New DNA database helps NYers find out where they're really from

Call it a genetic GPS.

Researchers at UCLA have created software that locates where in the world people ultimately came from — just by looking at their DNA.

The technology, called spatial ancestry analysis, pinpoints a person’s heritage through genetics, sometimes within 60 miles of their geographic origin.

“When people talk about science and genetics, it’s usually very abstract. This gives people the opportunity to learn about themselves on a fundamental level,” said Eleazar Eskin, a computer scientist whose team worked with Tel Aviv University on the project.

To create the program, they studied DNA samples from 3,000 people, each with four grandparents from the same region. Then they made a genetic map based on subtle genetic mutations.

The program works best when a person’s forefathers are European, since they collected the most DNA from that area. But as more samples become available, the program will become more accurate worldwide.

Eskin said the software was created to help discover how genes influence diseases and responses to drugs.

He put the program online (http://genetics.cs.ucla.edu/spa/) so people who’ve had their DNA analyzed by other companies can pin down their roots themselves.

The first human genome was mapped only 13 years ago and cost $3 billion. Within the past few years, companies have been analyzing people’s DNA for about $300.

All modern humans originated in Africa 200,000 years ago, but DNA results aren’t simply African. Because humans share virtually identical DNA, the analysis looks at the subtle genetic mutations of the last few hundred years. Those mutations differentiate populations and reveal ancestry, Eskin said.

The Post collected saliva samples from six New Yorkers and sent them to 23andMe, a company that analyzes DNA and reveals genealogical traits. Then Eskin ran the data through his gene machine. The results surprised many of our volunteers:

Zandy Mangold

Roman Garcia, 38

Long Island City, Queens

What he says: Garcia is a second-generation Texan whose family comes from northern Mexico. Many of his ancestors were born in what’s present-day Texas. He said his parents have researched their genealogy before and suspected the family had forefathers from Spain and Ireland.

What his genes say: He’s 65 percent European, 30 percent Asian (likely pointing to the people who became Native Americans after migrating from Siberia) and 5 percent African.

“Most people of Hispanic descent have European blood in them — but 65 percent, that’s really eye-opening,” Garcia said.