By Kathy Hibbs, Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer, 23andMe


A few days ago the US Food and Drug Administration accepted for review 23andMe’s submission for a new 510 (k) application. This submission is for one health report, and <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog-300x300.jpg" alt="23andMe_Logo_blog" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-6586" 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" />is part of the FDA&#8217;s regulatory review of our health product.


Although the submission focuses on a single rare but serious inherited condition we report to customers – <a href="http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/bloom-syndrome" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloom syndrome</a> – it is an important step in our work with the FDA in the coming months.
Once cleared, it will help 23andMe, and the FDA, establish the parameters for future submissions.
More importantly, for our customers, it marks a baseline on the accuracy and validity of the information we report back to them. The submission includes robust validation data covering major components of our product such as the genotyping chip, software and saliva kit.


While we are still in the very early stages of this regulatory review process, we remain committed to transparency and keeping our customers as informed as possible. This by no means is the end of the process even for this one condition. It is likely that 23andMe will hear back from the FDA regarding the material we gave to them, and, we in turn will have to respond to those questions as we move forward.
We are pleased to be moving forward with the FDA and committed to our company mission of empowering individuals with their genetic information.


If you would like to know more about the 510 (k) process, you can read more on the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/DeviceRegulationandGuidance/HowtoMarketYourDevice/PremarketSubmissions/PremarketNotification510k/default.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">FDA’s website</a>.

Kathy Hibbs

Update On The Regulatory Review Process With The FDA

Two new studies done by researchers in France and the United States connect the dots between the number of moles women have and their risk for developing breast cancer.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Mole-300x300.jpg" alt="Mole" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-21125" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Mole-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Mole-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Mole-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Mole-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Mole-574x574.jpg 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Mole.jpg 693w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Published last week in PLOS Medicine, the large studies, both found a connection. One study was done by researchers at <a href="http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001660" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">France’s Université Paris Sud.</a>  The other was conducted by scientists at <a href="http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001659#abstract1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brigham Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School</a> – 
<h6>The Two Studies</h6>
The French study – which used a cohort of about 89,000 women teachers studied over 18 years – found that premenopausal women with “many” moles were 34 percent more likely to develop breast cancer than those with none.
The US study – which includes a cohort of about 74,000 women nurses studied over 20 years – found that women with 15 or more moles were 35 percent more likely to develop breast cancer than those women without moles.
That corresponds to about an 8 percent risk of developing breast cancer for those women without moles and an 11 percent risk for those with 15 or more moles.
<h6>23andMe Researchers Take a Look</h6>
In another illustration of the power of 23andMe’s database our researchers were able to very quickly look at our own data to see if we could find the same association between the number of moles and risk for breast cancer. We did. As with the two recent studies, our data also showed that the more moles a woman had, the higher their risk for breast cancer.&#8221;
So why look at moles when studying breast cancer?
<h6>A Possible Connection with Moles</h6>
Moles are typically associated with the risk for <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/snpwatch/snpwatch-genetic-variant-contributing-to-melanoma-risk-has-different-effects-on-mole-count-depending-on-age/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">skin cancer</a>, but researchers decided to look at their possible connection to breast cancer because the production of moles is associated with higher levels of estrogen and progesterone.
Those two hormones may also be associated with the development of breast cancer. Several studies have found a hormonal influence on whether women develop breast cancer. And, as the editors of the study noted, women who don’t have children or have the late in life, are at “a higher breast cancer risk than women who have several children when they are young because pregnancy alters sex hormone levels.”
So researchers thought that the number of moles may help be a predictor for breast cancer risk. The data seem to indicate that is true.
Both studies are illustrative of the power of being able to look at seemingly unrelated traits to learn more about the underlying biology of disease.

