Over the last year 23andMe has launched two research initiatives with Pfizer, one to study <a href="https://www.23andme.com/ibd/">inflammatory bowel disease</a> and the other to study <a href="https://www.23andme.com/lupus/">lupus.</a>


We’re pretty optimistic about the work done so far as we continue to recruit patients to participate in these two important research projects, so it’s nice to see that Pfizer is as excited about the potential as we are.


Pfizer recently posted a video explaining its <a href="http://www.pfizer.com/partnerships">partnerships more broadly</a> and the company&#8217;s hopes for accelerating research. It’s also nice to see 23andMe’s Emily Drabant Conely, our director of business development, featured in one of the videos.

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23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

Lupus and IBD Research Partnerships

A team of researchers has developed a simple and non-invasive approach that uses genetic data in combination with other demographic and biomarker information to <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-22635 size-medium" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Brain-Logo-287x300.jpg" alt="" width="287" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Brain-Logo-287x300.jpg 287w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Brain-Logo.jpg 438w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 287px) 100vw, 287px" />accurately distinguish those with and without Parkinson’s disease, an illness that is notoriously difficult to detect.
<h6>New Predictive Model</h6>
In a study published this week in the journal <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422%2815%2900178-7/fulltext">Lancet Neurology</a>, the group detailed their findings showing how they used a small set of key data points to discern individuals with Parkinson’s from those who do not have the disease. The predictive model offers hope for earlier detection and diagnosis for the disease, according to the study.
“Accurate diagnosis and early detection of complex diseases, such as Parkinson’s, has the potential to be of great benefit for researchers and clinical practice,” the authors said.
<h6>Early Diagnosis is Important</h6>
Simply making a correct diagnosis of a progressive neurodegenerative disease like Parkinson’s can be very difficult, and take time. It’s often misdiagnosed and the result is that many patients do not get early treatment. Although there is not currently a cure for Parkinson’s, existing treatments have been able to significantly mitigate symptoms, and new treatments being tested now may help slow the progression of the disease. The earlier those treatments can begin, the better the prognosis. That makes early diagnosis that much more important. There currently is no cure for Parkinson&#8217;s so treatment has focused on slowing the progression of the disease and mitigating the symptoms.
&#8220;The model could have immediate application in helping refine cohorts used in clinical research,” said Paul Cannon, 23andMe’s Parkinson’s Research community manager. “With more data and further refinement, it may be able to contribute to better diagnosis of individuals with Parkinson-like symptoms and the identification of prodromal (pre-symptomatic) and &#8220;at risk&#8221; populations, which will be critical for the development of disease modifying therapies.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_22380" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-22380" class="wp-image-22380 size-medium" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/paul-300x235.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="235" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/paul-300x235.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/paul-768x602.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/paul-1024x802.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/paul-880x689.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/paul-1180x924.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/paul.jpg 2016w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Paul Cannon, 23andMe&#8217;s Parkinson&#8217;s Research Community manager.</div>
<h6>Multiple Inputs</h6>
This paper shows that a model, which combines genetic risk score, demographic and biomarker data, can more accurately discriminate individuals with Parkinson’s from healthy controls as compared to genetics alone. That is partly what makes this study so interesting.
Lead by scientists with the National Institutes of Health, the researchers tested their model against a group of more than 1000 individuals, some with Parkinson’s and some without the disease. Researchers from 23andMe, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Rochester Medical Center also participated in the work.
The researchers also tested their model against another set of patients who had had image scans of their brain. This is referred to as Scans Without Evidence of Dopaminergic Deficit, or SWEDD. The model classified 17 patients as having Parkinson’s and within the first year, four of them developed the disease. Only one of the 38 patients the model classified as not having Parkinson’s developed the disease in the same time frame.
<h6>23andMe&#8217;s Parkinson&#8217;s Research Community</h6>
The model includes genetic risks, family history, age, and gender. It also includes some biomarkers such as the ability to detect certain smells into account in diagnosing Parkinson’s. The information used in the model can be gathered remotely. That means participants do not have to visit a medical center, patients can send in saliva for genetic testing. They can then answer online surveys regarding family history, the study authors said.
After they created an algorithm using this information, the scientists then tested it. They used data on individuals from five different study groups, including 23andMe’s Parkinson’s Research Community. What they found was that in each case their method had a very high accuracy rate for predicting Parkinson&#8217;s. The model accurately classified Parkinson’s in patients more than 90 percent of the time. The model also did well classifying different Parkinson’s subtypes.
The researcher used many methods of validating the results. Those include using data from 23andMe’s LRRK2 biomarker cohort, and the data from the Parkinson’s Progression Marker Initiative.
The researchers found not only a new highly accurate method of diagnosing Parkinson’s, but also one that significantly outperformed any single-classifier method of diagnosing.
The study authors believe that with further refinement the tool may be useful for screening and diagnosing. It may also help in differentiating Parkinson’s disease from other neurological conditions. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-22634 size-large" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Parkinsons-Research-Community-640x238.jpg" alt="Parkinson's Research Community" width="640" height="238" />

