May 24, 2013
By Robin Smith, Health Content Scientist at 23andMe Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. In January of 1790, a small band of mutineers from the HMS Bounty evaded capture by the British Navy and settled Pitcairn Island in the South Pacific. The direct descendants of this crew (and their captive Tahitian [...]
May 21, 2013
Genetics plays a big role in the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), one of the leading causes of vision loss among older Americans. Luckily, there are ways to lower the risk through diet. Recently the National Institutes of Health slightly changed its recommendations regarding a [...]
May 20, 2013
With participation by 23andMe and the three other major companies involved in DNA testing for ancestry, as well as talks from some of the most respected names in the field, it’s no wonder organizers are predicting the June 6th “Family History and DNA” conference in Burbank will sell out. The event, [...]
May 15, 2013
If you haven’t yet heard, college is expensive. Darn expensive. Thankfully, there are now free online universities for those of us daunted by the hefty price tag attached to traditional university courses. These online universities, such as Coursera and Udacity, provide quality courses taught by [...]
May 14, 2013
Angelina Jolie’s revelation in the New York Times today that she had a double mastectomy after learning about her genetic risk for breast cancer focused attention on the difficult dilemma faced by many women in similar circumstances. Jolie said she decided to write about her case to help other women. "I [...]
May 13, 2013
For the live-updated, fully-labelled, interactive version of this graphic, click here. By Alexandra Carmichael, Co-Founder of CureTogether Anxiety is the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 18 percent of the U.S. population. According to a new study by CureTogether, the most effective [...]
May 10, 2013
On her 105th birthday, Dominguita Velasco danced so long that her worried family asked her to sit down. When she turned 111, she had a party with friends and family and blew out the blaze of candles on her cake. Never far from her daughter, grandson and great grandchildren and always involved in her Oakland [...]
May 8, 2013
The story of H is really the story of people in modern Europe. H refers to a maternal lineage — also known as a maternal haplogroup — that originated long ago in the Near East but expanded into Europe with the recession of the last Ice Age. H —with its dozens of subgroups — is the most prevalent [...]
May 6, 2013
by Anne Pinckard “’You have been asking me questions and taking my blood for years, but I do not know anything about what you have found.’” These words, spoken by a subject in an ongoing, 7-year prospective study of HIV-treatment in Uganda, prompted the researchers to take action—they decided [...]
May 1, 2013
By Amick Boone They once numbered 300 strong, but the Oregon Cavemen, members of a Grants Pass booster club formed in 1922 whose members claim to be “direct descendants of the Neanderthal,” are fading fast. Club members worry that as their numbers dwindle, soon there won’t be anyone around to [...]