23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

New Studies On Breast Cancer Risk

Earlier this month Joanna Mountain, 23andMe’s senior director of research, spoke during a panel discussion at the annual Genealogy Jamboree hosted by the <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-21119 size-medium" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Joanna_and_Blaine_Bettinger-e1402696162448-300x288.jpg" alt="Joanna_and_Blaine_Bettinger" width="300" height="288" />
Starting in 2013, the four-day conference has included a day devoted to the use of genetic testing to inform the search for family history and ancestry.
This year, Joanna participated in a discussion about what the future might hold.
“People are going to start seeing how they’re related to one another,” Joanna said, and then looking around at the audience she added, “Maybe at one of these conferences, they’ll put up on the screen how all attendees are related.”
<h6>More Commonplace</h6>
Most of the other panelists –  which included Bennett Greenspan, the president and CEO of FamilyTree DNA, Jake Byrnes, of AncestryDNA, and the genetic genealogist, Diahan Southard – agreed. As more and more people are tested, as genetic databases grow, tracing relationships between people will become more commonplace.
Moderator <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-5404 size-medium" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Picture-208-300x225.png" alt="Don't just settle for two branches of your family tree..." width="300" height="225" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Picture-208-300x225.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Picture-208.png 408w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
“It could be terribly convenient for those of us who are studying genealogy,” said Blaine.
<h6>World Family Tree</h6>
While a world family tree isn’t necessary for the effective use of genetic genealogy, it is a way to merge genetic information with information from <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/ancestry/family-tree/">family trees</a> and research documents to inform people about their family history.
“I see a universal world tree emerging from the combined efforts of everyone in this room and at companies,” Joanna said in Burbank. “It’s already happening to some extent – kind of a crowd-sourcing effort.”
<h6>Sharing</h6>
This is happening because individuals are sharing information, but also because companies like 23andMe are allowing developers to create APIs that will offer consumers more tools to use in their searches.
But Joanna also reminded those in the audience that people test for many reasons. They might want to know about their family’s or their own risk for disease, or see traits they might pass onto their children, but in testing they might learn something they didn’t know about their ancestry. 23andMe is trying to allow consumers to explore their DNA through all those facets, she said. They might also learn that their ancestry makes them more or less prone to certain health conditions.
“We’re looking for ways to integrate both the health side and the ancestry/genealogy side (because those) go hand-in-hand,” she said.

The Future of Genetic Genealogy

23andMe cofounder and CEO Anne Wojcicki took a few moments to talk to interviewer Hayley Goldbach at Stanford’s recent <a href="http://bigdata.stanford.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Big Data in Biomedicine</a> conference.
The annual conference, which seems to get a little bigger each year, focuses on a sweet spot for 23andMe, the promise that the vast ocean of digital information can help drive breakthroughs in drug development and the personalization of medicine.
Here’s Anne’s interview. 
<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/zTgqieMLrl8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

Anne Wojcicki Interview At Big Data Conference

If your eyes are brown, or you can wiggle your ears, or you love black licorice, it’s likely you should be thanking your dad.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-large wp-image-21078" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/06092014_FathersDay_Infographic_large-301x768.jpg" alt="06092014_FathersDay_Infographic_large" width="301" height="768" />
As we near Father’s Day 23andMe wanted to take a look specifically at fathers, and the traits they are likely to have in common with their children.


While we shouldn’t be surprised to learn that a parent’s traits are often seen in his or her child, it’s interesting to learn that the odds a child will get a trait are different depending on which parent has that trait.
We recently wrote about our research that shows that while we get traits from both our fathers and our mothers, certain traits are more strongly associated with your mother.
But in some cases, whether or not a child has a certain kind of trait – brown eyes, for example – is more likely if their father has that trait.


23andMe researcher Emma Pierson calculated the odds of whether a son or daughter shared certain traits with their fathers. To figure that out she looked at 15,000 anonymous mother-father-child “trios” among 23andMe’s customers who consented to research.


Emma discovered that like with mothers, there are certain traits that if a father has them, their child is more likely to also have them, and often the odds differed between sons and daughters. So if a father has brown eyes his son is only six times more likely to also have brown eyes, while his daughter is 10 times more likely. She discovered that if your father is a morning person, his son is 1.9 times more likely to also like getting up early, while his daughter is almost two-and-a-half times as likely to be an early bird.