A New Model for Discerning Parkinson’s

Whether you ordered 23andMe to learn more about your ancestry, to participate in research, or to connect with relatives, every 23andMe <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-24106 size-medium" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Whats-in-the-Kit-300x195.png" alt="What's in the Kit" height="195" width="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Whats-in-the-Kit-300x195.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Whats-in-the-Kit-768x500.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Whats-in-the-Kit-1024x667.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Whats-in-the-Kit-880x573.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Whats-in-the-Kit-1180x768.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Whats-in-the-Kit.png 1822w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />customer can learn something about what makes them unique.
Our Customer Care team gets a lot of questions regarding first steps you need to make tOur cuo access this information. Hopefully we can clarify some of these important questions here.
When you receive your sample kit for the first time, there are a few important things to notice.
One of the first items you will see when opening the sample kit will be a piece of paper enclosed within a plastic casing. This paper is hard to miss – it displays a big red “STOP” message. However, as we all can imagine, this message can still be overlooked in the excitement of receiving the kit. 
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<div style="float: right; text-align: justified; width: 250px; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;">Tips and Tricks On Providing A Sample
The process of providing a saliva sample can sometimes be more difficult than you might think. If you or anyone you are assisting is having a difficult time proving their sample within a 30 minute period, the tips and tricks found here. 

• Is your sample contaminated?
Feel free to rinse out the collection tube with water and allow it to air dry as long as the buffer fluid in your kit’s funnel lid is still intact.

• Missing a biohazard bag?
The sample can be mailed back to the laboratory in a ziplock bag. Just be sure to replace the funnel lid with the small cap. 

• Did your buffer fluid spill?
The liquid found in the funnel lid liquid in the funnel lid is a buffer fluid necessary for sample viability during transit to our laboratory. If you did not include the buffer fluid to your saliva sample, it is unlikely that our laboratory will be able to process your sample.
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First of all, it is important to note that placing an order does not mean an account has been created or the sample has been registered. Placing an order, creating a 23andMe account, and registering your sample within your 23andMe account are three three separate processes.
So heed the message, stop and before doing anything else register your kit using the unique 14-digit barcode found on the side of the sample collection tube.
The registration process must be completed before the sample reaches the laboratory. The sample will not be processed at the laboratory unless it has been registered to a 23andMe account, so don’t skip this important step.
The registration process ensures that sample is connected to your account and that it is done so in a way that protects your privacy. That’s something that we here at 23andMe take very seriously. The barcode number you use to register your kit helps to ensure everyone’s data is not only protected, but also linked to the correct individual. To protect each of our customer’s privacy, the laboratory even removes and discards any identifying information included with a saliva sample before any testing personnel receive the sample.
Another important part of this registration process is that you don’t mix up kits. You must make sure that you are using the barcode from kit to which you provide your saliva sample. Sometimes couples or family members mistakenly mix up the kits they are registering. It is most important to make sure that each individual being genotyped uses the collection tube from which they have registered or intend to register.
Before we move on, we want to cover a few more questions we receive all the time regarding registration and account creation.
If you haven’t already set up a 23andMe account, you can do so at the registration link. If you have already set up a 23andMe account, you can click “sign in” instead, and then enter your barcode.
Once your 23andMe profile has been created, you are free to modify the information at any time using the edit profile button found in the drop down menu under your account profile name.
Now that your sample kit has been registered to your 23andMe account, it’s time to spit – provide your sample.
We can use saliva because there are a large number of white blood cells from which we extract your DNA. This means eating, drinking, brushing your teeth, biting your cheeks etc. within 30 minutes of submitting your sample could affect the quality and quantity of your white blood cells.
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23 pairs of Chromosomes, One Unique You.

