One of the few issues a majority of Americans agree on is that race relations are not getting better — they are getting worse, according to a new survey on attitudes about race and genetics done in a collaboration between researchers at 23andMe and Northwestern. But the survey conducted by <a href="https://www.csdd.northwestern.edu/">Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy</a> also captured a promising transformation in thinking about race — a change possibly influenced by young people who no longer identify in binary terms, as well as the advent of at-home DNA testing.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/racial-identity-300x300.jpg" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-26463" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/racial-identity-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/racial-identity-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/racial-identity-768x767.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/racial-identity-880x880.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/racial-identity-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/racial-identity-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/racial-identity-574x574.jpg 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/racial-identity-980x980.jpg 980w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/racial-identity.jpg 1025w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
“We&#8217;re a hell of a lot better off than I thought we were,” said<a href="https://www.polisci.northwestern.edu/people/core-faculty/alvin-tillery.html"> Al Tillery</a>, Jr, Ph.D., an associate professor and associate chair of Northwestern University’s department of political science who led the study. “What I expected &#8230; is that about two-thirds of Americans would believe that race and genetics are tightly bound together. We actually found the opposite. Only about a third of Americans nationally see a strong connection.”
Almost half of Americans said that while your genetics plays a role in determining racial identity, it doesn’t determine it, according to the survey.
The science also supports this nuanced understanding of racial identity. In fact, what we think of as race is largely<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/race-is-a-social-construct-scientists-argue/"> a “social construct,”</a> not a biological one.
For Prof. Tillery, it was encouraging to see that Americans have absorbed this concept, especially during these divisive times. What the science shows is that genetic differences are not significant enough to support biological definitions of racial categories. That doesn’t mean there are not genetic variations that reflect different ancestral groups, but what people think about when they think about race usually focuses on skin color, which, although heavily influenced by genetics, is controlled by a tiny fraction of our genome. Any two individuals are 99.5 percent genetically similar. While those minuscule differences mark what makes us each unique, focusing on them exclusively may exacerbate social tensions.
Prof. Tillery’s comments on the new survey were part of a broader discussion about race that played out during the second episode of a new iHeart radio podcast “<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1422827494">Spit — Conversations on DNA</a>.”
Hosted by the comedian and writer<a href="http://baratunde.com/"> Baratunde Thurston</a>, the podcasts will be discussions with some of the most influential thinkers on the impact of so many people using genetic testing to learn about themselves. Joining Professor Tillery on this second episode was the musician<a href="https://www.wyclef.com/"> Wyclef Jean</a>. In the first episode, 23andMe’s CEO and Co-Founder Anne Wojiciki joined Baratunde for a wide-ranging and entertaining conversation about genetics on episode one.
But the discussions with Wyclef and Prof Tillery focused on this new survey by Northwestern, a survey that marks new territory. Polls measuring attitudes about race relations, an already contentious subject, are nothing new, but this one is perhaps the first to look at attitudes towards race and genetics. Discussions of race and genetics have a long and troublesome history. One in which the science has been misused for racist purposes. 
“I give (23andMe) a lot of credit for just wanting to know,” said Prof. Tillery “They came to me and said, ‘You know about race relations, how can we design a study where we can see what Americans think about the relationship between genetics and race?’”
And the point wasn’t just to look at race and genetics, but also whether testing might be making matters better or worse. Some critics of DNA testing argue that it<a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/world/are-genetic-ancestry-tests-reinforcing-wrongheaded-ideas-of-race"> reinforces perceptions of racial differences</a>. They point to something called “reification theory,” a concept that in this context means DNA testing solidifies people’s definitions of racial categories, making them seem more concrete. But there isn’t much evidence to support this. It’s possible that testing does the opposite by reminding people of how mixed we all are, but the evidence for either theory is not there yet. 23andMe hopes to do follow-up surveys to learn more.
“I’m excited by how the results of this survey can kick start a frank conversation about genetics and racial identity,” said Joanna Mountain, 23andMe’s Senior Director of Research, who was also involved in designing the study. 
During the podcast, Baratunde got beyond what was in the study and talked with Wyclef about why, despite any two people being 99.5 percent genetically similar, many of us “spend a lot of time focusing on that 0.5 percent difference.”
“(I)t&#8217;s very interesting just listening to the overall statistics,” Wyclef said. “I would say that traveling probably half of the globe, I think it&#8217;s something that everyone should know. We have so much more in common than you could even imagine.”
Listen to this whole riveting discussion on episode two of <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1422827494">“Spit — Conversations on DNA”</a> or check out other episodes as they come online. We will be sharing more on this new Race and Genetics Survey in the coming weeks.
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23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

