Editor&#8217;s note: We&#8217;ve included a full list of regions and countries that have been added to the Ancestry Composition report at the end of this post. 
DNA is both a blueprint for life and a record of it, allowing us to learn more about what is written in each of us as our understanding of genetics progresses.
23andMe is improving its interactive <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry">Ancestry Composition report</a>, vastly increasing a person’s power to peer deeper into their genetic origins, connect them to different populations around the world, and to learn more about themselves.
<h6>Geographic Origins of Your DNA</h6>
This new update &nbsp;— which customers will begin seeing in the coming months — will compare you to more than 150 populations and regions across the globe to create a visualization of the geographic origins of your DNA.*
We all have a DNA story, and that story is part of the broader human story. It’s a history of people migrating out of Africa and venturing out to populate the globe and build new cultures. The footsteps of those ancestors can be seen in your DNA. Over millennia, as different groups of people separated from each other to move into new frontiers, small genetic changes occurred leaving us tiny clues about our history.
&nbsp;
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Sample-Report-894x1024.png" alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-26042 size-large" title="Ancestry Composition" width="894" height="1024" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Sample-Report-894x1024.png 894w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Sample-Report-262x300.png 262w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Sample-Report-768x879.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Sample-Report-769x880.png 769w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Sample-Report-1031x1180.png 1031w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Sample-Report.png 1464w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 894px) 100vw, 894px" />
We can find these clues by looking at segments of DNA in your genome, comparing those segments to reference populations from Europe, Asia, the Americas, Oceania, the Middle East and Africa.
Traditionally, our Ancestry Composition report compared customers’ data to 31 different populations, allowing 23andMe to report the percentage of DNA that came from those regions. This helped connect individuals to their ancestry back 500 years before the advent of modern migration.
With this new update, we still make those estimates but add another layer of insights with clues to the location of much more recent ancestors. We can do this by looking for exact DNA matches between a customer and over 130,000 individuals of known ancestry from 120 regions across the globe. 
<h6>Recent Ancestors</h6>
If a person exactly matches with five or more individuals from one of those specific regions, that region is assigned as a &#8220;recent ancestor location.&#8221; We also report the “strength&#8221; of the match. This is determined by how much DNA a customer shares with people from that region, adjusted by how many people are in the reference population.

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We’re excited to roll out this update to an already incredibly powerful interactive tool for <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/">exploring your ancestry</a>. Beyond dramatically increasing the number of regions, the update also includes improvements to the map. In addition it improve the experience of panning and zooming into the geographic regions you are linked to through your DNA. We’ve also relabeled some of the populations for accuracy and better understanding. For example Yakut has been relabeled as Siberian. Taken together, these changes to 23andMe’s Ancestry Composition report provide a better way to visualize your ancestry. As with all the features and reports we offer customers, this one includes details on the science behind the tool so they know how these estimates are made. 
 

<h6>The Human Story</h6>
Beyond what Ancestry Composition offers, we also have additional ancestry-related tools that are unique to the 23andMe experience. And those tools connect you to the broader human story and its deep history. 
These include the first-ever Neanderthal Ancestry report and 23andMe’s maternal and paternal haplogroup reports. The Neanderthal Ancestry report offers you another way to bring your own connection to the human story. It shows you how your own DNA includes tiny fragments of DNA from Neanderthals, our ancient human cousins. 
23andMe’s haplogroup reports connect you to your haplogroups, different lineages that descended from a common ancient ancestor. As our ancestors ventured out of Africa, they branched off in diverse groups that crossed and recrossed the globe over tens of thousands of years. Your connections to those ancient migrations can be traced by looking at your haplogroups. 23andMe’s haplogroup reports give you insight into these ancient ancestors. Together these two reports connect you to your deep ancestry, showing you how you connect with groups of people who migrated across the globe over millenia.
 

The update to our Ancestry Composition feature is another example of how much more you can learn by exploring your own DNA. New customers who purchased our Ancestry Service kit as of February 28th will see this new update when they get their results. We’ve been gradually rolling out the update to existing customers. All customers will begin seeing this 23andMe Ancestry Composition update in the coming months.
 

<a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/">Check it out</a>.
 