Why this is has to do with many factors. Some traits are clearly genetic, the color of your eyes, some of your food preferences, for example. Other traits are more complicated and may have more to do with socialization, as well as cultural and environmental influences.


It’s important to note that Emma looked only at biological fathers because of the nature of the data. These “trios” are anonymous and we are only able to show their father-mother-child connection through their genetics.
Obviously parenting is about much more than biology, and, as these traits show while genetics clearly plays a role it only explains some of why some traits are passed to a child and others aren’t.

Thanks Dad

There are few places as far removed from Manhattan than vast tundra and cold forests that make up the land of the Sami, but for Laura, a full-fledged New Yorker, there was no place she felt more connected.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Laura-G.-300x300.jpg" alt="Laura G." class="alignright size-medium wp-image-21064" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Laura-G.-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Laura-G.-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Laura-G.-768x768.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Laura-G.-880x880.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Laura-G.-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Laura-G.-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Laura-G.-574x574.jpg 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Laura-G.-980x980.jpg 980w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Laura-G..jpg 1000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
After venturing into the vast region that covers the artic north of four Scandinavian countries to form the cultural region also known as Sami or Lappland, Laura was hooked.
“The draw to this part of the world became irresistible,” said the writer and media consultant.
<h6>A Connection with Scandanavia</h6>
And it wasn’t just the otherworldly beauty of the place that pulled at her. Laura felt another bond she couldn’t quite explain. That deeper connection became clear only after testing with 23andMe. It’s what ultimately triggered a life-changing decision that also altered how Laura thought of herself.
“Everybody has a tribe and we’re all connected to other people and that’s an unassailable fact of science,” Laura said. “But to have a sense that you belong and are connected is an amazing and profound thing.”
For ten years Laura was a successful media consultant in the media capital of the world, New York City. She lived in Chelsea and was comfortable in the bustle of a city of eight million people. Austere and cold northern European landscapes were not on her radar.
“But I was sent to Sweden on a work trip and I felt this weird connection,” she said.
<h6>A Fascination with the Place</h6>
She remembered visiting a park there that had a reindeer enclosure. She kept coming back, sometimes in the evening just to look at the animals. She didn’t know what it was that fascinated her or why she fell completely in love with the place.
“It was strange,” she said.
At this part of her story, Laura takes a moment to explain that for much of her life she felt she was missing something. Her biological mother had died when Laura was three, and that experience was always with her. Although her dad remarried a caring woman who adopted and raised Laura – the only mother she’s known – Laura always felt a need to know more about her biological mother and where she came from.
“As with many children that lose a parent early, I developed an insatiable appetite for anything related to history, and background,” she said.
<h6>Looking Deeper</h6>
In essence, she wanted to look backward to find out more about her mother and in doing that learn more about herself. Although she went on to become first a journalist and then a writer and media consultant, Laura was always drawn to history. And growing up as the child of a doctor, she was also drawn to science. Then about three years ago she learned about 23andMe and using DNA to explore her own ancestry. For her, it was a perfect mix of cutting-edge science that also gave you insight into your family’s genetic history.
So she got tested.
“That was probably the most important thing that has ever happened to me,” Laura said. “When I took the test I was shocked to discover that I shared DNA with the Sami people of the northern Arctic.”
<h6>The Sami</h6>
That strange connection when she felt, suddenly made sense. Laura started to make more regular visits to the region so she could learn more about the culture and the people.
The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami_people" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sami</a> are the oldest indigenous culture in Northern Europe. Their people live across stretches of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. A reindeer herding culture, the Sami have had a cultural rebirth establishing a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A1mi_University_College" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sami University College</a>, to teach the language and maintain the traditions of the people.
Laura made several visits to the region and with each one her affinity with the Sami grew, she said.
“It was shocking to see people who looked like me,” said Laura, who is blond but with almond-shaped eyes, common among the Sami.
<h6>Taking a Leap</h6>
Her visits became more focused on an area in northern Norway around Kautokeino. Then last summer she took an even bigger step, she packed up everything she owned, put her two cats in pet carriers, and moved to the Norwegian Arctic and the heart of Sami reindeer herding country. There she enrolled in Sami University to study the language.
Her visits had been an effort to understand the genetic connection she had with the place, even cataloging her exploration in a blog called “Genetic Nomad.” She wanted to learn as much as she could about the Sami.
“I came to the tundra for a visit, and another visit, and another, and fell in love with the people and culture,” she said.
Even after a harsh winter, the draw of the place hasn’t changed, she said. Her connection to the place and the people has only grown stronger, she said. Laura said she marvels that a simple DNA test could have had such an impact on her life, and she believes it could do the same for others.
“I found my tribe,” Laura said. “I don&#8217;t think I could ever properly express my gratitude or how powerful I believe the ancestry portion of this test can be for humanity or for people who felt they had no history.”

