Basepaws

lutece

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It's nice that Basepaws is apparently providing some kind of sponsorship to TCS (??), but it's unfortunate that they provide little to no information about how they arrive at their results.

Real research labs, such as UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, have been providing genetic tests for cats for many years. These tests are backed by actual research and their methodology is transparent.

Basepaws claims:
"Breed markers are a very important part of our report and we’re the only company who does this."

It is misleading to say "we're the only company who does this." UC Davis VGL offers a research based Cat Ancestry test, where sample DNA is matched to data collected over many years from actual pedigreed cats of a large number of breeds, as well as random bred cats from different areas of the world.
Cat Ancestry

"We run the sequenced DNA through the database and calculate how closely related the cats are to select cat breeds and wildcats."

Where is Basepaws getting their data on cat breed DNA? There is no information about that on Basepaws' site. Are they just taking samples and assigning them to breeds based on the owners' guesses of their cat's breed?​
 
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abyeb

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I believe it’s their own database, from what I gather from the TCS interview, “We then run the sequenced sample through our database and compare it to the thousands of cats’ DNA sequences archived in it.”

Discover Your Cat's Genetic Makeup With Basepaws

I think the giveaway is a great opportunity for the TCS community, DNA tests certainly aren’t cheap. It’s fantastic that Basepaws is doing this.
 
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lutece

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So their database is composed of the samples that people send to Basepaws?

The thing is, if I want to understand the science behind the VGL's Cat Ancestry test, I can read published papers such as this one:
The Ascent of Cat Breeds: Genetic Evaluations of Breeds and Worldwide Random Bred Populations
Plus, I've seen Dr. Lyons collecting samples at shows from cats of various breeds, and seen her speaking at Winn Foundation events, so I know a fair bit about her research and where the data comes from... it represents many years of work involving collaboration between multiple research laboratories and cat fanciers all over the world.

I would love to see more information from Basepaws on where their data is coming from, right now it's a bit of a black box.
 
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DreamerRose

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Well, I did not like the way the site was hung up on the policy notices. I wanted to check it out, but not necessarily sign up for it, and once I went in, I couldn't get out until I checked "Save Changes." Save changes for what? I spent two hours trying to get out of this. Sorry to say, but it looks like a scam to me. That's the way ransomware works.
 
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lutece

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I am pretty sure that it is not a scam or ransomware, DreamerRose. It appears to be a normal startup company. They may need to work out some kinks in their site navigation.

I'm just not so sure about the science behind their reports, since there is not much information about that.
 

AbbysMom

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Well, I did not like the way the site was hung up on the policy notices. I wanted to check it out, but not necessarily sign up for it, and once I went in, I couldn't get out until I checked "Save Changes." Save changes for what? I spent two hours trying to get out of this. Sorry to say, but it looks like a scam to me. That's the way ransomware works.
The privacy policy is not connected to the BasePaws offer. Privacy policies are being updated all over the internet today due to some changes in Europe. My email is full of them and I've had to click "accept" on quite a few sites.
 

Anne

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As AbbysMom AbbysMom said, today this European act called the GDPR went into effect. Like most user-based sites on the internet, TheCatSite has made some tweaks to comply with the GDPR. Trust me, DreamerRose DreamerRose , it's not just TCS. Webmasters across the web have been going crazy over this for the past few weeks. :runaround:

Either way, it's entirely unrelated to the Basepaws giveaway.

lutece lutece We've worked with Prof. Lyons as well in the past. I understand what you're saying about established scientific research but as far as I know, Basepaws works in a real lab, in a real university (UCLA). You can check out their jobs page to see the location of these jobs. This is a private startup but the data they collect is used in research that ultimately results in actual published studies. I think it's very similar to how 23andme works.

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to pass them along and return with answers :) I think it's wonderful that Basepaws is working with us and that we have this open line of communication with them. Personally, I'm thrilled that we have a "sciency" sponsor here on TCS :nerd:
 
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lutece

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If you have any questions, I'd be happy to pass them along and return with answers :)
Yes, I would love to hear about the data they are using for breed matching.
How have they built their data set of cats of the various breeds?
How do they verify that a sample cat in their data set is a member of a specific breed?
How many cats of each breed are in their data set?
Are they doing anything to ensure that the sampled cats represent a good cross section of the different bloodlines in that breed, either in the US or worldwide?
Are they working with any breed groups or cat registries?
And finally, if they are able to develop useful tests for any genetic traits, will this information be freely shared with the research community or do they intend to develop proprietary tests?
 
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Blakeney Green

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Does anybody have any advice on a genetic testing service people should use? I would like to get my foster kitten into the data pool because he has an extremely rare hereditary condition, and while contributing his DNA can't help him directly, I hope that information might play a small part in helping prevent the disease in other cats down the road. Obviously I'm looking for something with more of a medical focus than breed identification, though breed is probably a factor too. I'm just not quite sure what the best way to go about it would be.
 
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lutece

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If your cat has a rare genetic medical condition and you want to contribute to research, here are my suggestions:

1) Dr. Leslie Lyons has a web page with information on how to participate in feline research:
Participate in Research

2) You can also write to Dr Lyons herself and ask her if anyone is doing research on your cat's specific condition and if you can participate in that research; she knows about pretty much all the research being done everywhere and can advise you :)
 

thefiresidecat

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I don't think the pool is wide enough to really have relevant results right now but given time and enough people participating it might be with time.
 
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lutece

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I don't think the pool is wide enough to really have relevant results right now but given time and enough people participating it might be with time.
Good results are not just a function of the number of cats they collect data from... It also matters a lot how they process, manage, interpret and present the data that they collect!

Basepaws has been around for two years, FYI.
 

Blakeney Green

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If your cat has a rare genetic medical condition and you want to contribute to research, here are my suggestions:

1) Dr. Leslie Lyons has a web page with information on how to participate in feline research:
Participate in Research

2) You can also write to Dr Lyons herself and ask her if anyone is doing research on your cat's specific condition and if you can participate in that research; she knows about pretty much all the research being done everywhere and can advise you :)
Thanks for the suggestions! :) Congenital megaesophagus is quite rare in cats, and the degree of severity of his megaE is something none of the vets who have looked at his case have ever seen, so I really want to get his DNA on the record to try to help other cats, especially since he doesn't have a long life expectancy unfortunately so it should really happen ASAP if it's going to happen.
 

kdm1984

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Basepaws has gone through a lot of changes since I first tried them. I don't think I'll give a sample of my third bicolor cat, but this is what they say my cats, Mallory and Royal, are most similar to (at likeliest confidence range):

Mallory
Western 40.99% (American Shorthair 4.75%, Broadly Western 36.24%)
Eastern 12.86% (Thai Siamese 5.16%, Broadly Eastern 7.70%)
Exotic 2.02% (Savannah 2.02%)
Persian 2.02% (Broadly Persian 2.02%)
Polycat 42.12%

Royal
Western 37.40% (American Shorthair 9.41%, Ragdoll 7.49%, Broadly Western 20.50%)
Eastern 3.3% (Broadly Eastern 3.30%)
Polycat 59.30%

I joined here awhile back partly because I was so curious about some of Mallory's exoticism. Her results do indicate some Siamese and Savannah influence that I never suspected in Royal.
 
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