*<a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/#toc-ancestry-composition">23andMe&#8217;s Ancestry Composition</a> update with 120 additional regions will be coming soon to all 23andMe customers.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

<h5 style="float: center; text-align: justified; width: 640; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;">List of Regions and Countries Included in this Ancestry Composition Update</h5>
European
British &amp; Irish
<ul>
<li>Ireland</li>
<li>United Kingdom</li>
</ul>
French &amp; German
<ul>
<li>Austria</li>
<li>Belgium</li>
<li>France</li>
<li>Germany</li>
<li>Luxembourg</li>
<li>Netherlands</li>
<li>Switzerland</li>
</ul>
Scandinavian
<ul>
<li>Denmark</li>
<li>Iceland</li>
<li>Norway</li>
<li>Sweden</li>
</ul>
Ashkenazi Jewish
Sardinian
Italian
<ul>
<li>Italy</li>
<li>Malta</li>
</ul>
Iberian
<ul>
<li>Portugal</li>
<li>Spain</li>
</ul>
Balkan
<ul>
<li>Albania</li>
<li>Bosnia and Herzegovina</li>
<li>Bulgaria</li>
<li>Croatia</li>
<li>Greece</li>
<li>Macedonia</li>
<li>Moldova</li>
<li>Montenegro</li>
<li>Romania</li>
<li>Serbia</li>
</ul>
Finnish
Eastern European
<ul>
<li>Belarus</li>
<li>Czech Republic</li>
<li>Estonia</li>
<li>Hungary</li>
<li>Latvia</li>
<li>Lithuania</li>
<li>Poland</li>
<li>Russia</li>
<li>Slovakia</li>
<li>Slovenia</li>
<li>Ukraine</li>
</ul>
Broadly Northwestern European
Broadly Southern European
Broadly European
<h5 style="float: center; text-align: justified; width: 640; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;"></h5>
East Asian &amp; Native American
Japanese
Korean
<ul>
<li>North Korea</li>
<li>South Korea</li>
</ul>
Siberian
Manchurian &amp; Mongolian
<ul>
<li>Mongolia</li>
<li>Kazakhstan</li>
<li>Kyrgyzstan</li>
</ul>
Chinese
<ul>
<li>Hong Kong</li>
<li>Mainland China</li>
<li>Taiwan</li>
</ul>
Southeast Asian
<ul>
<li>Cambodia</li>
<li>Guam</li>
<li>Indonesia</li>
<li>Laos</li>
<li>Malaysia</li>
<li>Myanmar</li>
<li>Philippines</li>
<li>Singapore</li>
<li>Thailand</li>
<li>Vietnam</li>
</ul>
Native American
<ul>
<li>Argentina</li>
<li>Aruba</li>
<li>Belize</li>
<li>Bolivia</li>
<li>Brazil</li>
<li>Chile</li>
<li>Colombia</li>
<li>Costa Rica</li>
<li>Cuba</li>
<li>Dominican Republic</li>
<li>Ecuador</li>
<li>El Salvador</li>
<li>Guatemala</li>
<li>Honduras</li>
<li>Mexico</li>
<li>Nicaragua</li>
<li>Panama</li>
<li>Paraguay</li>
<li>Peru</li>
<li>Puerto Rico</li>
<li>Uruguay</li>
<li>Venezuela</li>
</ul>
Broadly East Asian
Broadly East Asian &amp; Native American
<h5 style="float: center; text-align: justified; width: 640; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;"></h5>
Western Asian &amp; North African
North African &amp; Arabian
<ul>
<li>Algeria</li>
<li>Bahrain</li>
<li>Egypt</li>
<li>Jordan</li>
<li>Kuwait</li>
<li>Libya</li>
<li>Morocco</li>
<li>Saudi Arabia</li>
<li>Tunisia</li>
<li>United Arab Emirates</li>
<li>Yemen</li>
</ul>
Western Asian
<ul>
<li>Armenia</li>
<li>Azerbaijan</li>
<li>Cyprus</li>
<li>Georgia</li>
<li>Iran</li>
<li>Iraq</li>
<li>Lebanon</li>
<li>Syria</li>
<li>Turkey</li>
<li>Uzbekistan</li>
</ul>
Broadly Western Asian &amp; North African
<h5 style="float: center; text-align: justified; width: 640; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;"></h5>
Sub-Saharan African
West African
<ul>
<li>Cabo Verde</li>
<li>Cameroon</li>
<li>Ghana</li>
<li>Liberia</li>
<li>Nigeria</li>
</ul>
East African
<ul>
<li>Eritrea</li>
<li>Ethiopia</li>
<li>Kenya</li>
<li>Somalia</li>
<li>Sudan</li>
</ul>
African Hunter-Gatherer
Broadly Sub-Saharan African
<h5 style="float: center; text-align: justified; width: 640; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;"></h5>
South Asian
Broadly South Asian
<ul>
<li>Afghanistan</li>
<li>Bangladesh</li>
<li>India</li>
<li>Mauritius</li>
<li>Nepal</li>
<li>Pakistan</li>
<li>Sri Lanka</li>
</ul>
<h5 style="float: center; text-align: justified; width: 640; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;"></h5>
Melanesian
Broadly Melanesian
<ul>
<li>American Samoa</li>
<li>Fiji</li>
<li>Samoa</li>
<li>Tonga</li>
</ul>
<h5 style="float: center; text-align: justified; width: 640; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;"></h5>