A New Survey On Attitudes About Race and Genetics

He hadn’t given up looking, but Richard had long ago stopped expecting he’d find anything about his biological family.



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Richard-B-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-26408" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Richard-B-300x169.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Richard-B-768x432.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Richard-B-880x495.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Richard-B-980x555.jpg 980w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Richard-B.jpg 986w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></figure>



A 50-year-old adoptee, he’d been stymied for years by sealed adoption records. So when Richard’s wife gave him a 23andMe kit for Christmas last year, they were more focused on learning about health and traits he may have inherited, and maybe get some information about his ancestry.



That’s why one of his DNA Relative connections was such a shock.



“When I read the first line: ‘I am your sister,’ I dropped my phone,” Richard told KSNV Channel 3 in Las Vegas.



Connecting with Sarah, his half-sister in London, allowed him to fill in the blank pages of his life. And probably most emotional of all for Richard was that Sarah immediately knew who he was. She’d known about him for more than 15 years but assumed he was living in Ireland. Her father, Richard’s biological father, had told her about having fathered a child with his girlfriend when the two were in college and of putting up the boy&#8217;s adoption. That’s all that Sarah had known.



But it was all a revelation to Richard, who was able to learn more about his biological family.



“I had completely given up hope of ever finding out any information about my birth family,” he said. “I now know so much more about my adoption and my birth father, and I have gained an amazing sister.”



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23andMe Helps Adoptee Find Biological Family