Scott Fisher, the host of the nationally syndicated family history radio show Extreme Genes, spent his last show focused on 23andMe’s ancestry offerings, explaining a little bit about the science of <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-22357" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/KasiaB-1-200x300.jpg" alt="KasiaB 1" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/KasiaB-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/KasiaB-1.jpg 576w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />DNA testing for genealogy from our very own population geneticist Kasia Byrc, PhD.


Kasia has been pretty busy lately, participating recently in the <a href="http://globalfamilyreunion.com/">Global Family Reunion</a>, and before that the <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/ancestry/everyone-is-related-the-big-data-proves-it/">South By Southwest</a> festival in Austin, as well as writing about the <a href="http://kasiabryc.com/publications/index.html">complex admixture of African Americans</a>, Latinos and Europeans in the United States. Her research has helped show how our DNA can inform us about human migration and history in the United States over the last few hundred years.
<a href="http://extremegenes.com/category/podcast-archive/">Extreme Genes</a> is syndicated on more than 30 stations across the country and also has a regular podcast that covers all things related to genealogy. Fisher himself is a national expert in the field of genealogy, and the interview with Kasia was meant to offer those interested in tapping into the 23andMe tool box to improve their own genealogical searches.
During this episode on 23andMe, Fisher and Kasia covered some of the science behind using genetic data to help inform people about their ancestry.
Fisher explained how his own results – connections with several different distant cousins – helped him leverage what his family already knew about their history to learn even more.
“Using DNA is a fantastic tool to dig into your own history,” Kasia said during the show.
Along with detailing some of the science, Kasia, who was an NIH Ruth L. Kirschetein National Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School before coming to work at 23andMe, Inc., also shared a few stories from 23andMe customers and how they used their results to discover more about their families.


Check out the podcast <a href="http://extremegenes.com/ep-99-23andme-on-dna-genealogy/">here</a>.

The Way Way Back

Researchers know that genetics, as well as environmental and hormonal influences, play a role in the development of lupus, but we still have a lot to learn about this as-yet incurable autoimmune disease.
This spring, 23andMe and Pfizer launched a study into the genetics of lupus. Working in collaboration with the<a href="http://www.lupusresearchinstitute.org/"> Lupus Research Institute</a>, researchers hope to learn more about the disease and make findings that might lead to new treatments.
In July, 23andMe hosted a live Google Hangout on Air with Amy Caron, who works at the Lupus Research Institute, and Joyce Tung, Ph.D., 23andMe’s director of research. 23andMe’s Helen McCurdy moderated the live online broadcast, which included questions from those participating in the study and others who simply wanted to learn more about the research, or had general questions about lupus itself.
You can watch a replay of the video here: http://23me.co/EDSwgf.
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We’ve already had some positive feedback from study participants, including one from Gia Cruz, during the online broadcast, who said she appreciated the work 23andMe is doing.
“I participated in the study and it was a real eye opener,” Gia said.
Along with those encouraging comments, we heard from others who simply wanted to learn more about the basics of this hard to diagnose autoimmune disease and our study. While Amy discussed some of the general details about the disease, Joyce covered some of the details of the research itself.
One of the aspects of Lupus that is not yet fully understood is why Latinos, African Americans and Native Americans are at higher odds of getting the condition. Joyce pointed out that this makes ensuring that the participants in the study are as diverse as possible.
During the discussion there were several questions from individuals interested in participating. So far more than 1,400 people have already signed up.
Ultimately the goal is to enroll 5,000 participants in the study. While the details on eligibility can be found <a href="https://www.23andme.com/lupus/">here</a>, the most important criteria is that participants must have a definitive lupus diagnosis. They also must be willing to consent to have their physician share their medical records with researchers. In addition, they must also be willing to submit a saliva sample for DNA testing, and complete a series of short surveys over 12 month period.
Learn more about <a href="https://www.23andme.com/lupus/">23andMe’s lupus community here</a>. If you have further questions, post them here and we’ll answer as many as we can.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-22690 size-larger" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Lupus-Landing-Page-880x302.jpg" alt="" width="880" height="302" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Lupus-Landing-Page-880x302.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Lupus-Landing-Page-300x103.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Lupus-Landing-Page-768x264.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Lupus-Landing-Page-1024x352.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Lupus-Landing-Page-1180x405.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Lupus-Landing-Page.jpg 1758w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 880px) 100vw, 880px" />

