Sprinkled in the crowds at <a href="http://www.gaypridecalendar.com/">Pride marches</a> this weekend, as with every year, will be employees from 23andMe, who will be there with their families, partners and friends to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender culture and civil rights.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/FahSathirapongsasuti-Preferred-199x300.jpg" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-25500" width="199" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/FahSathirapongsasuti-Preferred-199x300.jpg 199w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/FahSathirapongsasuti-Preferred-768x1156.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/FahSathirapongsasuti-Preferred-680x1024.jpg 680w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/FahSathirapongsasuti-Preferred-585x880.jpg 585w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/FahSathirapongsasuti-Preferred-784x1180.jpg 784w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/FahSathirapongsasuti-Preferred-scaled.jpg 1701w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px" />
“We’ll be there to celebrate the diversity of love,” said 23andMe computational biologist Fah Sathirapongsasuti, PhD. “Like our genomes, love unites us in its diversity. We want to showcase the different shades of love within our own community too.”
When he isn’t marching with his partner in support of LGBTQ rights, or blitzing through a workout, or hiking to the base of Mount Everest, Fah wrestles with some of 23andMe’s most difficult and important research questions. He is instrumental in hunting through mountains of genetic and biomedical data to find new <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/23andme-and-drug-discovery/">drug targets to treat disease</a>. During his Ph.D. studies at Harvard, Fah developed the first method to detect copy number variations from exome sequencing data, and as an undergraduate at Stanford was honored with the President’s Award for Academic Excellence.
Coming to 23andMe was a natural step, Fah said. It allowed him to to continue to work on the forefront of genetic research, but do it at a place where he felt welcomed.
“This is the work I love, but I’m also inspired by the talented team that is as committed to this science as I am,” he said. “And what’s important for me is that this place doesn’t just welcome diversity it celebrates it.”
23andMe has always been a place that’s inclusive, but this isn’t just about the workplace culture, it is also about the work we do, said Fah, who helps head up the LGBTQ community at the company.
Fah recently invited fellow employees to share their photos of themselves and loved ones that capture moments of love as part of a celebration for Pride Month and the diversity of love within our company.
As a scientist another attraction of working here is the willingness of the company to study many different questions around genetics.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/pride_TW-300x150.png" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-25501" width="300" height="150" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/pride_TW-300x150.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/pride_TW-768x384.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/pride_TW-880x440.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/pride_TW.png 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
For example, 23andMe began doing research around <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/23andme-studies-the-genetics-of-sexual-orientation/">sexual orientation</a> more than six years ago, in part because our customers said they wanted to know more about this.  Ultimately we conducted one of the first large genome-wide association studies of sexual orientation ever done. While we are yet to identify any common genetic markers associated with sexual orientation, we did find some <a href="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Drabant-Poster-v7.pdf">intriguing leads</a> for future research. Genetics clearly plays a role, but sexual orientation is the product of both genetic and environmental factors and more work is needed to determine the role they each play. Adding to the complexity, many researchers conceptualize sexual orientation as having three components like a layered cake: self-identity, behavior, and attraction.
For Fah this is the point of much of the work that’s done in genetics research; it’s fundamentally an exploration about what makes us who we are. It explains both how we are each unique, but also how much more we have in common. Genetically we are 99.5 percent similar.
“We should recognize our common humanity, and also celebrate our diversity and what makes us unique,” Fah said. “There is a parallel with genetics in that while love comes in different forms, in all those forms, love is love.&#8221;
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23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