23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

23andMe Expands Ancestry Composition

By Becca Krock, Product Scientist 
You might have noticed that 23andMe’s <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/">Trait reports</a> have a new look. If you haven&#8217;t yet, go check them out. Genetics can&#8217;t tell your fortune, but they can be used to make pretty cool statistical predictions about the color of your eyes, <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/traits/cheek-dimples">whether you have dimples</a>, and your taste preferences. We redesigned the Trait reports after hearing from our customers that they wanted to learn more about the genetics behind their traits and why their genetic predictions might not always match their real-life traits. The new designs bring these ideas to the forefront with the help of vivid visuals and other features.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/eye-1024x683.png" alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-26050" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/eye-1024x683.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/eye-300x200.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/eye-768x512.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/eye-880x587.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/eye-1180x787.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/eye.png 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />

<h5>What&#8217;s new?</h5>
The new Trait reports have:
<ul>
<li>a fresh face with colorful designs,</li>
<li>a new visual showing your results,</li>
<li>an interactive element that compares your predicted result with your actual trait,</li>
<li>a visual showing your DNA variants,</li>
<li>and expanded content explaining more about the &#8216;how&#8217; and &#8216;why&#8217; of each trait. </li>
</ul>

You can learn a lot by taking a closer look at these info-packed features. 

<h5>For every 100 people like you&#8230;</h5>
The first change you&#8217;ll notice is the look and feel of your results. For the most part your results themselves haven&#8217;t changed, but how we illustrate them has. We hope the new result graphics give you more insight into what your result really means, and how we created it.

Take the Bitter Taste report, for example: it turns out that some people are able to taste certain bitter chemicals, like molecules called PTC and PROP, that are similar to chemicals that occur naturally in food like raw broccoli and brussels sprouts, while other people can&#8217;t taste them. Those people are missing the taste sensors that their taste buds would need to detect this bitterness. So broccoli can taste different to two different people.

