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 experienced instructors.  You don’t need to pay a cent or leave the comforts of home.

Last week I enrolled in a genetics course offered by Coursera. The course I chose was Useful Genetics, taught by Dr. Rosemary Redfield, a professor of Zoology at the University of British Columbia. I can sum up my experience so far in one word: Wow.

If you’re writing about genetics, you really can’t beat the ringing endorsement George Church offers for the book “Exploring Personal Genomics”by Joel Dudley and Konrad Karczewski.

With the flood of genetic information washing over us, understanding that information and all that comes with it is vital, said Church, a professor of genetics at Harvard and a member of 23andMe’s scientific advisory board.

“This book will light our path — it is highly supportive (and even required) reading for so many of us,” he writes in the introduction to the book.

And indeed the authors, Dudley, director of biomedical informatics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and Karczewski, a doctoral student in biomedical informatics at Stanford University, have condensed a huge amount of useful information into their book.

 Dudley recently said he hoped that the book would “demystify personal genomics so that instead of doctors and patients just saying, ‘”This is confusing,”’ they’ll think, ‘”I can get a handle on this.”’

And because the book encompasses so many different aspects of personal genomics, it’s easy to see how it could be used as a reference. But this isn’t “The Cartoon Guide to Genetics.” Although Dudley and Karczewski try to make their book accessible to all, having a background in biology or genomics sure does help. Even their beginning chapter, “A Gentle Introduction to Genomics,” pretty quickly gets dense.

That said, the book is one of the first of its kind and  a great resource to anyone studying genetics or wanting to take their understanding to the next level.

This course, with its focus on “useful” genetics (as opposed to esoteric research), is a great opportunity for 23andMe customers wanting to better understand their genetic data. The course website states that Dr. Redfield’s goal for this course is “to provide a solid understanding of the genetics principles and issues that affect us all.” Genetics, after all, is playing an ever-increasing role in the way we think about ourselves, our ancestry, and our health. This course aims to teach the scientific background necessary for facing this new genetic age without fear and confusion.

Dr. Redfield, an enthusiastic woman with spiky purple hair, has so far proved the perfect guide. A 23andMe customer herself, she is also a dedicated educator of others. Through a series of short (about 15 minutes) video lectures, she has already walked me through several complex topics.

Her initial talks have covered varied subjects ranging from DNA replication and ploidy to evolution and genetic variation. She spends extra time on the more tricky points, and even had an entire lecture dedicated to why the processes of DNA replication, translation, and transcription are so often confused.

In addition to footage of the spunky Dr. Redfield speaking directly into the camera, these short videos also include numerous slides and animations created to clarify confusing points and a few interactive questions that test the students’ understanding.

Just because the course is online doesn’t mean no work or studying. Genetics is rigorous material, the course treats it as such. To help students gauge their understanding, there is a quiz for every modular (ten modulars covered over the 12-week course), as well as a midterm and a final exam. For those wanting even more in-depth coverage, there is a free genetics textbook available for download on the course resource page. Other cool features of the course include a discussion forum for interacting with your other fellow students (all 25,000+ of them!) and practice questions reviewed by the course’s teaching assistant, Alana Schick, a graduate student at UCB.

Wondering if this course is for you? Chances are that, regardless of your genetics background, you could gain something from taking Useful Genetics. I have a fairly strong science background, and I’m learning new things. However, motivated students without a previous college-level biology course needn’t fear; the lectures are quite accessible, and there are background resources on the course website for those wanting to brush-up. Don’t let the timing keep you away, either. Although the course officially began May 1st, it isn’t too late for you to join.

I hope to meet you in the student forum soon!

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 chose not to keep my story private because there are many women who do not know that they might be living under the shadow of cancer. It is my hope that they, too, will be able to get gene tested, and that if they have a high risk they, too, will know they have strong options,” she wrote.

The revelation has also prompted some of our customers to ask about what 23andMe reports concerning breast cancer.

First 23andMe’s test is not diagnostic. Our report on BRCA1 and BRCA2 looks at three mutations in those two genes associated with breast cancer. We have another report that looks at eight other mutations in other genes or gene regions including CHEK2, FGFR2, CASP8, STXBP4 and TAB2. The information concerning those mutations help us calculate risk, but also can inform people whether they carry the mutations associated with breast cancer that can be passed onto children.

Finally, we inform customers that the absence of the mutations does not rule out the possibility that they may carry another cancer-causing variation in one of those genes.

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 treatments for anxiety reported by patients themselves  include exercise, yoga and and being with animals.  CureTogether is a free resource owned by 23andMe that allows people to share information about their health and treatments.

People in the study said they found that lifestyle changes like exercising, spending time outdoors, and inspiring music were effective treatments, as were the drugs Xanax and Ativan. Conversely those in the study said some drugs like Amitriptyline, Paxil, and Wellbutrin were among the least effective. These are all treatments suggested and reported by patients, so some redundancy in the terms used is to be expected. In addition, the term “treatment” in this study refers to anything patients describe using to help them feel better whether it is an officially prescribed medical treatment or not.

Anxiety disorders are highly treatable, yet only about one-third of those suffering receive treatment, according to Anxiety and Depression Disorders of America. In addition, anxiety disorders cost the U.S. more than $42 billion a year, so CureTogether asked people suffering from anxiety to rate the effectiveness of different treatments in an effort to help raise awareness. CureTogether’s study compiled responses from 10,980 people with anxiety, who rated the effectiveness of 95 different treatments.

Where did this data come from? This is the result of a four-year CureTogether study on Anxiety, in which people living with the condition shared information about their symptoms and what treatments worked best for them. We’d like to thank those who participated. And just as they shared their experience with treatments, we’re freely and openly sharing the results of the anxiety study.