Celebrating Diversity

Today more than ever, it’s easy to focus on all that separates us, but our DNA tells another story. <div id="attachment_25469" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25469" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/iStock-501466418-300x200.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-25469 size-medium" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/iStock-501466418-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/iStock-501466418.jpg 724w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Having just landed in a small boat, a refugee family walks up from the beach toward a road on the north coast of the Greek island of Lesbos.</div>
We are all much more alike than we are different. In fact, each and every one of us is 99.5 percent genetically similar. Those small difference shouldn&#8217;t separate us. All of us are 100 percent human. 
Today is<a href="http://www.un.org/en/events/refugeeday/index.shtml"> World Refugee Day</a>, a time to reflect on the plight of millions of people fleeing war, famine and persecution across the globe. 23andMe wants to raise awareness about the global refugee crisis, and celebrate the humanity we all share. 
Learn more about the worldwide refugee crisis visit the United Nations World Refugee Day<a href="http://www.un.org/en/events/refugeeday/resources.shtml"> website</a>, or to find out how you can help visit the<a href="https://www.rescue.org/"> International Refugee Rescue Committee</a>.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/40884_17_23ME_008_001v5.p181-634x1024.jpg" alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-25493" width="634" height="1024" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/40884_17_23ME_008_001v5.p181-634x1024.jpg 634w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/40884_17_23ME_008_001v5.p181-186x300.jpg 186w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/40884_17_23ME_008_001v5.p181-768x1241.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/40884_17_23ME_008_001v5.p181-545x880.jpg 545w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/40884_17_23ME_008_001v5.p181-730x1180.jpg 730w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/40884_17_23ME_008_001v5.p181-scaled.jpg 1584w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 634px) 100vw, 634px" />
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World Refugee Day

Researchers have identified genes that influence both the risk for schizophrenia and the development of certain personality traits.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-21718 size-medium" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/iStock_000015521781Small-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/iStock_000015521781Small-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/iStock_000015521781Small-768x511.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/iStock_000015521781Small.jpg 849w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
The work published late last month in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-02346-3">Scientific Reports</a>, a Nature Research publication, follows on a study published late last year by the same group of scientists that identified six loci associated with personality traits.
<h2>Correlations with Personality Traits</h2>
That study found correlations between those traits and psychiatric disorders. Still, the work published this week confirms that there is more than just a correlation between certain personality traits and schizophrenia. There are genetic variants that influence both.
The findings also provide new insights into the genetic processes underlying schizophrenia and personality traits, according to the researchers.
The research is consistent with what scientists have suspected all along: that certain personality traits and psychological disorders are related and share some genetic influences. Studies in recent years have shown correlations between psychiatric disorders and personality traits—measured on a spectrum known as the “Big Five” that includes neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.
<h2>Insights from Large Amounts of Data</h2>
While scientists have long believed that genetics plays a role in personality and the risk for mental illness, pinpointing which genes are involved has been difficult. In the past, the limited size of genome-wide association studies has stymied efforts to identify specific genetic variants associated with these conditions.
The breakthrough with these most recent studies is that researchers have used a meta-analysis to combine data from numerous sources and power their research with enormous data sets.
In this case, researchers used data from about 60,000 23andMe customers who consented to participate in the research and data from more than 80,000 individuals who are part of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) cohort.  The PGC unites investigators from around the world to study the genetics around psychiatric conditions such as bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and schizophrenia. The group has also become a sort of repository for data that can be used for these studies.
<h2>Neurotocism and Schizophrenia</h2>
The researchers working on this latest study found six genetic variants shared between schizophrenia and openness to new experiences.
They found three variants that influence both schizophrenia and the personality trait of neuroticism. Although these associations were found using a meta-analysis of the combined 23andMe and PGC data, the researchers also demonstrated that these results could be replicated in the individual cohorts..
“Altogether, our study provides new insights into the genetic architecture of schizophrenia and personality traits,” the researchers said in the paper. “The findings comply with accumulating evidence from genetics and neuroscience suggesting that mental disorders are not discontinuous with normal variation in neurobiological and behavioral dimensions.”
<h2>Learn More</h2>
You can read the paper at Scientific Reports <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-02346-3">here</a>.

