a reputable interpretive service —
ideally one that has peer reviews, uses up‐to‐date variant
databases (ClinVar, gnomAD, HGMD, etc.), and provides disclaimers /
counseling.
If your interest is medical / diagnostic, go
via a clinical genetics lab (often via a physician).
Do your own exploration carefully — tools
like OpenCRAVAT, Ensembl Variant Effect Predictor (VEP), ClinVar
browser, etc., can help, if you are comfortable with bioinformatics.
Reanalyze in the future — keep your data
in safe storage so you can revisit it as knowledge improves.
Be skeptical — treat any prediction or
risk estimate as probabilistic, and consult professionals when using
for medical decisions.
If you like, I can suggest a few currently active services (in
2025) that accept your existing WGS data (or will sequence +
interpret) and compare their pros, cons, cost, and reliability. Would
you like me to do that?
3) Well! I wish I understood any of that. I get carrier status, risks, traits, etc. Will I be able to tell where my eye color, hair color, baldness pattern, left-handedness, analytical nature, etc. come from? Probably - the AncestryDNA Traits tell me some of that already.
It may be a whole new Genetic Genealogy World!!
But MyHeritageDNA will provide a CRAM file. Can I use that for all of the above?
4) My next prompt was:"MyHeritageDNA will provide a CRAM file of my WGS. Does all of the above apply to using a CRAM file?"
5) The OpenAI ChatGPT5 response was:
Excellent question — yes, almost all of the above applies — but there are important technical distinctions in how a CRAM file fits into the workflow and what you can actually do with it.
Let’s break this down clearly:
🧬 What a CRAM File Is
A CRAM file is a compressed version of a BAM file — it contains your aligned sequencing reads (that is, the millions of DNA fragments from your sequencing run, already mapped to the human reference genome).
BAM = Binary Alignment Map (uncompressed or less-compressed)
CRAM = Compressed Reference-based Alignment Map (uses the reference genome to save space)
So, in essence, the CRAM file contains:
Each sequencing read (after quality filtering and alignment)
It does not directly contain “variants” (like SNPs or indels), but the information to call them is inside.
⚙️ What You Can (and Cannot) Do with a CRAM File
Task
Can You Do It with a CRAM File?
Notes / Tools
Generate a variant call (VCF/gVCF)
✅ Yes
You can use tools like GATK, bcftools, or DeepVariant to call variants. This is the first step to make your data usable by most interpretation services.
Upload to consumer interpretation services
⚠️ Sometimes
Most third-party DNA services (e.g., Genetic Genie, Sequencing.com, Nebula interpretation portal) require a VCF file. You’ll likely need to convert the CRAM → VCF first.
View in genome browsers
✅ Yes
You can visualize your reads in tools like IGV (Integrative Genomics Viewer) to inspect alignments, coverage, etc.
Perform ancestry analysis / health trait analysis
⚠️ Indirectly
Only after generating variant calls. CRAM is “raw-ish” — you need variants to analyze genetic makeup.
Reanalyze with improved tools later
✅ Yes
Because it’s aligned, you can always recall variants as methods improve (e.g., better references like GRCh38 → T2T).
Compute coverage / quality metrics
✅ Yes
You can assess sequencing quality, coverage uniformity, etc. using tools like samtools.
🧠 How to Go From CRAM → Interpretable Data
If MyHeritage gives you a CRAM file, you can process it this way:
Obtain the reference genome they used (likely GRCh38 / hg38).
Use samtools or GATK to convert CRAM → BAM (if needed):
You’ll get a VCF or gVCF file, which contains your variant calls (the interpretable part).
Then, you can upload the VCF to:
Sequencing.com – health and trait reports
Nebula Genomics – reanalysis / interpretation
Ensembl Variant Effect Predictor (VEP) – gene and effect annotation
OpenCRAVAT – custom annotation for disease and pharmacogenomics
ClinVar or gnomAD lookups – to see known variant effects
🔍 Why the CRAM Is Valuable
The CRAM file is the richest version of your genome data, short of the raw FASTQ reads.
Because it contains all aligned read data, you can:
Recompute variants using newer pipelines later.
Identify complex structural variants not captured by a simple SNP VCF.
Check quality if a variant call looks uncertain.
Essentially, it gives you future-proof access to your entire genome, allowing deeper or re-analyses as technology and databases improve.
⚠️ Key Caveats
File size: CRAMs are huge (typically 60–100 GB for 30× coverage). You’ll need substantial disk space and RAM for processing.
Software setup: You’ll need bioinformatics tools (samtools, GATK, bcftools, etc.) or a service that accepts CRAM directly.
Privacy: Treat it like your digital fingerprint — never share it casually.
Compatibility: If a company asks for a VCF, you can easily generate one from CRAM, but uploading CRAM directly often isn’t supported.
✅ Summary
Concept
CRAM File
VCF File
Type of data
Aligned sequencing reads
Identified genetic variants
File size
Large (tens of GB)
Small (MBs)
Contains raw read data?
Yes
No
Readable by most consumer sites?
Usually no
Yes
Allows future reanalysis?
Yes
Limited
Good for immediate interpretation?
No (needs variant calling)
Yes
If you’d like, I can create a step-by-step guide (with tools and free options) for converting your MyHeritage CRAM file into a VCF and then uploading it to a few interpretation platforms for health, traits, and ancestry.
Would you like me to do that next?
6) Now I have a lot of information and not enough knowledge, and no CRAM file yet. I will wait and see how this plays out.
Here is a YouTube video about taking the Whole Genome sample to a report:
What does the information in a WGS look like? Here's an image from the video before the analysis and report:
7) What's in the future? Will MyHeritageDNA provide the analytical services for the Whole Genome Sequencing file in the future? Stay tuned!
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Disclosure: I receive a complimentary Complete subscription to MyHeritage, and have received other material considerations in past years. I uploaded my autosomal DNA raw data to their DNA product. This does not affect my objective analysis of MyHeritage products. I am a paid subscriber to Family Tree Webinars and love it.
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