Genetic Nomad

Over the last couple of months we&#8217;ve featured a few short question and answer sessions with some of research team scientists. We&#8217;re taking a moment to revisit those posts one more time.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-21028 aligncenter" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/@PITER-23andMe-JoyceTung-19.jpg" alt="@PITER-23andMe-JoyceTung-19" width="200" height="285" /><a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/a-conversation-with-23andmes-director-of-research/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Joyce Tung</a></th>
<th><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-21027 aligncenter" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/@PITER-23andMe-JoannaMountain-43.jpg" alt="@PITER-23andMe-JoannaMountain-43" width="200" height="285" /><a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/a-conversation-with-23andmes-joanna-mountain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Joanna Mountain </a></th>
</tr>
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<td style="text-align: center;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-21026 aligncenter" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/@PITER-23andMe-DavidHinds-31.jpg" alt="@PITER-23andMe-DavidHinds-31" width="200" height="285" /><a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/a-conversation-with-23andme-principal-scientist-david-hinds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">David Hinds</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-21023 aligncenter" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/@PITER-23andMe-ArnabChowdry-04-copy1.jpg" alt="@PITER-23andMe-ArnabChowdry-04 copy" width="200" height="285" /><a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/a-conversation-with-23andmes-arnab-chowdry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Arnab Chowdry</a></td>
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<td style="text-align: center;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-21029 aligncenter" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/23andMe-Eric-008-copy1.jpeg" alt="23andMe-Eric-008 copy" width="200" height="285" /><a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/a-conversation-with-23andmes-eric-durand/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Eric Durand</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-21022 aligncenter" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Nick-Furlotte-Photo-e1401309962414.jpg" alt=" ©PITER-23andMe-NickFurlotte-23" data-wp-editing="1" width="200" height="285" /><a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/a-conversation-with-23andme-researcher-nick-furlotte/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nick Furlotte</a></td>
</tr>
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<td style="text-align: center;"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-21024 size-full" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/@PITER-23andMe-ChaoTian-25.jpg" alt="@PITER-23andMe-ChaoTian-25" width="199" height="287" /><a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/a-conversation-with-23andme-researcher-chao-tian/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Chao Tian</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-21030 size-full" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Megan-2.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="285" /><a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/23andme-researcher-meghan-mullins/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Meghan Mullins</a></td>
</tr>
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<td style="text-align: center;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-20896 aligncenter" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Matthew-McIntyre-Photo-copy-225x300.jpg" alt="Matthew McIntyre Photo copy" width="225" height="285" /><a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/a-conversation-with-23andme-researcher-matthew-mcintyre/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Matthew McIntyre</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-21034 aligncenter" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/katie.jpg" alt="katie" width="200" height="286" /><a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/23andme-researcher-katie-huber/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Katie Huber</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Research Redux