In his regular<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/column/matter"> column</a> for The New York Times, Carl Zimmer writes with compelling clarity about genetics and human evolution explaining why the science matters, skills he deftly unleashes in his massive new book<a href="https://carlzimmer.com/books/she-has-her-mothers-laugh/"> “She Has Her Mother’s Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity.”</a><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Zimmer-Book-Cover.jpg" alt="" class="alignright wp-image-26399 size-full" width="298" height="450" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Zimmer-Book-Cover.jpg 298w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Zimmer-Book-Cover-199x300.jpg 199w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 298px) 100vw, 298px" />
In this book, Zimmer looks at more than just the science, delving into the history, characters, and breakthroughs that have changed what we know about heredity. While this book focuses a lot on genetics, Zimmer also conveys that heredity is more than just biology, it’s also the cultural, social and environmental heritage we pass on to future generations. And it is here that the book draws its power.
<h6>Heredity</h6>
Zimmer appropriately brings our attention to the science and the potency of this information, but he also brings us context. Your DNA is important but it is never the whole picture of who or what you are. It’s surprising that even today, this is still not well understood.
And Zimmer illustrates how this persistent failure to understand the nuance and complexity of science leads to folly or much worse, as his book so ably outlines with the disturbing history of eugenics in the United States. As Zimmer writes “we cannot understand the natural world with a simplistic notion of genetic heredity.” There is not a “gene for intelligence” or a “gene for height.” 
It’s much more complicated, and much more interesting than all that.
<h6>Genetic Inheritance</h6>
But more than these somber warnings Zimmer’s book is also a personal story — a reflection on what he and his wife passed onto their daughters, and the genetics he shares with his brother, his parents and his distant ancestors. How many of us have looked at our own children or our parents and wondered about what in us we share with them?
Zimmer explores all this by delving into the history of the science as well as his own genome, which he had sequenced. He also writes about the trepidation around learning something he can’t unlearn about risks he may pass onto his children. And he spends time in the book mulling over why so many of us are so enthralled with searching for our ancestors. 
What draws us to be so fascinated about those who came before us?
<h6>Some Science History</h6>
Ultimately with his own story and the history of the science he writes about, Zimmer creates a sort of compendium of tales that capture critical concepts in genetics. Like all his best work, Zimmer digs into what is so fascinating and vital about the science, and he sprinkles surprising and sometimes shocking tidbits that draw us deeper. 
For example, it really was only in the 19th century that scientists started to understand that there was some biological essence that parents passed onto their children. Traits had more to do with external factors like the weather, it was thought. It wasn&#8217;t about who your parents were. For example, Aristotle believed tall people came from cold climates. Heredity was mostly about property and bloodlines, not biology.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Carl-Zimmer-Photo-by-Mistina-Hanscom-284x300.jpg" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-26398" width="284" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Carl-Zimmer-Photo-by-Mistina-Hanscom-284x300.jpg 284w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Carl-Zimmer-Photo-by-Mistina-Hanscom.jpg 426w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 284px) 100vw, 284px" />
<h5>The Habsburgs</h5>
The book is actually steeped in fascinating history, which Zimmer uses to remind us how new the science is. 
He details the intricate tales like that of the<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/ancestry/the-end-of-a-dynasty-how-inbreeding-doomed-the-house-of-habsburg/"> Habsburgs health</a> issues. And he writes about the fate of the famous writer Pearl S. Buck’s daughter in the early 20th century. He covers the story of <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/luther-burbank-what-comes-after-heirloom-seeds">Luther Burbank</a> and his seeds and<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemartin"> Freemartin cows</a>. And Zimmer explains the surprising fact that mothers don’t just pass on genes to their children, but remnants of their baby’s DNA remain in their bloodstream after birth.
<h6>Zimmer</h6>
All this history is fascinating but Zimmer is best at keeping the science current. Almost every week we see new breakthroughs in genetic science, and Zimmer’s writing is fresh with insight. He dedicates a chapter on the promise and peril of gene editing faced by scientists using the CRISPR. Zimmer includes the fascinating science of epigenetics, and he writes about the studies that use genetics for social science research like<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/massive-study-on-the-genetics-of-educational-attainment/"> educational attainment. </a> All of that has been in the news this summer. His book is attuned to what is happening now in genetics.
But “She Has Her Mother’s Laugh” isn’t just about genetics. Nor is it just about the importance of understanding the science. Zimmer argues that we need to think beyond genes to capture the full scope of heredity. Genes are not the only thing that are passed from one generation to another.
&nbsp;

Book Review: She Has Her Mother’s Laugh

23andMe joined forces with non-profit organization <a href="https://fpf.org/about/">Future of Privacy Forum</a> along with Ancestry, Helix, and other leading personal genetic testing companies to issue a new Privacy Best Practices for Consumer Genetic Testing Services.
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The document offers a policy framework for protecting consumer information, as well as guidelines for the collection, protection, sharing and use of genetic data generated from consumer genetic testing.
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“Everyone who participates in a genetic testing service deserves to have their information protected, no matter which service or product they use,” said Kate Black, 23andMe’s Global Privacy Officer. “It&#8217;s imperative that all consumer genetic testing companies adhere to comprehensive privacy protections, and clearly communicate their policies to consumers in a transparent manner.”
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Much of the fundamental tenets of the policy are already core to <a href="https://www.23andme.com/privacy/">23andMe’s privacy protections for consumers</a>.
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&#8220;With over a decade of experience as a leader in consumer genetic testing, we&#8217;ve built incredibly strong privacy practices,” Kate said. “We are happy to now work with the industry and an organization like the FPF to solidify best practices, and help ensure proper protection of consumers&#8217; genetic information more broadly.&#8221;
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Find out more <a href="https://fpf.org/2018/07/31/future-of-privacy-forum-and-leading-genetic-testing-companies-announce-best-practices-to-protect-privacy-of-consumer-genetic-data/">here</a>.
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<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/FPF-Genetics-Infographic-FINAL.jpg" alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-26396" width="792" height="612" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/FPF-Genetics-Infographic-FINAL.jpg 792w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/FPF-Genetics-Infographic-FINAL-300x232.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/FPF-Genetics-Infographic-FINAL-768x593.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 792px) 100vw, 792px" />