The role of genetics in personality and schizophrenia

A generation ago it was a felony to marry across racial lines in Virginia and 15 other states in the south, and the repercussions of those laws are still felt today.
<div id="attachment_25461" style="width: 396px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25461" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Mildred_Jeter_and_Richard_Loving.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-25461 size-full" height="258" width="386" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Mildred_Jeter_and_Richard_Loving.jpeg 386w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Mildred_Jeter_and_Richard_Loving-300x201.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 386px) 100vw, 386px" />Mildred Jeter and Ricahrd Loving, the couple who were at the center of the US Supreme Court Case Loving v. Virginia that struck down laws against interracial marriage.</div>
The movie “<a href="http://focusfeatures.com/loving">Loving</a>” tells one side of that story, the moving tale of Mildred and Richard Loving, who defied the law and married. The couple’s almost decade-long legal fight ended in 1967 with the landmark Supreme Court ruling,<a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/388/1/case.html"> Loving v. Virginia</a>, which erased laws in 16 states that prohibited marrying outside your race.
This week marks the<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/12/opinion/loving-virginia-50-year-anniversary.html?_r=0"> anniversary</a> of that case.
For many other couples that crossed racial lines and dared to fall in love in those years, the Loving case came too late. Their stories have yet to be told.
Katrina Callsen, a young mom and law student in Virginia, only recently uncovered her own family’s side of that story using 23andMe.
Her dad, Clarence, a retired Army sergeant first class, was adopted at birth and never knew anything about his biological parents, but with the help of his daughter’s 23andMe results he was able to learn his story for the first time.
<div id="attachment_25451" style="width: 259px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25451" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Clarence-youth-249x300.jpeg" alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-25451" height="300" width="249" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Clarence-youth-249x300.jpeg 249w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Clarence-youth-768x924.jpeg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Clarence-youth-851x1024.jpeg 851w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Clarence-youth-731x880.jpeg 731w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Clarence-youth-980x1180.jpeg 980w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Clarence-youth.jpeg 1204w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 249px) 100vw, 249px" />Clarence as a child.</div>
Clarence’s father was black, and his mother was white. They were young and in love, but they lived at a time and in a place, Virginia, where mixed race couples could not legally get married.
When Clarence’s birth mom became pregnant she and his birth father said they couldn’t get married and she didn’t feel she could keep a black child, Katrina said. 
After giving up Clarence, the couple never saw their son, or each other again.
Fifty years later, as Clarence pieced together the story. With the help of 23andMe and Clarence’s daughter, Katrina, he was first able to find his biological father by first connecting with a cousin, who also happened to live in the same town and only a few blocks away.
“My dad is an adoptee from a completely closed adoption and I did 23andme to gain some ancestry and health related insights,” Katrina said.
By testing she learned that her dad was also mixed race, she said.
“When I got my 23andme results back and found out I had a cousin living down the street from me,” she said
It was through this cousin that Clarence and Katrina were able to find out who his father was.
Now 85, Clarence’s biological father had never told anyone — his wife or stepchildren — that he had had a child.
<div id="attachment_25453" style="width: 235px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25453" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Katrina-as-child-225x300.jpeg" alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-25453" height="300" width="225" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Katrina-as-child-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Katrina-as-child-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Katrina-as-child-660x880.jpeg 660w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Katrina-as-child-885x1180.jpeg 885w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Katrina-as-child-scaled.jpeg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" />Katrina as a child.</div>
When Clarence was finally able to meet him in person, he told his son that his biological mother was white, and although they had wanted to, at the time it was illegal for them to marry in Virginia.
“My biological grandpa told my father he thought of him many times and … made a plea to meet him before it was too late, and there he was delivered on his doorstep,” Katrina said.
After that initial meeting and using information that Clarence’s father shared, he and Katrina were later able to find his birth mother.
She too had kept his birth secret, and the agony she had at having to give up her son.
Some of the emotion around that history is still raw, and both of Clarence’s birth parents coming to terms with finding their son. For their part, Clarence and Katrina have asked that his birth parents names not be used to respect their privacy, and allow Clarence time to get to know them and their families.
For Katrina the story brings full circle a painful personal and national history. Recently, Katrina and her dad spoke on a panel moderated by lifestyle blogger Serein Wu, at the<a href="http://www.mixedremixed.org/mixed-race-multiracial-americans-celebrate-50th-anniversary-interracial-marriage/"> Mixed Remixed</a> festival in Los Angeles celebrating the anniversary of the Loving case, and shared their story.
“Got us all in tears in here,” Tweeted Katy Monty after listening to Katrina and her dad talk about finding his biological family.
Even after the law changed, biracial couples have struggled. Katrina said her parents also faced some of those same tensions. Clarence is black and Katrina’s mom is white, and initially their parents did not embrace the marriage. But their mixed race children grew up in a different time.
“Thirty years and four kids later they are still together,” said Katrina.
<div id="attachment_25463" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25463" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/image1-300x288.jpg" alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-25463" height="288" width="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/image1-300x288.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/image1-768x736.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/image1-1024x981.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/image1-880x843.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/image1-1180x1131.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Clarence and Katrina at the Mixed Remixed festival in Los Angeles with moderator Serein Wu.</div>
And making this connection and learning of the story of her dad’s birth has been important for Katrina and her father. Finding family roots, history and relatives has connected them to their history. Even Katrina’s move to Charlottesville to attend law school feels to be part of that. Her biological family has deep roots there and she herself feels connected to the place, a connection that — as the daughter of an Army NCO who regularly moved every few years — she’d never had before.
“It is hard, if not impossible, to put in words what it means to suddenly find a biological family, to find roots, to realize that the place you have felt naturally drawn to holds centuries of your family history,” Katrina said. “Genetics can hold stories and answers we didn’t even know we were seeking. It can show you the family you never knew, who lives around the corner, and is overjoyed to welcome you back home.”