Let&#8217;s take a look through all the new features, starting with my own genetic results for the Bitter Taste report. Based on my genetics, I&#8217;m unlikely to be able to detect these bitter chemicals. Below my result is an image comparing me to 100 people with the same genetic profile for this trait. It shows that for every 100 23andMe research participants with the same genetic result as me, 65 have told us raw broccoli or brussels sprouts don&#8217;t taste bitter to them, and 35 say they do taste bitter. 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Becca-Results-1024x856.png" alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-26052" width="1024" height="856" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Becca-Results-1024x856.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Becca-Results-300x251.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Becca-Results-768x642.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Becca-Results-880x736.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Becca-Results-1180x987.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Becca-Results.png 1232w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />You can learn from this image that people with genetics like mine have a 65 percent chance of being unable to taste the bitterness in broccoli and brussels sprouts. Since this likelihood is greater than 50 percent, that&#8217;s the outcome predicted for me: &#8220;unlikely to detect certain bitter tastes.&#8221; As it turns out, that is true for me. I tested my sensitivity to these chemicals using at-home PTC taste test strips. One of my PTC-perceiving colleagues tried one and immediately grimaced at the bitterness, while I didn&#8217;t taste anything at all.
&nbsp;
At the same time, this data also shows that I still have a 35 percent chance of having the opposite result. So what would it mean if I actually were able to detect these bitter tastes? I would fall in that smaller group, the 35 percent of people with my genetics who buck the trend. 
&nbsp;
<h5>When your most likely result doesn&#8217;t match your actual trait</h5>
If you&#8217;re one of the people with the less common result for your genetics, the next new feature is tailor-made for you. This interactive element unpacks some reasons why you might be the way you are. Below the result image is a link that reads &#8220;Do broccoli or brussels sprouts taste bitter to you? Click here.&#8221; Clicking on this link opens a dialogue box.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Do-Raw-Broccoli-1024x701.png" alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-26053" width="1024" height="701" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Do-Raw-Broccoli-1024x701.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Do-Raw-Broccoli-300x205.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Do-Raw-Broccoli-768x526.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Do-Raw-Broccoli-880x602.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Do-Raw-Broccoli-1180x808.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Do-Raw-Broccoli.png 1198w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />For the Bitter Taste report, if I answered that I actually do perceive the bitterness in broccoli and brussels sprouts, it would tell me that I have the more unusual outcome. I could also learn about factors other than genetics — like age, sex, or culture and life experiences — that could have the opposite effect from your genetics. 
&nbsp;
<h5>Behind the scenes with your genetics</h5>
The next new item in the report gives you a glimpse into how we calculate your result. Different Trait reports are powered by different DNA differences, or genetic variants. Some traits are strongly influenced by just one or a few genetic variants, while other traits are influenced by dozens or more genetic variants. Bitter Taste is an example of a trait that&#8217;s strongly affected by just one variant: 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/How-We-Calculate-2-1024x455.png" alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-26054" width="1024" height="455" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/How-We-Calculate-2-1024x455.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/How-We-Calculate-2-300x133.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/How-We-Calculate-2-768x341.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/How-We-Calculate-2-880x391.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/How-We-Calculate-2-1180x524.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/How-We-Calculate-2.png 1274w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />The image shows a diagram of Becca&#8217;s two copies of chromosome number 7, the chromosome that this genetic variant marker happens to be on. It also shows the approximate location of this genetic marker, and the DNA variants she has there, called her genotype. 
&nbsp;
<h5>When traits get complex</h5>
Many traits are genetically complex, meaning they&#8217;re influenced by not just one, but many genetic variants. The taste preference that’s detailed in 23andMe’s <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/traits/sweet-salty/">Sweet vs. Salty report</a> is one example of a complex trait. 
&nbsp;
For reports like this, there are two parts of the &#8220;How did we calculate your result?&#8221; section. The first part summarizes all the genetic variants that went into your result, along with any other factors we also took into account. These other factors can include your age, sex, and a number called the &#8220;intercept&#8221; that goes into the math calculating your result. (The intercept value is the same for everyone, but differs for each trait.) 
&nbsp;
Let&#8217;s take a look at the image that summarizes all those factors. This one is taken from the Sweet vs. Salty report of our scientist Chelsea, who is predicted to prefer salty snacks over sweet ones. (We were half right — Chelsea says she loves all snacks equally!)
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/How-We-Calculate.jpg" alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-26055" width="659" height="445" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/How-We-Calculate.jpg 659w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/How-We-Calculate-300x203.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 659px) 100vw, 659px" />The green bar is longer than the blue bar, showing that the factors that make Chelsea likely to prefer salty snacks outweigh the factors that make her likely to prefer sweet ones. The different contributions of genetics versus other factors are distinguished with bold versus pale colors. The bold blue and green show the contribution of her genetics to her likelihoods of each possible outcome, and the pale blue and green show the contribution of the other factors. 
&nbsp;
The second part of this section breaks down the genetic factors and maps them on to the 23 chromosomes: 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Breakdown-1024x513.png" alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-26056" width="1024" height="513" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Breakdown-1024x513.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Breakdown-300x150.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Breakdown-768x385.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Breakdown-880x441.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Breakdown-1180x591.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Breakdown.png 1522w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Reports like Sweet vs. Salty show the locations of all the genetic variants included in that report. The effect of your genetic variants at each markers is shown as one dot on the chromosomes. Genetic variants that tip Chelsea&#8217;s result toward preferring sweet tastes are shown in blue, and genetic variants that tip her result back toward preferring salty tastes are shown in green. 
&nbsp;
But wait… there&#8217;s more. The size of the dots is scaled to show how strong of an effect that genetic variant has. Bigger dots have a bigger effect on the trait prediction. For Chelsea, there&#8217;s one large green dot on chromosome 19 that&#8217;s having a big impact on her result. 
&nbsp;
Whew! That was a lot. Spending a little time on these images can reward you with so much knowledge about yourself (and genetics and probabilities)! And now that we&#8217;ve walked through a couple examples, you&#8217;ve got the gist of them all. 
&nbsp;
<h5>The power of 23andMe research</h5>
One of the coolest things about our Trait reports, if we do say so ourselves, is that they were all created using the survey responses of 23andMe research participants. We sent survey questions asking our research participants about their taste preferences, hair color, <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/traits/finger-length-ratio">finger length</a>, and more. They answered. And then we used that information to discover brand-new genetic associations that power the algorithms behind your predictions. 
&nbsp;
Our customers&#8217; enthusiasm for participating in research is what made many of these Trait reports possible. These new versions give even more of this research back to you.
&nbsp;