23andMe Hangs out with the Lupus Research Institute

Several media stories in the last few months have highlighted the potential of 23andMe to help adoptees.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-6586 size-medium" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog-300x300.jpg" alt="An image of 23andMe's logo." width="300" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog.jpg 350w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
One of the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/nyregion/a-son-given-up-for-adoption-is-found-after-half-a-century-and-then-lost-again.html">more touching pieces</a> highlighted a woman’s 50-year search for the son she’d given up for adoption at 19. She was able to find him using 23andMe, only to lose him again to cancer. Another interesting <a href="http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-07-21/korean-adoptees-are-using-dna-kits-get-glimpse-their-ancestry">story on PRI</a> looked at Korean born adoptees using DNA to learn more about their ancestry.
Inventor and scientist Thomas Park Clement, who was among the first wave of Korean adoptees to come to the United States in the 1950s, set aside a million dollars of his own money to cover the cost of other Korean adoptees who want to get tested.
&#8220;Everyone on the planet has the right to know who their relatives are,&#8221; Clement is quoted as saying.
Those stories and others highlight that while it’s not designed with adoptees in mind, 23andMe has become a resource for many wanting to fill in the gaps in what they know about their ancestry, their inherited traits or family history. 
For many of us we take for granted knowing this basic information about ourselves, but for many adoptees using a DNA test is the only way they could find out this kind of information.
<div style="float: center; text-align: justified; width: 650px; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;"><a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/more-than-just-luck">More Than Just Luck</a> 
With the help of a genetic genealogist and her 23andMe results, a woman abandoned behind a grocery store as an infant is able to identify her biological mother.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-22519 size-thumbnail" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Jimmy-Paul-quote1-150x150.jpg" alt="A photo of brothers who found each other using 23andMe with a quote that says &quot;Stories of this kind, they are hard to believe…”" width="150" height="150" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Jimmy-Paul-quote1-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Jimmy-Paul-quote1-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Jimmy-Paul-quote1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Jimmy-Paul-quote1-880x880.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Jimmy-Paul-quote1-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Jimmy-Paul-quote1-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Jimmy-Paul-quote1-574x574.jpg 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Jimmy-Paul-quote1-980x980.jpg 980w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Jimmy-Paul-quote1.jpg 1000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /> 
Not an adoption story, but this story tracks some of the same kind of ordeals adoptees have to go through to find out about their biological families. In this case, half brothers– one who lives in Brazil, the other in the United States – connected through 23andMe. Their story, which spans over several decades and includes some harrowing childhood trauma, ends with the two brothers meeting for the first time.
<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/goodnight-son/">Goodnight Son</a> 
Not every reunion between an adoptee and his or her biological parent or sibling is a happy one, but for Mike Reed the meeting with his biological father couldn&#8217;t have gone better. His biological father welcomed into the family and introduced him to his nine half siblings.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-21929 size-thumbnail" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Liz-Quote-150x150.jpg" alt="A photo of Liz with the quote: “To site and talk with someone who is your sibling, or your biological parent … who you have never met… incredible.” " width="150" height="150" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Liz-Quote-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Liz-Quote-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Liz-Quote-768x768.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Liz-Quote-880x880.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Liz-Quote-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Liz-Quote-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Liz-Quote-574x574.jpg 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Liz-Quote-980x980.jpg 980w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Liz-Quote.jpg 1000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /> 
Abandoned in a laundry mat as an infant, Liz Kellner used 23andMe and ultimately found her sisters and biological parents.
<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/an-unexpected-discovery">An Unexpected Discovery</a> 
Cody tested to find out more about his health, but in the process he found his biological parents and half siblings. He also learned that he&#8217;d been conceived when his mother was a young teen and that&#8217;s why he&#8217;d been put up for adoption.
<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/its-a-girl">It’s A Girl</a> 
Although not an adoptee story, Kelli&#8217;s story highlights some of the anxiety many go through when trying to connect with a biological parent. They simply don&#8217;t know how it will play out. For Kelli the experience was a good one. She used 23andMe to help her find her biological father. Once she made the connection her biological father, who hadn’t known of her birth, welcomed her into the family.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-21348 size-thumbnail" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Jeremy-small-quote-150x150.jpg" alt="A photo of an adult son who found his biological father using 23andMe and how the two later became friends: “I am awed by how this happened.” " width="150" height="150" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Jeremy-small-quote-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Jeremy-small-quote.jpg 200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /> 
An adult son connects with his biological father and they become friends.
<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/a-siblings-story-from-23andme">A Siblings Story</a> 
Using 23andMe Tricia found her half brother and half sister. They were able to tell her more about her biological father and the three of them met and became friends.
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Searching With 23andMe

