<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-driven-by-a-fascination-with-his-pet-fish-named-calvin-high-school-student-indeever-madireddy-became-the-first-person-to-sequence-the-genome-of-a-freshwater-angelfish">Driven by a fascination with his pet fish named Calvin, high school student Indeever Madireddy became the first person to sequence the genome of a freshwater angelfish.</h6>



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Several weeks ago, Rich Abdell, Ph.D., a bioinformatician at the University of Pennsylvania, sent out a<a href="https://twitter.com/richabdill/status/1582483998554525697?s=20&amp;t=KEw3XM8667HYr8gXrLuo7g">&nbsp;</a><a href="https://twitter.com/richabdill/status/1582483998554525697?s=20&amp;t=KEw3XM8667HYr8gXrLuo7g" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweet&nbsp;</a>to his 2,100 followers: “From what I can tell, the first freshwater angelfish genome was just&nbsp;<a href="https://www.micropublication.org/journals/biology/micropub-biology-000654" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published by a high schooler</a>&nbsp;using a MinION to sequence&nbsp;the DNA of his dead pet.”



Within a day, the post had amassed thousands of likes and over 500 retweets, as scientists from all over the country chimed in to express their support.



“I literally love everything about this, full stop,” replied an assistant professor. “What an incredible example of what can be achieved with early access to molecular biology resources,” a neuroscientist also tweeted in response.



As the tweet continued circulating online, a friend alerted 17-year-old Indeever that he was going viral.



“My first thought,” Indeever said, “was, ‘oh gosh, what did I do?’”



Indeever is a senior at BASIS Independent Silicon Valley in San Jose, California. He’s an avid fishkeeper, which he layers on top of his other interests: riding his bike, conducting research projects, competing in science competitions, and helping with his two younger brothers, who, he quipped, are “quite a lot of work.”



We recently spoke with him about his approach to work, how crowdfunding and community labs can help democratize science, and why young researchers “just need to get started.” The conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.&nbsp;



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-did-you-get-interested-in-genetics">How did you get interested in genetics?</h6>



It was kind of spontaneous. I’ve always really been into fishkeeping and raising fish. I had a pair of angelfish that would always lay eggs, but they’d never hatch. So, I decided that the next time my angelfish laid eggs, I would raise the baby fish to ensure they would survive, which is exactly what I did in August 2020. I used a pipette, moved the eggs to a new aquarium, and raised the fish until they were fully grown.



Unfortunately, one of the angelfish that I raised died in March 2022.



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I do my research at&nbsp;<a href="https://biocurious.org/">BioCurious</a>&nbsp;which is a local biohacker space for DIY biologists. There I always saw many biologists doing sequencing work. This made me curious about what sequencing had been done with fish. Weeks before my fish died I learned that no one had sequenced the genome of a freshwater angelfish. At the time, no reference genome was available through the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/">NCBI</a>&nbsp;(National Center for Biotechnology Information).



So when my pet fish died, I decided to sequence its genome. And that’s where this all took off.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-before-we-continue-what-was-your-fish-s-name">Before we continue, what was your fish’s name?</h6>



&nbsp;His name was Calvin.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-talk-us-through-your-sequencing-work-and-your-research-process">Talk us through your sequencing work and your research process.</h6>



When Calvin died, I rushed him to the BioCurious lab so I could freeze him in the -80°C freezer to keep his DNA stable.



Then I needed to figure out how to sequence. I spent the next month doing background research and learning genomics from scratch.



(Editor’s note:&nbsp;Reader in case you forgot, Indeever is a high school senior.)



I’ve had prior research experience in molecular biology and I’m familiar with the lab equipment available in my local lab. I came across nanopore technology and its long-read sequencing ability. This technology would allow me to&nbsp;de novoassemble the genome. So, I purchased a new nanopore sequencer and flow cell.



I used a New England Biolabs Genomic DNA extraction kit to extract DNA from Calvin’s muscle tissue. I did have to do some trial and error and experiment with the standard protocol to figure out what would give me the best DNA yield.



After I extracted the DNA, I had to prepare the genomic library and the DNA so that the nanopore device could properly sequence it.&nbsp;



I worked for two weekends in the lab to obtain the raw sequencing data.&nbsp;The bioinformatics work that came after that took a lot more time—around two months.



And then, I had to screen the genome to ensure there weren&#8217;t any contaminants.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-did-you-learn-or-find-anything-else-during-your-sequencing-work">Did you learn or find anything else during your sequencing work?&nbsp;</h6>



Interestingly, there was a bacterial contaminant in my sequencing reads.



<h6 class="has-text-align-left wp-block-heading" id="h-could-that-have-been-the-cause-of-calvin-s-death">Could that have been the cause of Calvin’s death?</h6>



It could have been. I was hesitant to say that in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.micropublication.org/journals/biology/micropub-biology-000654">paper</a>. Bacteria is a common fish pathogen that&#8217;s just naturally present in aquariums and on fish. At the same time, it&#8217;s an opportunistic pathogen, and if a fish is already ill or injured, the bacteria will exacerbate the problem and kill it.



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So, unfortunately, I couldn&#8217;t say for sure. I wish I could, but I just pointed it out in my paper and left it at that. It would have been interesting to see if that was true.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-in-addition-to-performing-your-work-at-a-community-lab-you-also-relied-on-crowdfunding-can-you-tell-us-more-about-that">In addition to performing your work at a community lab, you also relied on crowdfunding. Can you tell us more about that?</h6>



I used a lot of my own funds for this research, but I also fundraised on<a href="https://experiment.com/">&nbsp;experiment.com</a>&nbsp;so that I could buy another flow cell for the nanopore sequencer to increase my sequencing yield.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-did-it-feel-like-to-open-twitter-and-discover-your-project-had-generated-a-lot-of-interest">What did it feel like to open Twitter and discover your project had generated a lot of interest?</h6>



It was crazy! I wasn’t on Twitter. In fact, the only time I tweeted was for the fundraising I was doing for this project.