The Legacy of Loving

This Father’s Day is a little different for Esther Blue.
This year, after finding her biological father, Farhad, with the help of 23andMe, she can actually wish him a Happy Father’s Day.
For all her life, Esther had lived with questions about who her father was and where he came from. With few clues and years of futile searching, she had largely given up hope of learning even the basics.
“I didn’t have anything,” said Esther, a 29 year-old journalist and mother of three living in Arizona. “I just knew that he was originally from Iran.”
At one point she’d even talked to a private investigator to help her find her biological father, but the investigator turned her away.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Esther-and-her-dad-300x251.jpg" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-25446" width="300" height="251" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Esther-and-her-dad-300x251.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Esther-and-her-dad.jpg 500w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
“He told me to save my money.” There wasn’t enough to go on, she said.
It doesn’t happen for all customers, but Esther was fortunate that cousins she didn’t know also happened to use 23andMe.
All the stars had to align for her to have made this connection and they did, her cousin later told her. 
When they did, the speed with which she made her connections felt overwhelming. She used 23andMe mostly to see if what her mother had told her was true, that she was half Middle Eastern and, on her mother’s side, Latino. So the first thing Esther looked at were her ancestry results.
“I wanted to confirm I am Middle Eastern,” she said.
She did, seeing a large percentage of ancestry from the Middle East in her results, as well as ancestry from southern Europe and Native American ancestry. But she didn’t expect the close cousin matches. In her DNA Relatives, she saw a handful of second and third cousins, including a few who had Iranian ancestry.
She sent a message to one of them, her second cousin Pejman. Within hours, she got a message back. When she shared her photo with Pejman, he knew right away who her father was.
“I thought it would be this long journey to find things out or that maybe I’d need to speak Farsi,” said Esther. “I just didn’t expect this. My whole life changed in one day.”
Esther’s cousin asked a family member to contact her biological father, who was in France visiting his other daughter, Esther’s younger half sister, Julia.  When they tracked him down, he thought the urgent message was because someone in the family won the lottery. When he learned the news, it felt as if he was the lucky winner.
“My God, after 28 years I have another daughter,” he said<a href="http://www.rightthisminute.com/video/rtmtv-dna-test-leads-woman-biological-dad"> later</a>.
It’s hard for Esther to describe that emotional first meeting.
“Someone needed to pinch me, I thought ‘How could this be real?’” said Esther. “A miracle happened.”
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Happy Father’s Day