Best Practices for Protecting Consumers’ Privacy

23andMe released a new batch of <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/traits/">trait reports</a> that  look at whether your DNA indicates you might be tastier to mosquitoes than others, or why you can sing back a musical note or get the heebie-jeebies looking down from great heights, or even why your hair lightens in the sun.
Let&#8217;s take a closer look at each report:
<h6>Mosquito Bite Frequency </h6>
<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/mosquito-bites/"> A study</a> that 23andMe collaborated on with researchers at Pfizer Inc last year, showed that genetics plays a role in both the amount of swelling from a bite and how often a person gets bit. That study found 15 genetic variants — almost all on or near genes associated with the immune response — associated with both the intensity of the reaction to the bite and the frequency of bites.
23andMe’s new Mosquito Bite Frequency trait report goes far beyond those initial findings and uses more than 280 genetic variants associated with mosquito attractiveness to calculate its estimate. It turns out that female mosquitoes — it’s only the female mosquito that drinks our blood — have a good nose for prey.
Their complex olfactory system leads them to prefer some people’s scent to others. Indeed, data from 23andMe customers who consented to participate in research indicate that more than a third, 37.5 percent, report being bitten more often than others. A little more than a quarter, 27.5 percent, said they were bitten less frequently.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-26391 size-large" title="Mosquite Bite Frequency" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Mosquitobite.jpg-1002x1024.png" alt="" width="1002" height="1024" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Mosquitobite.jpg-1002x1024.png 1002w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Mosquitobite.jpg-294x300.png 294w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Mosquitobite.jpg-768x785.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Mosquitobite.jpg-861x880.png 861w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Mosquitobite.jpg-1155x1180.png 1155w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1002px) 100vw, 1002px" />
<h6>Hair Photobleaching </h6>
Beyond getting a few bug bites another rite of summer is getting a little sun, and for some that can also mean a slight change in the color of their hair. But getting a beach blonde hairdo is a bit more complicated than you’d imagine with dozens of genetic variants influencing whether the sun will lighten your hair. 23andMe scientists identified 48 different genetic variants that affect this trait among people of European ancestry. The genetics around <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/traits/hair-photobleaching">hair photobleaching</a> should not be confused with the<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/untangling-the-genetics-of-hair-color/"> hundreds of genes associated with hair color</a>. According to data that 23andMe used to create this trait report, a little more than 72 percent of customers who consented to participate in research and have European ancestry reported that the sun lightens their hair.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-26390 size-large" title="Hair Photobleaching" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Photobleaching.jpg-837x1024.png" alt="" width="837" height="1024" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Photobleaching.jpg-837x1024.png 837w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Photobleaching.jpg-245x300.png 245w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Photobleaching.jpg-768x940.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Photobleaching.jpg-719x880.png 719w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Photobleaching.jpg-964x1180.png 964w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 837px) 100vw, 837px" />
<h6>Fear of Heights</h6>
It turns out that certain fears, including acrophobia, which is the fear of heights, have a genetic component. 23andMe reports on whether your genetics makes you more or less likely than the average person to be afraid of heights. While a phobia can be learned, there are also fears that are influenced by genetics. Fear of heights is relatively common, affecting as many as<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00415-012-6685-1"> one in three people</a>, according to one study.
This is consistent with what scientists at 23andMe found among customers who consented to participate in research, with about 37 percent saying they were afraid of heights. The feelings one has may be based on the visual stimulus one experiences when standing near the edge of a significant drop-off, where the nearby objects one uses as optical input to maintain balance is absent. Scientists believe that acrophobia might be stronger in those who depend heavily on visual information for balance, which also has a genetic component.
<h6><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-26389 size-large" title="Fear of Heights" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/FearOheights.jpg-1024x1001.png" alt="" width="1024" height="1001" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/FearOheights.jpg-1024x1001.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/FearOheights.jpg-300x293.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/FearOheights.jpg-768x751.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/FearOheights.jpg-880x860.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/FearOheights.jpg-1180x1153.png 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Ability to match music note </h6>
More than just being able to sing, the ability to match a musical note is something that some people are just<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-04-11/how-much-of-our-ability-to-sing-in-tune-is-inherited/9636506"> born with</a>. 23andMe now reports on whether your genetics makes it more or less likely that you’ll match a <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/traits/musical-pitch/">musical pitch</a>. Although it might seem simple for those with this instinctive ability, there is actually a lot going on. Reproducing a note requires the ability first to hear the pitch, and then the brain identifies the muscles needed to produce the sound. About half of 23andMe customers who consented to participate in research say they can sing back any note, and our researchers have identified no fewer than 500 genetic variants associated with the ability to match musical pitch.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-26388 size-large" title="Match Musical Pitch" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/MusicalPitch.jpg-876x1024.png" alt="" width="876" height="1024" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/MusicalPitch.jpg-876x1024.png 876w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/MusicalPitch.jpg-257x300.png 257w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/MusicalPitch.jpg-768x898.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/MusicalPitch.jpg-753x880.png 753w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/MusicalPitch.jpg-1009x1180.png 1009w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 876px) 100vw, 876px" />
<h6>Genetic Traits</h6>
Together, these trait reports show that traits like these — as well as the more than two-dozen others that we offer to health + ancestry customers — are influenced by your genetics. The reports can help give you a bit more insight into the fascinating world of genetics, and how the interplay between your DNA and your environment can ultimately influence who you are.
We encourage you to <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/traits/">check them out</a>.