Becca Krock

Your Traits Never Looked Better

The earliest art on the European continent, the distinct red pigment paintings of animals, hand prints, and geometric shapes that decorate the walls of Spanish caves, were not made by modern humans but by our ancient human cousins, the Neanderthals.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/csm_Fig_5_La_Pasiega_panel_78_Breuil_9a886c903f.jpg" alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-26059" width="308" height="562" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/csm_Fig_5_La_Pasiega_panel_78_Breuil_9a886c903f.jpg 308w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/csm_Fig_5_La_Pasiega_panel_78_Breuil_9a886c903f-164x300.jpg 164w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 308px) 100vw, 308px" />A team of researchers using carbon dating of tiny fragments taken from the images at three different sites discovered that these paintings were made long before modern humans even arrived on the continent.
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“Our dating results show that the cave art at these three sites in Spain is much older than previously thought,” said Alistair Pike, a research team member from the University of Southampton in the UK.
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The cave art predates the arrival of modern humans migration to Europe by more than 20,000 years, and adds another chapter into the human story.
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Neanderthals thrived in Eurasia for hundreds of thousands of years before early modern humans migrated out of Africa. At some point, humans and Neanderthals crossed paths, and as shown in recent DNA studies, they intermixed. Neanderthals disappeared about 40,000 years ago, but their DNA lives on in all humans outside of <a href="https://www.23andme.com/ancestry/#neanderthals">Africa</a>.
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It is just another in a series of discoveries about Neanderthals — from their <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/the-neanderthal-cookbook/">culinary tastes</a> to the <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/neanderthals-wore-eagle-talons-as-jewellery-1.17095">adornment</a> they wore to the kinds of <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/neanderthals-built-cave-structures-and-no-one-knows-why-1.19975">structures they built</a> — that are forcing scientists to reevaluate our understanding of their cognitive and communication abilities. This, in turn, is pushing researchers to conclude that Neanderthals were perhaps not so much different than modern humans.
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Or as Dirk Hoffman, of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology said, the cave art shows that <a href="https://www.mpg.de/11948095/neandertals-cave-art">Neanderthals thought like we do</a>.
23andMe customers can explore your Neanderthal Report <a href="https://you.23andme.com/reports/neanderthal/">here</a>. And if you’re not yet a customer, you can find out more <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/#toc-neanderthal">here</a>.

A Neanderthal Renaissance

Scientists have found a new method that could help illuminate the many genetic variants that contribute to personality traits and psychological disorders.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Data-Viz-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-25916" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Data-Viz-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Data-Viz-300x169.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Data-Viz-768x432.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Data-Viz-880x495.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Data-Viz-1180x663.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Data-Viz.jpg 1366w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />

Both genetics and environmental factors influence personality. Estimates suggest that as much as 50 percent of the variance in personality among individuals is influenced by genetics, and in recent years ever-larger genome-wide association studies have been able to identify some of those genetic associations.

But consistently finding these clues is difficult in part because there are a large number of genetic variants that individually have a small effect but together exert an influence on personality and psychological disorders.

So researchers at the <a href="http://profiles.ucsd.edu/chi-hua.chen">University of California at San Diego</a> created this <a href="https://academic.oup.com/hmg/article-abstract/26/22/4530/4097760">new method</a> for improving the statistical power for gene discovery looking specifically at neuroticism, one of the so-called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits">“Big Five”</a> traits for measuring personality. People with high neuroticism scores tend to respond worse to stress and be moodier than average. Neuroticism is associated with various mental and physical health issues including depression, anxiety, and substance abuse, and high levels of neuroticism are associated with schizophrenia.

Using data from about 60,000 23andMe customers who consented to participate in research, as well as data from the <a href="http://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/about-biobank-uk/">UK Biobank</a> and the international <a href="http://www.tweelingenregister.org/GPC/">Genetic Personality Consortium</a>, the researchers combined two statistical tools — relative enrichment scores and false discovery rates — as a way to extract more information regarding the genetic variants associated with the trait.

This method helped the researchers improve the statistical power of what would be a traditional large-scale genome-wide association study, revealing underlying genetic associations that couldn’t be seen otherwise. In this case, they found five genetic variants in four different genes or gene regions. Variants in one of those genes, EP300, are associated with schizophrenia.

“These genetic and phenotypic findings suggest that neuroticism might share the same biological pathways with psychiatric disorders,” the researchers concluded in the paper.

The researchers said they were able to increase “power for gene discovery for neuroticism.” Beyond that, the researchers argue that the model demonstrates, “that this statistical framework is a promising tool for improving gene discovery using existing (genome-wide association study) summary statistics.”

Go to the Journal of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/hmg/article-abstract/26/22/4530/4097760">Human Molecular Genetics</a> to read more about this study.

Researchers studying personality traits improve method for identifying genetic associations