A set of national genetic science standards for elementary through high school students in the United States offers a <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-2073" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/studentdna-300x199.jpg" alt="studentdna" width="300" height="199" />modest improvement over state-based standards, but still falls short of conveying some key genetic concepts, according to a <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0132742">new study</a> by science educators with the <a href="http://www.ashg.org/press/201507-NGSS.html">American Society of Human Genetics</a>.


The analysis is part of a multi-year effort to improve genetic literacy in the U.S. Several surveys have found large gaps in the general public&#8217;s understanding of some core genetic concepts such as patterns of inheritance, the genetic basis of evolution, and genetic variation.
A survey done in 2013 by 23andMe found that while more than 80 percent of people expressed interest in genetic testing, many did not understand some basic facts about genetics. Genomic science is already changing healthcare, making it that much more important for individuals to have at least a basic grasp of the science.
23andMe launched its academic program, in part, to offer educators more resources to teach genomics, while 23andMe’s popular Genetics 101 video series has been a mainstay for anyone wanting to learn more about the science. But much more is needed to bridge the gap in genetic literacy in the US.
The ASHG study looked at how effective the new national science standards were at addressing key concepts in genetics. The standards were developed in 2013 by the nonprofit organization Achieve, Inc., along with officials in 26 partner states, and were incorporated into existing National Science Education Standards. So far 13 states have adopted the national standards.
The study compared those standards to separate science standards that have been adopted in different states, and they looked at whether these different standards adequately covered 19 core genetic concepts that the American Society of Human Genetics identified as key for students to grasp. While the national standards seemed to offer some improvement, many of the 19 core concepts were inadequately covered or not cover at all, according to the report.
“The NGSS are the first comprehensive science standards recommendations issued in nearly 20 years, and to the extent that states adopt them, the effects on <a href="http://ashg.org/press/201404-GeneticsEd.html">public genetic literacy</a> could be far-reaching,” <a href="http://www.ashg.org/press/201507-NGSS.html">said Michael Dougherty</a>, PhD, Director of Education of ASHG, who led the study.
Comparing each state standards with the national standard, the study found that the national standards addressed genetics core concepts considerably better in 15 states, about equally well in 28 states, and not as well in 7 states.