Itching to See 23andMe’s New Trait Reports

Since the inception of 23andMe, our mission has been to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome. 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Anne-headshot_2018-e1532470981667-252x300.jpeg" alt="" class="alignright wp-image-26375" width="280" height="334" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Anne-headshot_2018-e1532470981667-252x300.jpeg 252w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Anne-headshot_2018-e1532470981667-859x1024.jpeg 859w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Anne-headshot_2018-e1532470981667-990x1180.jpeg 990w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Anne-headshot_2018-e1532470981667-768x915.jpeg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Anne-headshot_2018-e1532470981667-739x880.jpeg 739w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 280px) 100vw, 280px" />
We have also built a significant research team that has published over 100 scientific papers. In 2015, we launched 23andMe Therapeutics to develop novel treatments and cures based on <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-health-ancestry/">genetic insights</a> from the consented 23andMe community.
<h6>Novel Treatments</h6>
Today, I am thrilled to <a href="https://mediacenter.23andme.com/press-releases/gsk-and-23andme-sign-agreement-to-leverage-genetic-insights-for-the-development-of-novel-medicines/">announce</a> that we are launching a collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to accelerate our ability to make those novel treatments and cures a reality. <code style="display: none;"> </code>
I hear regularly from customers that they want to be part of a solution that is improving health care. We all have some disease or health issue that we care about. 23andMe has created a research platform to enable customers to actively participate in research — to not wait for solutions to appear, but for people to come together and make discoveries happen.  By working with GSK, we believe we will accelerate the development of breakthroughs. Our genetic research — powered by millions of customers who have agreed to contribute — combined with GSK’s expertise in drug discovery and development, gives us the best chance for success.
<h6>Choice</h6>
Our top priority is our customer, and empowering each individual with the options to participate in research. As always, customers choose whether or not to participate in research. Customers can choose to opt-in or opt-out at any time. 
I started 23andMe with the belief that by getting people interested in learning about themselves and participating in research, we would all benefit. Today is an important milestone in how 23andMe will be able to impact the lives of those with disease and how we will be able to improve the future of healthcare.
Finally, I want to recognize GSK for their commitment to empowering consumers to play a role in creating impactful new treatments and helping redefine how we discover novel medicines in the future.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/sig_small_transparent.jpg" alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-23161 size-full" width="318" height="133" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/sig_small_transparent.jpg 318w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/sig_small_transparent-300x125.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 318px) 100vw, 318px" />