In honor of Black History Month, several 23andMe researchers participated in a two-day event in honor of <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/health-traits/honoring-henrietta-lacks/">Henrietta Lacks</a> and her contribution to science.
On top of<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/health-traits/honoring-henrietta-lacks/"> honoring Henrietta’s life</a>, the event was also intended to draw attention to the need for more diversity in medical research. Estimates are that people of color make up only five percent of participants in medical research. That has a very real impact on healthcare because a person’s ancestry plays a role in how they<a href="https://brightthemag.com/health-medical-research-pharmaceutical-minorities-eugenics-5c5284a8cd7f"> respond to different drugs</a> or their risk for certain conditions.
On the second day of the event, this disparity was brought into focus by a scientist from the University of California San Francisco and her research regarding childhood asthma.
<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00251-016-0914-1">Marquitta White</a>, PhD, a researcher in<a href="https://pharm.ucsf.edu/burchard/people"> Prof. Esteban Burchard’s lab</a>, noted that socioeconomic and environmental differences do not fully explain why African American and Puerto Rican children are more likely to die from asthma. Part of the difference in outcomes may be because children of color respond differently to albuterol, the most commonly prescribed medication for asthma. Currently, there are few studies that look at how people of non-European ancestry respond to the drug or their specific risks for asthma. 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/diversityiStockBlog.jpg" alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-9756" width="1" height="1" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/diversityiStockBlog.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/diversityiStockBlog-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/diversityiStockBlog-271x149.jpg 271w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1px) 100vw, 1px" /><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/AGP-Image-1024x496.png" alt="" class="alignright size-large wp-image-26030" width="1024" height="496">
The need to change that is a message that resonates with us here at 23andMe, where it has always been our mission to help people — all people — access, understand, and benefit from the human genome. Everyone should benefit from the scientific insights we learn through research. That means people of all ethnicities. But that hasn’t happened because research — not just 23andMe research, but all biomedical and genetic research — has been hampered by a lack of diversity.
Over the years, 23andMe has had several initiatives to improve the representation of people of color in genetic research. Programs such as 23andMe’s <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/news/announcements/roots-into-the-future/">Roots Into the Future</a> project that was designed to study the genetics of diseases impacting African Americans have helped so that we now have tens of thousands of people of color who have consented to participate in research. We’ve also worked on an <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/news/announcements/23andme-scientists-improving-diversity-in-genetic-research/">NIH-funded project</a> to develop a new way to detect disease-causing genetic variants among ethnically mixed populations, an<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/the-african-genetics-project/"> African Genetics Project</a>, and more recently 23andMe began an<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/african-american-sequencing-project/"> African-American Sequencing Project</a>. The data from this project will be made available for qualified researchers conducting important health studies through an NIH database.
Finally, our most recent effort is a <a href="https://www.23andme.com/global-genetics/">Global Genetics Project</a>, which aims to enroll at least 5,000 participants from populations around the world within two years. The data will be mainly used to trace global ancestry and human-migration history, but it could also guide health research in under-represented groups.
We still have a lot of work to do, but we hope that these initiatives will help 23andMe expand its own reference data sets, improve the ability of our scientists to study groups who are currently underrepresented in genetic research, and reveal new insights. Beyond what this can do for our own research, this will also help qualified researchers with whom we collaborate to conduct studies within some of these communities. &nbsp;
You can learn more about what we’re doing to improve diversity in research<a href="https://www.23andme.com/roots/#commitment"> here</a>.

A Need for Diversity in Research

It may have been a coincidence but with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, one night a few weeks ago a band of thieves nicked 44 tons of chocolate, worth about half a million dollars.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20323" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/HiRes-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/HiRes-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/HiRes-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/HiRes-768x768.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/HiRes-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/HiRes-880x880.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/HiRes-1180x1180.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/HiRes-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/HiRes-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/HiRes-574x574.jpg 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/HiRes-980x980.jpg 980w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
German chocolate.
Maybe these guys pulled the wrong heist. Perhaps all this focus on one confection at this time of year is misplaced.
Do we all really love chocolate that much?
Being the nerds that we are, we looked at the data.
First, we actually do have data on chocolate. Turns out most people we surveyed prefer dark chocolate to milk chocolate — 52 percent versus 48 percent. We don’t have data about whether any of those same people like marzipan inside their chocolates, yuck.
But we do know from the data that among those who eat chocolate — most of us — more than 35 percent eat some chocolate at least once a week. About 18 percent said they had a bit of chocolate every single day, and then there were a few that may need an intervention. About two percent of those surveyed said they eat chocolate several times a day.
OK, so that seems to settle it people really like chocolate, right?
Not so fast.
Another of our surveys asked research participants what they reached for when they wanted to nosh on a snack, and a majority of them passed on sweet stuff, like chocolate, and went for salty snacks.
About 58 percent of the more than 500,000 customers who answered the survey said they preferred salty over sweet. The percentages skew a little more toward men liking salty a bit more than women, but even among women, 56 percent say they go for a salty treat over a sweet one.
So maybe consider something beyond just a box of chocolates for the love of your life this Valentine’s Day.
As for those thieves, maybe they should have ripped off a bunch of pretzels instead. We hear they make good ones in Germany.

23andMine

This year, 23andMe is a <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-champion/">proud supporter</a> of NBC’s coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/JuliaMancuso_1080-300x300.jpg" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-26025" height="300" width="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/JuliaMancuso_1080-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/JuliaMancuso_1080-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/JuliaMancuso_1080-768x768.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/JuliaMancuso_1080-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/JuliaMancuso_1080-880x880.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/JuliaMancuso_1080-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/JuliaMancuso_1080-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/JuliaMancuso_1080-574x574.jpg 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/JuliaMancuso_1080-980x980.jpg 980w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/JuliaMancuso_1080.jpg 1080w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
This campaign is a first for us, but we have always been big fans and supporters of the Olympic Games, what they stand for &#8211; unity, connection, and a celebration of our collective DNA, and the athletes who spend much of their lives preparing for this moment every four years.