In a move to improve diversity in genetic research, this week 23andMe will start recruiting eligible customers to participate in the creation of an African American sequencing panel for <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/05242016_ig_ad_3-e1497048414624-300x225.png" alt="" class="alignright wp-image-25055 size-medium" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/05242016_ig_ad_3-e1497048414624-300x225.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/05242016_ig_ad_3-e1497048414624-768x575.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/05242016_ig_ad_3-e1497048414624-1024x767.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/05242016_ig_ad_3-e1497048414624-880x659.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/05242016_ig_ad_3-e1497048414624.png 1074w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />research.
With the help of 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>, 23andMe scientists will use contributions from customers who’ve consented to participate in this research to create a reference dataset and make the de-identified genetic data available to other qualified and vetted genetic researchers at educational and research institutions around the world.
“We are very excited about this project and its potential to make a difference in people’s lives,” said the project’s Principal Investigator,<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/a-reference-of-human-genetic-variation/"> Adam Auton,</a> a 23andMe senior scientist and statistical geneticist. “This work will help address the genetic  research disparities for African Americans in particular, something that has long needed attention.”
Only a fraction of the genetic research studies done to date include people with African ancestry. <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/genomics-is-failing-on-diversity-1.20759">According to recent data focusing on this disparity, </a> only about 19 percent of all published genetic research includes data from non-Europeans, and only about two percent are conducted on those of African ancestry. While the bias towards European studies reflects many complicated logistic, systemic, and societal issues, it has a huge impact on what scientists can determine about the genetics underlying diseases and other conditions that impact not just non-European populations but everyone. A recent<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms12521#abstract"> study</a> by the University of Maryland School deftly explains the implications of these disparities:
“As long as ancestry-related biases are not addressed, and most studies continue to predominantly sample from European populations, the genetics community will face challenges with implementation, interpretation and cost-effectiveness when treating minority populations.” 
To help address these disparities, 23andMe is recruiting African American customers who are are willing to have their genome sequenced. Those who are interested would then be asked to complete an additional level of consent, that would allow 23andMe to add their de-identified genetic data to a library of genetic and phenotypic data. This means the library would not receive any personally identifiable information  connected to the genetic and phenotypic information. This library of data is managed by the NIH and used by qualified scientific researchers. 
As part of this work we will ask a subset of our African American customers, who have consented to participate in research, if they would be willing to participate and have their DNA sequenced to become part of this reference panel. Reference panels are important because they allow scientists to improve the accuracy of genome wide association studies, which drive much of genetic research conducted today. 
When a customer of 23andMe sends in their saliva sample, they are genotyped at hundreds of thousands of sites that are known to vary between individuals. However, there are tens of millions of variable sites in the genome that are not genotyped. By having access to a large number of fully sequenced genomes — a sequence panel — researchers are able to use “genotype imputation” to infer or predict the genotypes at these unobserved positions. Much like a code breaker filling in missing letters in a message, scientists — using algorithms and data from whole genome sequences panels — can predict, or impute, the missing letters of genetic data. Having a sequence panel like this gives researchers a tool to study conditions that are specific to African Americans.
Ultimately, the sequence panel data will be shared with the NIH, who will make it available to other researchers. This in turn will expand scientists’ ability to make genetic discoveries for African Americans and help build a broader understanding of how genetics influence diseases and traits across multiple populations.
This is the latest in a number of efforts by 23andMe to help alleviate some of the existing disparities in genetic research. Last year, 23andMe was awarded another NIH grant to use “admixture mapping” as a means to improve the detection of disease-causing genetic variants among people of African, Latino and Asian ancestry. In 2011, 23andMe launched its Roots into the Future® project to study the genetics of disease specific to African Americans. The African Genetics Project is a part of this growing effort to improve our knowledge of African genetic diversity.
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The African American Sequencing Project

Editor&#8217;s note (9/12/2024): We updated this post with new estimates by the World Health Organization on the number of deaths due to malaria. 