While the national standards were deemed to offer a modest improvement, reviewers who were involved in the study did not offer high praise for how well the key genetic concepts were addressed by the standards.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-22700 size-large aligncenter" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Academic-page-640x237.jpg" alt="Academic page" width="640" height="237" />

Efforts to Improve Genetic Literacy

You want to know a little about what it’s like living with lupus, ask a<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-22692" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Lupus-Logo-300x296.jpg" alt="Lupus Logo" width="300" height="296" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Lupus-Logo-300x296.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Lupus-Logo.jpg 572w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Those are just a few of the bloggers we’ve been following lately who each offer different insight on the day-in and day-out challenges of living with this chronic and incurable condition.
Lupus – systemic lupus erythemotosis – is a hard to diagnose autoimmune disease with a wide range of unpredictable symptoms that mostly impacts women. 
An estimated 5 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with Lupus. Individuals with African American, Latino and Native American ancestry are also at higher odds of getting the condition. While the symptoms can be managed, there currently is no cure. The good news is that in the last 60 years there have been great strides in treating the condition. In the 1950s the prognosis wasn’t good with only half of those surviving five years after their initial diagnosis. Today the survival rate is greater than 90 percent.
While we’ve learned a lot about lupus, we still have a long way to go. We know genetics plays a role, as do environmental and hormonal factors, but the intricate interplay of all those influences, or even why flare-ups are so unpredictable, is little understood.
In May of this year 23andMe and Pfizer joined forces to study the genetics of lupus. Working in collaboration with the<a href="http://www.lupusresearchinstitute.org/"> Lupus Research Institute</a>, we hope to gain a greater understanding of this unpredictable chronic disease and make findings that could lead to new treatments.
As part of the study we plan to recruit 5,000 people with lupus. In just a few months we’ve made huge strides toward that goal, enlisting more than 1,100 participants.
We know from listening to many of those who are living with lupus that one of the most important means of coping with the condition is connecting with others.
And in the spirit of our budding lupus research community, we are highlighting a few of the bloggers that have become beacons of information for those with lupus. So in no particular order here are five of the bloggers we’re reading.
<a href="http://despitelupus.blogspot.com/">Despite Lupus</a> – Since first being diagnosed 14 years ago, blogger and now first-time author (of a book also titled “Despite Lupus”), Sara Gorman has a tried and true strategy for living with lupus by changing expectations and focusing on keeping herself healthy.
<a href="http://undefeateddiva.com/">Undefeated Diva</a> – Blogger Christina Gorgon, the “fiery Latina,” was first diagnosed in 2011. She writes about becoming a mom with lupus. Many of those with lupus, which is difficult to diagnose, can also relate to her story of spending two years enduring a strange assortment of symptoms – joint pain, chest pain, bald spots, and an inability to get out of bed – without knowing what it was that was making her sick.  Her fighting attitude infuses each post.
<a href="http://www.lupuschick.com/">Lupus Chick</a> – Marisa Zeppier-Caruana is the Lupus Chick, and has been featured in several publications including US News &amp; World Report, Glamour and WebMD. Marisa founded the site back in 2002, and also serves on the board of the Florida Chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America. On top of writing about lupus and advocating for those with the condition, Marisa is also the reigning Mrs. New York USA Universal, shooting for title of Mrs. Universe.
<a href="http://www.flowonlupus.com/">Flow On Lupus</a> –  Miz Flow first started showing signs of lupus as a 14 year-old. Now the 30-something blogger is a veteran and survivor, who has weathered a slew of symptoms, that have given her a wealth of knowledge about lupus that she shares on her site.
Molly’s Fund Lupus Blog – This Oregon based non-profit foundation started out of Molly McCabe’s struggle with lupus. Since co-founding the foundation, Molly has also become the face of the organization that offers those with the condition access to support groups in the Oregon area, online support and other resources.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-22690 size-larger" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Lupus-Landing-Page-880x302.jpg" alt="" width="880" height="302" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Lupus-Landing-Page-880x302.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Lupus-Landing-Page-300x103.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Lupus-Landing-Page-768x264.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Lupus-Landing-Page-1024x352.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Lupus-Landing-Page-1180x405.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Lupus-Landing-Page.jpg 1758w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 880px) 100vw, 880px" />