In sport, the difference between winning and losing is measured in fractions of a second, the sharpness of a turn, or the will to push past your physical and mental limits. As spectators, it’s easy to forget that leading up to those brief moments in competition are many years of training.

We learned a little bit about what makes a champion by meeting several <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-champion/">legendary winter athletes</a> who shared some of the insights about themselves they learned through their 23andMe results. Former gold medal skier Julia Mancuso used 23andMe to explore her heritage and gleens some info from her genetic weight report. Joey Cheek, a champion speed skater, learned that despite always being told that his lean frame was better for endurance races, his gold medal, and his genetics, confirmed he was built for speed. 

Bode Miller, the legendary Olympic champion skier summed it up when he said, “Information is one of the most critical pieces of … really anything and certainly speed skating. You need to know where your strengths are and where to apply them.”

While 23andMe can’t tell you whether you have the DNA of a Champion, like these Olympians, the information we report to you may give you an edge that makes a difference in your life.

Explore what your DNA says about you, and enjoy this year’s Winter Games.

The DNA of a Champion

Encouraged by the success of our African Genetics Project, 23andMe is now undertaking one of its most ambitious ancestry initiatives to date, <a href="https://23andme.com/global-genetics/"> The Global Genetics Project</a>.
As part of this effort, 23andMe is reaching out to thousands of individuals with recent heritage from dozens of countries in Africa, Oceania, Asia, and the Americas. This work will help 23andMe expand its reference data sets, improve the ability of our scientists to study groups who are currently underrepresented in genetic research and reveal new insights into patterns of human migration and genetic diversity. The goal is to recruit more than 5,000 individuals over the next two years to participate in this study.
Our researchers modeled the Global Genetics Project using what we learned in doing the<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/the-african-genetics-project/"> African Genetics Project</a>, which launched in late 2016. That effort was successful in quickly recruiting about 1,000 individuals with four grandparents from one of 16 countries in Africa, and the data from those participants is already yielding insights that will improve not just research, but also results for 23andMe customers trying to learn more about their African heritage.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-25982 size-full" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1200x628_icon_notext.png" alt="" width="1200" height="628" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1200x628_icon_notext.png 1200w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1200x628_icon_notext-300x157.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1200x628_icon_notext-768x402.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1200x628_icon_notext-1024x536.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1200x628_icon_notext-880x461.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1200x628_icon_notext-1180x618.png 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" />
As did the African Genetics Project, the Global Genetics Project will recruit individuals — who are 18 years of age or older and live in the United States —  whose four grandparents were born in one of several dozen countries across the globe. Each participant will be asked to provide a saliva sample for genetic analysis and complete 23andMe’s Family Origins survey. 23andMe believes that the Global Genetics Project will not only enrich our understanding of human genetic diversity, but also power insights into conditions that may impact populations that are underrepresented in genetic research.
To do that, 23andMe is looking for people who are not currently customers and have four grandparents from the high priority underrepresented populations that are part of this project. (Go the the <a href="https://23andme.com/global-genetics/">Global Genetics Project</a> page for the full list of all 61 countries.)
While the thrust of the Global Genetics Project is to improve insights into ancestry, it could also help 23andMe conduct significant health-related research within underrepresented populations.  Although for many health-related conditions, ethnicity is correlated with risk,<a href="https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v475/n7355/full/475163a.html"> more than 90 percent</a> of the research into the genetics underlying health conditions is on individuals of European descent alone. By diversifying its own data with efforts such as the Global Genetics Project, 23andMe believes it can conduct the kind of research that benefits a much broader community.
This effort is also part of a long standing commitment 23andMe has had to improve diversity in genetic research. From 23andMe’s<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/roots-into-the-future/"> Roots Into the Future</a> project designed to study the genetics of diseases impacting African Americans, to a<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andme-scientists-improving-diversity-in-genetic-research/"> NIH-funded project</a> to develop a new way to detect disease-causing genetic variants among ethnically mixed populations. More recently 23andMe began an <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/african-american-sequencing-project/">African-American Sequencing Project</a>. That project, which was partially funded by a<a href="https://mediacenter.23andme.com/press-releases/23andme-nih-work-to-reduce-health-research-disparities-among-african-americans/"> grant</a> from the<a href="https://www.genome.gov/"> National Human Genome Research Institute</a>. These initiatives all aim to improve diversity in research. Continuing that trend, the Global Genetics Project aims to enroll at least 5,000 participants within 2 years.
Learn more about the Global Genetic Project, including eligibility,<a href="https://23andme.com/global-genetics/"> here</a>.