This is part of a regular series of CureTogether research findings. CureTogether’s research findings are different than those made by 23andMe, which look at genetic associations with illness, traits and drug response. But as we continue our work with the CureTogether community, 23andMe hopes to incorporate more of this kind of self-reported information into our own research. CureTogether present its findings just as they are — patient-reported data — to stimulate discussion and generate new insights for further research.

 Please tweet, blog, or pass this along to anyone who can benefit or is interested in anxiety. Thank you!

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 neighborhood, Dominguita says the secret to her long life has been to “stay happy.”

Her great granddaughter thinks it might be something else as well.

“I don’t know but I think it’s genetic,” said Erika LaTour. “Her mother lived to 102.”

A long-time customer of 23andMe, Erika recently signed her great grandmother up for the service.

The two wanted to delve into the genetics of both Dominguita’s interesting ancestry — she’s from Mexico and has a mix of Native American, Southern European, Sephardic, and a little Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry  — and the traits that may have contributed to her long and healthy life.

“She’s really just had some issues with high blood pressure but doesn’t really take any medication,” Erika said.

Although Dominguita has had some issues with her heart, her hearing and glaucoma, she’s never felt burdened by them. Or as she says, “I don’t have any pain.”

On Mother’s Day — May 12th — Dominguita will turn 112, making her the 28th oldest “validated living supercentenarian” in the world, according to Gerontology Research Group. 23andMe would like to wish her a Happy Birthday, and you can  sign a card for her here or simply post your wishes on  Twitter or on 23andMe’s Facebook page.

A “supercentenarian” is anyone who lives to be more than 110. Of the more than quarter of a million people genotyped by 23andMe, about 100 are over the century mark, but none are as supercentenarian as Dominguita.

While average life expectancy continues to rise, the reasons why some people live long and healthy lives — even working into their 90s and beyond — and others don’t, is still not known. There are some intriguing possibilities.

One genetic link to longevity that appears to be fairly strong is with a gene called APOE that is better known for its association with Alzheimer’s disease. In particular, while people with Alzheimer’s are more likely to have a version of the APOE gene known as e4, long-lived individuals are less likely to have the e4 version. Similarly, the e2 version of the APOE gene is associated with lower risk of Alzheimer’s and higher odds of being long-lived.

(Editors note: According to her 23andMe results Dominguita has higher odds of living to 100 and substantially greater odds of reaching age 95 and beyond. She has a C in both copies of the SNP rs2542052.)

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s Institute for Aging Research are focused on Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry and a few genetic variants in two genes — CEPT and APOC3 — that protect against certain conditions. A different variant in APOC3 among Amish people is associated with lower levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol. Meanwhile, in people of Japanese ancestry, another study identified variants in the FOXO3a gene which may protect against certain cancers and heart disease. The National Geographic recently included a graphic illustrating the studies.

23andMe reports on the association near the APOC3 gene with longevity in people who are of Ashkenazi ancestry but the the initial finding has yet to be validated. We also report on the association in the FOXO3a gene in people with Japanese ancestry.

However intriguing all of this is, no one has yet found the secret to long life. Some of it is clearly genetic, but lifestyle and diet almost certainly play a significant role. On the Greek Island of Ikaria, a wonderful mix of diet, genes, and a relaxed and simple daily life seems to be particularly conducive to a long life.

And in Dominguita’s case, she may have benefited from all of those things. Her philosophy of staying happy, but also her genes, and her active life all may have helped her live a long life. A fixture in the local lore of Oakland, California, where she has lived since the early 1920s, Dominguita has by no means escaped hardship. She lost her husband and a daughter to tuberculosis and scraped and saved to raise her surviving daughter. She also had to work hard to keep her family restaurant afloat. But she did it all while remaining active in her community and surrounding herself with family.

Happy Birthday Dominguita, your life inspires us all.

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 haplogroup in Europe today, but it wasn’t always that way.

Recently a team of scientists used DNA extracted from human skeletal remains dating from around 500 years ago to nearly 6,000 years ago to reconstruct what they say is the first detailed genetic history of modern Europe. Modern humans were in Europe as far back as 35,000 years ago, overlapping with Neanderthals who’d arrived first. But in looking at the DNA, specifically the DNA that defines maternal lineages, scientists found that H was very rare in those early hunter-gatherers.

So how did H become so common in Europe?

The scientists, who wrote about their findings in a paper published in the journal Nature Communications, theorize that the dramatic shift in haplogroups mirrors different waves of migrations into Europe and the stark change from a hunter-gatherer culture to one dominated by agriculture. The DNA evidence supports this theory, they say, and is bolstered by the archeological evidence. It wasn’t just a movement of ideas and technology that transformed prehistoric Europe, but the movement of people.

“This is the first high-resolution genetic record of these lineages through time, and it is fascinating that we can directly observe both human DNA evolving in ‘real-time’, and the dramatic population changes that have taken place in Europe,” said Dr Wolfgang Haak of the University of Adelaide’s Australian Center for Ancient DNA, a co-author of the study.

The mitochondrial DNA used in this study tells not only stories of human prehistory, but also personal ancestry stories. Everyone can trace his or her maternal ancestry using DNA testing. Your maternal lineage, defined by a type of DNA called mitochondrial DNA, is passed down to you only from your mother, who got it from her mother and so on all the way back in time to “mitochondrial Eve.”

This little piece of DNA is almost totally unchanged through the generations, linking us back through time to our ancient ancestors. The very slow rate at which it changes allows scientists to pinpoint in time major changes in human history such as our migration out of Africa and the patterns of people moving across the planet.

Each time there is a change in that DNA — a mutation — it creates a new “branch” of the maternal family tree — which traces back generations from one mother to the next. By using information from archeology, history and even what we know about changes in climate, we are gaining a better and better understanding of human history.