Living With Lupus

We are all unique, and knowing our genotypes at specific places in our genomes may give each of us a better understanding as to why.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-18019 size-medium" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Helix--300x222.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="222" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Helix--300x222.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Helix--768x568.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Helix--1024x757.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Helix--880x650.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Helix--1180x872.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Helix-.jpg 1372w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> 
with an alphabet made up of just four letters –  A, T, C and G.
Those four letters represent the nucleotide bases – adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine – that are the building blocks of life. The sequence of A’s, T’s, C’s and G’s run in long stretches of code that instruct the way the human body is built and functions.
In 2003 after ten years and $3 billion, scientists decoded the first sequence of a human genome. Since then costs have dropped for sequencing a genome to as low as $1,000. While very inexpensive in comparison, it would still be prohibitive for most consumers to have their full genome sequenced.
So how is 23andMe able to provide genetic data to so many people at an affordable price in just a matter of weeks?

The secret lies in a process called “SNP genotyping.”
If you compared two unrelated individuals, you would find that their genetic sequences are about  99.9 percent the same. It is that miniscule variation in their genome that makes all the difference. It’s what makes us each unique.
That small variation is also the key to how 23andMe can efficiently and cost-effectively deliver its service. Scientists have identified the known variation among individuals, specifically locating in the human genome where a single letter differs from one person to the next.
These one-letter variations are called single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs (pronounced “snips”), and they are associated with differences in everything from the color of our eyes, to our risks for certain health conditions, and information about the makeup of our ancestry.
Let’s look at an example of a SNP.
Say a certain percentage of people have  a specific stretch of DNA code that reads ATGCCCGT, but everyone else  has the sequence ATGCACGT along that same stretch.
The nucleotide bases come in pairs, so in this case the difference is between whether a person is CC or AC at this position.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-22672" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Image-1-300x119.jpg" alt="Image 1" width="300" height="119" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Image-1-300x119.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Image-1-768x305.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Image-1.jpg 774w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Since these two letters are known to vary among individuals, we would call this position in the sequence a SNP. The difference between two people at a single position – whether you are CC or AC in this case  – is also referred to as the genotype for that SNP. Some of those differences may have no effect, some could be beneficial and some could be deleterious.
The benefit or harm of one version or the other can even change depending on one’s environmental surroundings. 23andMe provides individuals with information on hundreds of thousands of these SNPs.
To do that, 23andMe first has to extract DNA from saliva submitted by a customer. Once the DNA is extracted, it is amplified many times so that there is enough DNA to analyze. The amplified DNA is then cut into smaller pieces and washed over a microarray chip.
This  genotyping chip contains thousands and thousands of tiny probes that are designed to detect specific bits of DNA. Each probe on the chip contains a bit of DNA that matches a genetic variant of interest. Remember the nucleotide bases always come in pairs, an A always pairs with T, while a G pairs with C.   On the microarray chip, when a piece of DNA finds its complementary probe, it will stick to it.
These probes are triggered to glow in a way that indicates which version of each SNP is present in the sample. That fluorescent signal is read by a computer, and the data is then uploaded to the customer’s 23andMe account.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-22673" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/image-2-300x246.jpg" alt="image 2" width="300" height="246" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/image-2-300x246.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/image-2.jpg 566w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Our customers have the ability to view this raw data in a feature called Browse Raw Data.
Our latest genotyping chip, v4, is unlike any of our previous genotyping platforms. Previous genotyping platforms included standard probes included by Illumina, the manufacturer of the chip, as well as additional probes selected by 23andMe.
The v4 chip, consists of a completely custom panel of probes that were hand picked by our researchers. Although our current genotyping chip contains about half a million SNPs (whereas the entire human genome has around 10 million SNPs), we can learn a lot about the human genome simply by looking at these locations where individual genotypes are known to differ. Full genome sequencing provides information on all 3 billion markers in the entire human genome, however it is difficult to predict when full sequencing will be available at an affordable price point for the general public.
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