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 [...]
September 20, 2012
by Emily Chang, Joanna Mountain and Mike Macpherson Click on the image above for a larger version of this chart, which shows that some ancestry combinations are more common than others in the 23andMe database. Given the “melting pot” nature of the United States, it is not surprising that most [...]
May 12, 2012
Mothers are special on so many levels. We cherish them for loving us and imparting important life lessons... and for giving us mitochondria (or "mito" for short)! Mitochondria are small, roundish structures inside of cells that produce cellular energy. They have "zigzag insides" and their own DNA, which can [...]
May 5, 2012
Today is Cinco de Mayo. This day commemorates the Mexican army's 1862 victory over France in the Battle of Puebla (not Mexican independence day as is commonly believed), but is more widely observed in the United States as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. There are different ways to celebrate [...]
March 16, 2012
Nearly 37 million Americans claim to have Irish heritage according to a national survey conducted in 2009. That’s over eight times the number of people living in Ireland today. Although it’s remarkable that nearly 1 in 10 Americans might say “Kiss Me I’m Irish!” on St. Patrick’s day, it’s not [...]
September 29, 2010
Meet Sheridan*. She's a 27 year old female who signed up for 23andMe during one of our sales. Adopted at eight months, she has no information about her biological roots and the adoption agency has no records other than where she was found -- on the steps of a church in a small town near Atlanta, Georgia. She [...]
April 2, 2009
The 23andMe Personal Genome Service™ offers information about customers' maternal and paternal ancestry by examining their mitochondrial DNA (which we all inherit from our mothers) and the Y chromosome (which is passed by fathers to their sons). Over our species' history new genetic variations have [...]