Stephanie Griffith-Jackson always believed her ancestry was diverse, but she never suspected her DNA would lead her to France.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-21038" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Stephanie-Jackson.jpg" alt="Stephanie Jackson" width="260" height="196" />
Interested in her African American ancestry and her family health history, Stephanie tested with 23andMe to learn more. The results surprised her.
“I’ve always been a mutt, and proud of it but this takes it to a whole new level,” Stephanie said.
<h6>African and European Ancestry</h6>
She learned that along with her African ancestry she had a much larger percentage of European ancestry than she expected. With a little more research into her genealogy, Stephanie discovered that her great-grandfather was Welsh.   He married her great-grandmother, who was African American, in the early 1900’s.
“It’s tough to find information on that side of the family, because after the wedding, my great-grandfather’s family disowned him for marrying outside his race,” she said. “It makes me want to cry to think about that story.  He risked everything for love.”
<h6>Connecting to Other Cultures</h6>
The more Stephanie learned about the “various and wonderful cultures” she came from, the more she wanted to connect with them.
Using 23andMe&#8217;s DNA Relatives tool, Stephanie reached out to several distant cousins, including one living in France. This cousin turned out to be an ex-pat Californian named Terry. Terry and Stephanie connected through 23andMe, and then started communicating online.  They found that they have a remarkable amount of similarities.
<h6>Cousins</h6>
When the pair had a chance to get together in California, where Stephanie now lives. The two distant cousins got along like childhood best friends.
“When we first saw each other, we screamed, hugged and cried,” said Stephanie. “We stayed up until four in the morning.  We were connecting, so we didn’t want to stop talking.  It was like we had known each other forever.  It was strange. I felt like I’d already met her like I already knew her.”
The pair also found that they shared a strong interest in genealogy.   Stephanie has been exploring her African roots and recently took a trip to Africa.  She even started a website for people who wanted to explore their genealogies.
&#8220;I will never be the same after getting my DNA tested,” Stephanie says.  “I’ll never think of myself in the same way. We are all connected. We are all family.”
Stephanie continues to research her genealogy, including her Native American and Portuguese roots on her mother’s side.  She and Terry talk every day.
“I&#8217;m so happy to have found 23andMe,” said Stephanie.  “I have discovered that color doesn’t separate us.  I truly believe that if everyone had the opportunity to have their DNA tested, it would do a lot to lessen prejudice in the world and bring people closer together.”
23andMe provides genetic testing services for informational purposes; your results may or may not help you to search for or identify relatives or family members.
&nbsp;

Connecting Cousins

We got a great response from our Google Hangout earlier this month, which focused on some of 23andMe’s basic ancestry tools. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-21014" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/05152014_hangout_banner_0002_right_Busy-300x75.jpg" alt="05152014_hangout_banner_0002_right_Busy" width="300" height="75" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/05152014_hangout_banner_0002_right_Busy-300x75.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/05152014_hangout_banner_0002_right_Busy-768x192.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/05152014_hangout_banner_0002_right_Busy-1024x256.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/05152014_hangout_banner_0002_right_Busy-880x220.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/05152014_hangout_banner_0002_right_Busy-1180x295.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/05152014_hangout_banner_0002_right_Busy.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />


During the presentation <a href="http://www.yourgeneticgenealogist.com">CeCe Moore</a>, a genetic genealogist and 23andMe Ancestry Ambassador, started with a quick overview of the science behind using DNA for ancestry before diving into the features.
Also joining CeCe were Laurie Kahn, an ancestry Product Manager here at 23andMe and Christine Moschella, our Community Manager.
After the basics the team dove right into some of 23andMe’s features including Ancestry Composition, Ancestral Origins and DNA Relatives.
CeCe covered ways customers can use different settings to get finer detail about their ancestry and how to make the most of your matches. She also covered some of the basics on how to invite DNA Relatives to share information that can help in genealogical searches and how to use information even when those matches don’t choose to share with you.
This is our first Google Hangout to go over 23andMe tools with customers and we hope to do more. It’s a great overview and if you are just starting to explore your ancestry with DNA this is a wonderful way to get oriented with some of ways you can explore using 23andMe. So check it out.
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