Just in time for summer, a first of its kind study showing genetic associations between not just how much more attractive some of us are to mosquitoes but the severity of the reaction to their bites.



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="200" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/iStock-629532474-300x200.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-25359" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/iStock-629532474-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/iStock-629532474-768x512.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/iStock-629532474-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/iStock-629532474-880x587.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/iStock-629532474-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/iStock-629532474.jpg 1254w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></figure>







The study conducted by scientists at Pfizer Inc. and 23andMe and published in the journal<a href="https://academic.oup.com/hmg/article/2983548/GWAS-of-self-reported-mosquito-bite-size-itch?searchresult=1"> Human Molecular Genetics</a>, found 15 genetic variants associated with the size of welts left behind from mosquito bites, the intensity of itch, as well as how attractive some of us are to the insects.



Almost all of the variants identified are in or near genes related to immune response. Many of the variants were found in or near immunity-related genes involved in cytokine signaling. Cytokines are the small proteins like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interferon">interferons</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interleukin">interleukins</a> that are important for signaling an immune response from other cells. In addition, the data points toward genetic regions involved in stimulated T-cells, which also play a central role in immune response.



The study, conducted by scientists at Pfizer Inc. and 23andMe, included anonymous, de-identified data from more than 69,000 23andMe customers who consented to participate in research. Researchers focused on the genetic variants that overlap all three “<a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/traits/mosquito-bite-frequency/">mosquito bite traits</a>.”&nbsp; The research for this paper could also help in “developing novel methods for attracting and repelling mosquito populations,” according to the authors



“Our findings further explain the complex interaction between humans and mosquitoes,” the researchers said. &nbsp;







<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mosquito-borne-illnesse-s">Mosquito-Borne Illnesses</h2>



Mosquito bites are just a nuisance for many people, but for others, they can lead to more severe reactions, including blistering hives, joint swelling, and, in rare cases, anaphylaxis.  In addition, mosquitoes are one of the deadliest creatures on earth, contributing to hundreds of millions of deaths every year due to transmission of diseases such as Dengue fever, West Nile Virus, Zika, and malaria. In 2022, malaria accounted for more than 608,000 deaths, <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria">according to the World Health Organization</a>. Understanding how people respond to bites and why some of us are more susceptible to getting bit could help stop the spread of these grave insect-borne diseases.



When a mosquito bites, it pokes through the skin of its victim and releases a substance to prevent clotting, making it easier to feed on the blood. That substance, in turn, triggers an immune response in people as their bodies release histamine to fight the foreign substance. In some individuals, the response is immediate and quite intense. The size of the welt, or “wheel,” that’s left behind and the severity of the itch varies in part based on a person’s genetics.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-twin-studies">Twin Studies</h2>



While genetics is not the only factor in why these mosquito bite traits differ, it is an important factor. Indeed, the researchers in this study recognized that they’ve identified only a small percentage of all the genetic factors involved, according to the paper. However, this isn’t the first time scientists have found genetic associations for at least one of the traits included in this study. 23andMe first looked at the genetics around<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/bug-bite-genetics/"> response to mosquito bites</a> about four years ago, looking specifically at the severity of the reaction to bites. In addition, a twins study conducted two years ago by researchers at the King’s College School of Public Health found a strong genetic component that caused some people to be more attractive to mosquitoes than others. More recent work found that individuals infected with malaria may make them<a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2017/02/08/science.aah4563"> more attractive</a> to certain species of mosquitoes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-studies">Genetic Studies</h2>



23andMe has done internal research looking at the genetic associations at how severely people react to mosquito bites.