A Note On 23andMe’s New Collaboration with GSK

For National Cousins day we thought we&#8217;d share the story of Lisa Henry and Joyce Schur, who are  are so close that they always felt like more than just friends. After using 23andme they learned that they had that right. They are actually cousins.
<div id="attachment_26368" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26368" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Lisa-and-Joyce-300x169.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-26368 size-medium" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Lisa-and-Joyce-300x169.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Lisa-and-Joyce-768x433.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Lisa-and-Joyce-880x496.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Lisa-and-Joyce.jpg 969w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Friends Lisa, on the left, and Joyce. The photo on the right is from 2016.</div>
Their story was recently covered by <a href="https://www.insideedition.com/pennsylvania-women-who-have-been-best-friends-childhood-discover-theyre-related-44987">Inside Edition</a>. The two Pennsylvania women shared their story with us earlier this year. It’s about two people grew up near each other, became friends, and crossed huge milestones in their life over 40 years – marriage, having children, and family struggles. Through it all they remained friends.
“We have been friend and neighbors since we where young girls, and so many times people have asked us if we were related because we do resemble one another and are very similar in our ways,” said Lisa. “We are now in our fifties and still best friends, but never would have known we are really related, if it weren&#8217;t for 23andMe.”
It took a bit to figure it all out. Lisa had been first to test, and it wasn&#8217;t until Joyce tired of hearing about all the neat things Lisa was learning from her 23andme results that she tested. Lisa was the first person Joyce called when she got her results. She wanted some help walking through her results. When she opened up her DNA Relatives, she immediately saw Lisa&#8217;s name.
&#8220;Oh my gosh, you are the sixth person on my list! I am looking at your picture!&#8221; Joyce said.
Recently they were at a function together and a man standing in line asked:
&#8220;Are you to related?&#8221;
Joyce turned to him and said, &#8220;Well, as a matter of fact &#8211; yes!&#8221;
Check out their story <a href="https://www.insideedition.com/pennsylvania-women-who-have-been-best-friends-childhood-discover-theyre-related-44987">here</a>.

Happy National Cousins Day

In one of the largest genetic studies ever done, an international consortium of scientists has found more than 1,200 genetic variants associated with educational attainment, which is defined as the number of years individuals spent in school or university.
While income and environment strongly influence the amount of formal education a person completes, genes associated with such things as brain development, cognitive function, and personality traits also play a significant and measurable role, according to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-018-0147-3">the study</a>.
Indeed this same group of researchers, the<a href="https://www.thessgac.org/"> Social Science Genetic Association Consortium</a>, completed a similar but much smaller study two years ago and identified 74 variants associated with educational attainment.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Educational-Attainment--1024x709.jpg" alt="" class="size-large wp-image-26363" width="1024" height="709" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Educational-Attainment--1024x709.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Educational-Attainment--300x208.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Educational-Attainment--768x532.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Educational-Attainment--880x609.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Educational-Attainment--1180x817.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />

<div id="attachment_26366" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26366" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Dan-Benjamin-200x300.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-26366 size-medium" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Dan-Benjamin-200x300.jpg 200w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Dan-Benjamin.jpg 350w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />Daniel Benjamin, associate professor at USC&#8217;s Center for Economic and Socials Research.</div>
But this study, which includes data from more than 1.1 million people, is more than three times as large as the study done two years ago. Researchers used de-identified aggregaged data from 23andMe customers who consented to participate in research, data from the<a href="http://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/about-biobank-uk/"> UK Biobank</a>, and 69 other smaller research cohorts. The large size of this study offered scientists unprecedented ability to identify genetic variants that have even a very small influence on educational attainment. 
“Even variants with the largest effects predict, on average, only about three more weeks of schooling in those who have those variants compared to those who don’t,” said<a href="https://cesr.usc.edu/people/staff/djbenjam"> Daniel Benjamin</a>, a lead author on the study and an associate professor at the Center for Economic and Social Research at the University of Southern California. “Yet when we analyze the combined effects of many genetic variants, taken together they can predict the length of a person’s formal education as well as demographic factors.”
Benjamin is alluding to an additional step the researchers took for this study. The team was able to create what is called a “polygenic score” to determine the predictive power of the genetic variants associated with educational attainment. A polygenic score is essentially an algorithm that adds up the impact of multiple variants altogether. The researchers used more than a million variants across the genome and found that the polygenic risk score predicted educational attainment just as well as looking solely at demographic influences. Using the polygenic model the researchers were predictive of 11-to-13 percent of variation in the number of years completed in school. 
While this finding is promising, the researchers point out that even taken together the genetic variants they found associated with educational attainment, they are far from being able to determine educational attainment through genetics alone or even explaining all the genetic influences. Twin studies suggest that there are yet undiscovered genetic factors involved. Twin studies suggest that genetics accounts for about 20 percent of the variation in educational attainment. So the researchers believe there are many, many more variants, perhaps millions that have yet to be found. Identifying those additional genetic variants will require studies of even larger size. 
The study also illustrates the power of big data and the potential of the research model pioneered by 23andMe not just for work like this by social scientists, but studies of other traits, health conditions and rare disease. Earlier this year, a study on insomnia using data from more than 1.3 million people, making it the <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/610151/a-search-for-insomnia-genes-involving-13-million-people-is-the-largest-genetic-study-ever/">largest genetic study to date</a>, also depended on 23andMe and UK Biobank data for insight.
&#8220;Having so many research participants has been instrumental in making these kinds of genetic studies possible.&#8221;, said David Hinds, Ph.D., a research fellow and statistical geneticist at 23andMe. &#8220;This is part of what makes the 23andMe model unique.  Studies of very complex outcomes like educational attainment will require very large sample sizes, and this work demonstrates the value of the 23andMe model of genetics research as really a two-way process. Our customers choose to share all sorts of information about themselves with us, which enables us to make discoveries and share back more information about their genetics.&#8221;
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Massive study on the genetics of educational attainment

In the largest study of its kind to date, scientists have found new genetic associations for hay fever the most common type of allergy.
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The researchers uncovered 41 genetic associations with hay fever, according to the study published in the journal<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-018-0157-1"> Nature Genetics</a>. Also known as allergic rhinitis, hay fever affects more than 400 million people worldwide and it is a seasonal condition triggered by environmental allergens like pollens that leads to sinus inflammation.
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&#8220;This is the largest genetic study ever conducted into hay fever,” <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/uoct-msi071718.php">said Klaus Bønnelykke,</a> one of the lead authors of the study and a researcher at the University of Copenhagen.
<div id="attachment_26347" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26347" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Pollen-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="size-large wp-image-26347" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Pollen-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Pollen-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Pollen-768x512.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Pollen-880x587.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Pollen-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Pollen.jpg 1254w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Unrecognizable Caucasian woman holding dandelion while seeds flying.</div>

Led by the team in Denmark, the study relied on data from 23andMe customers who consented to participate in research, as well as data from individuals who participated in more than 30 other studies around the world. 
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The researchers took a two-step process — the first stage was a discovery stage and the second stage used a different set of data to replicate the findings from the first stage. Data from more than 900,000 individuals was used, and included both individuals with hay fever and those who do not have the condition.
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The researchers found that many of the genetic variants associated with hay fever are in or near genes that regulate the immune response, some of the variants were known to be associated with the condition, but 20 are new.
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“The risk genes we have mapped can help us understand what causes hay fever,” said Bønnelykke . “And in the longer term, this will be helpful when it comes to developing drugs and better treatments for the allergy.&#8221;
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But the study does not explain the rapid increase in the number of cases of hay fever worldwide, which has been described as reaching epidemic proportions. Lifestyle or environmental exposures are more likely to explain that increase, according to the researchers.

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