23andMe Launches The Global Genetics Project

Even after a best-selling book and countless articles, few of us know the name Henrietta Lacks — but we should.
<div id="attachment_26005" style="width: 260px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26005" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Henrietta_Lacks_1920-1951.jpg" alt="" class="size-full wp-image-26005" width="250" height="362" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Henrietta_Lacks_1920-1951.jpg 250w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Henrietta_Lacks_1920-1951-207x300.jpg 207w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px" />Henrietta Lacks</div>
The young African American mother of five, who died in 1951 of an aggressive form of cervical cancer, has remained a hidden figure in our history. Yet her contributions to science — in the form of the human cancer cells cultured from her body — have transformed medicine. These immortal “HeLa cells”, as scientists dubbed them, have been vital for the development of everything from the polio vaccine, to chemotherapy drugs, HPV treatments, in-vitro fertilization and gene mapping. And the cells are still being used today, critical in important research. It’s distressing to learn now that at the time it never occured to doctors or scientists to even ask Henrietta or her family for permission.
This week 23andMe participated in an event to honor Henrietta Lacks’ contribution to science. Put together by <a href="http://www.aachac.org/">African American Community Health Advisory Committee,</a> in partnership with the San Francisco-Peninsula Alumnae Chapter, <a href="http://www.dstsfpa.org/">Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc</a>., and the <a href="https://www.smchealth.org/division-public-health-policy-and-planning">County of San Mateo,</a> California, the event included two members of the Henrietta’s family in part to help bring awareness of health issues for people of color. 
The tragedy of Henrietta’s death, and the loss experienced by her husband and children, was compounded by the fact that no one ever told her family that her cells had been taken and cultured for research. Major breakthroughs were made, and so were billions of dollars, but her family — who lived in the shadow of the world-renowned John’s Hopkins Hospital where some of this research took place — was kept in the dark for decades. They first learned about what was happening when <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-23611189">scientists reached out </a>to them for additional blood samples. And in an irony of this story, while Henrietta’s cells were so vital for medical research, many of her family members lived without basic health insurance. At the event this week, her grandson Frank Lacks was there to encourage people to learn from her story. The lesson isn’t that underrepresented people should walk away from participating in this kind of research, said Frank, they should be demanding a seat at the table so they too can benefit from it.
Henrietta’s story, so ably told in<a href="http://rebeccaskloot.com/"> Rebecca Skloot</a>’<a href="http://rebeccaskloot.com/">s</a> 2010 book<a href="http://rebeccaskloot.com/the-immortal-life/"> The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks</a> and in a new<a href="http://www.hbo.com/movies/the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks"> HBO Films movie</a> starring Oprah Winfrey, is both moving and important for finally recognizing the contribution of this hidden hero. 
Her story also reminds us of how far we’ve come, and how important one person, like Henrietta, could be for research. It also highlights how much more needs to be done to improve health research in underrepresented populations.
After years of developing 23andMe’s unique research model — one that enlists people as participants in research, not subjects to it — we’ve learned that people want to participate in important science, and more than 80 percent of our customers choose to participate in research. But our research participants also want to know and have control over how their information is being used. They want the choice to participate, or not, an option Henrietta never had. They do not want someone else making that choice for them. They want to know what happens to their data, and when a discovery is made, they want to hear about it. 23andMe works toward being as transparent with our own customers as possible, sharing with them information about research we do using customer data, and giving customers control over whether or not they want to share their data. 23andMe also gives participants the option of opting out of research at any time. For more please read our<a href="https://www.23andme.com/about/privacy/"> privacy statement</a>,<a href="https://www.23andme.com/about/tos/"> terms of service</a>, our <a href="https://www.23andme.com/about/consent/">consent form</a>, or visit our bibliography cataloguing  <a href="https://www.23andme.com/publications/">our research</a>. 
Henrietta didn’t just help power scientific research: Her story helped transform how researchers treat people who participate in scientific studies. Research on human subjects now must be overseen by independent review boards to ensure that participants understand the research being done with their information, that they are not harmed by that research, and that their interests are protected. 
For all of that and more we owe our thanks to Henrietta, and we should each learn more about her story. It was also a fitting way to begin Black History Month.
&nbsp;
<h5>To Learn More</h5>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://henriettalacksfoundation.org/">Henrietta Lacks Foundation</a></li>
<li><a href="http://rebeccaskloot.com/">Rebecca Skloot</a>, author of the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks</li>
<li><a href="http://www.hbo.com/movies/the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks">HBO Films “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”</a></li>
<li><a href="https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2013/08/07/hela-cells-a-new-chapter-in-an-enduring-story/#more-1902">HeLa Cells: A New Chapter in an Enduring Story</a>, blog by NIH Director Francis Collins</li>
<li>NIH Henrietta Lacks Timeline</li>
</ul>

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