The study published in the journal of<a href="https://academic.oup.com/hmg/article/2983548/GWAS-of-self-reported-mosquito-bite-size-itch?searchresult=1"> Human Molecular Genetics</a> looked at all these mosquito bite traits together, and the researchers found overlapping genetic associations. Among the findings, the analysis in this study suggested that genetics play a slightly stronger role in how attractive a person is to mosquitoes. In addition, the attractiveness to mosquitoes shares more overlapping genetics with bite-size and itchiness than bite size and itch intensity share. Researchers also found that women were more likely to report getting larger welts and itchier bites. Women also had a greater perceived attractiveness to mosquitoes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-is-this-research-important">Why is this research important?</h2>



Ultimately, scientists hope that by understanding the genetic basis for why some people are more attractive to mosquitoes and have stronger reactions to their bites, they could offer new insights into ways to repel the insects. Some of those methods may include treatment that would enhance the body’s natural ability to repel mosquitoes.



* Pfizer Inc. funded this study in its entirety, working with 23andMe. Study authors are current or past employees of and own stock or stock options in either Pfizer Inc. or 23andMe.

Why Do Mosquitoes Pester Some People More Than Others? It’s in the Genes

Every day at 23andMe is a research day.
<div id="attachment_25417" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25417" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017-06-01-11.13.16-300x265.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-25417 size-medium" width="300" height="265" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017-06-01-11.13.16-300x265.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017-06-01-11.13.16-768x678.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017-06-01-11.13.16-1024x905.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017-06-01-11.13.16-880x777.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017-06-01-11.13.16-1180x1042.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017-06-01-11.13.16.jpg 1415w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Joyce Tung, 23andMe&#8217;s Vice President of Research, listening in on sequencing and imputation.</div>
But recently, we had our very first “23andMe Genome Research Day”, during which our scientists shared a little about what we do, and learned about some of the cutting edge work being done by outside academics and researchers.
More than 100 scientists from universities and research institutions around the San Francisco Bay area attended the event, which was the brainchild of our vice president of research Joyce Tung, PhD, who worked with her team to put it all together.
“We wanted an exchange of scientific ideas with our local scientific community,” said Joyce. “And we wanted to showcase some of the work being done every day by scientists at 23andMe.”
This kind of collaboration happens all the time during large conferences like the annual<a href="https://www.ashg.org/"> American Society of Human Genetics</a>, where we always have a large<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/find-us-at-ashg/"> presence</a>. But this event offered us a less formal way to meet with outside scientists and to exchange ideas. The day included presentations from 23andMe researchers, as well as researchers from several universities in California. There was also a poster session, offering scientists a forum to showcase their work and talk one-on-one with each other.
<div id="attachment_25423" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25423" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017-06-01-11.12.35-300x192.jpg" alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-25423" width="300" height="192" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017-06-01-11.12.35-300x192.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017-06-01-11.12.35-768x492.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017-06-01-11.12.35-1024x656.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017-06-01-11.12.35-880x564.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017-06-01-11.12.35-1180x756.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Aaron Kleinman, PhD, discussing strategies for sequencing and imputation.</div>
This collaborative exchange is also a key part of what we believe in here at 23andMe. Our mission is to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome. Part of that mission means that we work in collaboration with outside researchers to make discoveries. 23andMe has published more than 75 papers and much of that work has been done with outside collaborators. Science is often a collaborative process, so the Genome Research Day also offered 23andMe a chance to talk with scientists with whom we may want to work together with in the future, Joyce said.
23andMe researchers offered a peek at our work in sequencing, imputation, multi-variant modeling for risk predictions and therapeutics, while outside researchers presented posters on a range of topics some looking at human genetic variation and even Neanderthal population dynamics.
Aaron Kleinman, a 23andMe senior scientist and computational biologist, talked a little bit about the services we offer customers, as well as the efforts the company is making to improve diversity in genetic research. Aaron talked about two of those initiatives, one to create sequence panels for people of Ashkenazi Jewish Ancestry and the other to create a panel for African Americans to be used as a reference dataset for health research. The de-identified genetic data that is part of our African American Sequencing project will then be made available to other qualified researchers at institutions around the world. The hope is that this will help alleviate some of the disparities in health-related genetic research. With its large number of customers of diverse ancestry, this is something that 23andMe is “uniquely situated to do,” Aaron said.
On top of discussing what we currently are doing, 23andMe scientists also talked a little bit about what the future holds.<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/a-conversation-with-23andme-researcher-nick-furlotte/"> Nick Furlotte</a>, a 23andMe senior scientist and statistical geneticist, talked about the use of machine learning to create new types of polygenic risk prediction models. Health and traits are complex and are influenced not just by genetics, but by lifestyle, diet and environmental factors. With larger pools of data, more sophisticated computing power, Nick said 23andMe has the opportunity to create much more detailed and personalized health reports.
 All in all the day was a success, said Joyce.
“Doing great science doesn’t mean much unless you share it with others. We were happy to have the chance to share some of our work and to learn about what about the great things our neighbors in the scientific community are doing,” she said.

23andMe Genome Research Day

In a first-of-its kind study looking at empathy, researchers have found strong evidence that the ability to read and understand emotions in others simply by looking into their eyes is influenced by our genes.
Published in the journal of <a href="https://www.nature.com/mp/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/mp2017122a.html">Molecular Psychiatry</a>, the study was led by a team of scientists at the<a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/affiliations/autism-research-centre"> Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge</a>, who combined genetic data from 23andMe with results from a cognitive empathy test developed by the university almost two decades ago called “Reading the Mind in the Eyes.”
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Mind-in-the-Eyes-Scale_02.jpeg" alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-25383" width="580" height="235" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Mind-in-the-Eyes-Scale_02.jpeg 580w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Mind-in-the-Eyes-Scale_02-300x122.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px" />
&nbsp;
The researchers found evidence that this important human ability to read, understand and respond to emotions in others — vital for social interactions — is indeed influenced by genetics, and that women were much more adept at discerning emotions than men. The researchers even found a specific genetic variant that influenced that ability in women, an association not found in the opposite sex. In addition, the study found that higher empathy scores were also associated with higher risk for anorexia, more years in school, and openness to new experiences.
The research adds to ongoing studies on the connections between empathy and autism, specifically the ability to infer emotions in others or “cognitive empathy.”
“This is an important step forward for the field of social neuroscience and adds one more piece to the puzzle of what may cause variation in cognitive empathy,” said Warrier.
All of this will help point researchers toward a better understanding of the biological underpinnings for empathy, as well as the phenotypes associated with higher empathy scores. For this study, the researchers used data from more than 89,000 23andMe customers who consented to research.  A smaller cohort of about 1,500 people from<a href="http://www.qimrberghofer.edu.au/our-research/"> the The Queensland Institute of Medical Research&#8217;s (QIMR)</a>, Brisbane Longitudinal Twin Study was also used for this research.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Mind-in-the-Eyes-Scale_01.jpeg" alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-25384" width="583" height="237" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Mind-in-the-Eyes-Scale_01.jpeg 583w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Mind-in-the-Eyes-Scale_01-300x122.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 583px) 100vw, 583px" />
The genetic variant associated with empathy in women is near the gene LRRN1 on chromosome 3, which is highly active in a part of the human brain called the striatum. Brain scans indicate that this portion of the brain may play a role in cognition empathy, but more study is needed to understand this potential connection.
Warrier worked on this study with Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre at the University. Also working on this research was <a href="https://research.pasteur.fr/en/member/thomas-bourgeron/">Professor Thomas Bourgeron</a>, at the University Paris Diderot and the Institut Pasteur. 
“We are excited by this new discovery, and are now testing if the results replicate, and exploring precisely what these genetic variants do in the brain, to give rise to individual differences in cognitive empathy,” said Professor Baron-Cohen.
While the study offers important insight into genetic influences on empathy, there are other important influences that go beyond biology.
“We should not lose sight of other important social factors such as early upbringing and postnatal experience,” said Professor Bourgeron.

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