A friend of mine reached out and said, &#8216;hey, do you know you&#8217;re going viral on Twitter?&#8217; And I thought, ‘oh gosh, what&#8217;s going on? What did I do?&#8217; And then it turns out it was the angelfish work!



It’s been a great experience. I’ve met so many new scientists and researchers; it’s surreal.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-do-you-think-it-resonated-with-people">Why do you think it resonated with people?</h6>



I’ve noticed that there&#8217;s a big movement in the scientific community toward democratizing science and making it accessible to all. And I think this project exemplified that.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-you-re-not-in-the-lab-sequencing-genomes-what-do-you-like-to-do-for-fun">When you’re not in the lab sequencing genomes, what do you like to do for fun?</h6>



I raise a lot of fish. I have over 100 fish—koi, angelfish, goldfish…I even have a bichir, which is a kind of an eel, but way cooler.



Outside of fishkeeping, I do a lot of other research work. One of my previous projects was about CRISPR and how we could use the CRISPR-Cas9 enzyme as a tool to augment the human immune system and similarly protect against viral infections. I competed in various science competitions with that research.



I also have two younger brothers, who are quite a lot of work! And I enjoy riding my bike. I really like electric bikes, actually, so that&#8217;s what I do in my free time.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-any-future-research-projects-on-the-horizon">Any future research projects on the horizon?</h6>



Right now, I&#8217;m applying to colleges, and that’s taking up most of my time. I’m interested in sequencing the transcriptome of the angelfish, so I think that&#8217;s next.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-advice-do-you-have-for-young-researchers">What advice do you have for young researchers?</h6>



There is so much I want to say, but for starters, don’t be intimidated by the research world. It might be easy to see my research and wonder how I did it, but this was not my first research project. Throughout high school, I conducted independent research work.&nbsp;



Anyone can do research; you just have to get started. Find what you&#8217;re interested in and pursue it. Don’t be afraid of what other people think or even what the results will be.&nbsp;



Also, setbacks are expected. A setback simply means that you have reached a point where you are pushing the boundaries of science.&nbsp;It is a good sign and that must not deter you. You should definitely try to anticipate issues and find multiple pathways to work through or around them.&nbsp;



Finally, learn from the reviews, wisdom, and experiences of others while believing in and improving your own judgment and abilities. No one can learn everything by themselves, and it’s often other people who have interesting insights.&nbsp;



The nice thing about open science and the internet and computers and all that is that you can do research&nbsp;anywhere. From a lab, from home…anywhere!

23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

The High Schooler who Sequenced the Angelfish

With many other pressing priorities this year, Congress hit the snooze button on the<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/623"> Sunshine Protection Act</a>, legislation to make daylight saving permanent. Come Sunday, November 6th most everyone in the US will again move their clocks back an hour.



But that pause doesn’t mean we’ll be pulling the sheets over the debate any time soon.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/iStock-640228980-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-25757" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/iStock-640228980-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/iStock-640228980-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/iStock-640228980-768x513.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/iStock-640228980-880x587.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/iStock-640228980-1180x788.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/iStock-640228980.jpg 1254w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-making-daylight-saving-time-permanent">Making Daylight Saving Time Permanent</h6>



There are strong feelings about the biannual ritual that disrupts sleep cycles across the country. Almost three-quarters of those<a href="https://apnorc.org/projects/daylight-saving-time-vs-standard-time/"> polled recently</a> said they didn’t support changing their clocks twice a year. But they were split on whether to keep standard time or make daylight saving time permanent.



A survey of more than 40,000 23andMe customers who consented to participate in research found that about 65 percent supported making daylight saving permanent, meaning they want to make daylight saving time permanent and not have to go through the ritual of moving the clock back an hour in the fall and forward and hour in the spring.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="550" height="527" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/daylight.jpg" alt="A graph showing those who support, oppose or have no opinion on making daylight saving time permanent." class="wp-image-30643" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/daylight.jpg 550w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/daylight-300x287.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Most of the 40,000 23andMe customers who consented to participate in research and answered this survey question, support making daylight saving permanent. </figcaption></figure>



For those not well-versed in the terminology, “daylight saving time” is the period in spring and summer when we’ve pushed the clocks ahead an hour of “standard time” to take advantage of the longer hours of sunlight.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-morning-person-versus-night-owl">Morning Person versus Night Owl</h6>



Researchers here at 23andMe were curious about what the genetic data might say about where people stand on this issue. After all, we know that genetics plays a role in whether a person is more likely to be a “night owl” or a <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/morning-person/">“morning person.”</a> Scientists have long known that genetics influences human <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/nobel-worthy-sleep-science/">circadian rhythms </a>and we’ve found hundreds of genetic variants that influence whether a person is more likely to get up early versus go to bed late.



But do those genetic differences play any role in what side of the debate you are on? Does it influence whether you’re more likely to want to make standard time permanent or embrace daylight saving time?



Our researchers speculated that perhaps if you were genetically more likely to be a morning person, then you’d be more likely to support making daylight saving time permanent, meaning that it stays light later. They thought people genetically predisposed to be night owls, in turn, would embrace making standard time permanent.



But that’s not exactly what they found.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetics-does-not-play-a-role">Genetics Does Not Play a role</h6>



Our researchers didn’t find any genetic patterns that predicted whether someone supported making daylight saving permanent or not. We did find a small association among those who said they were a “morning person” being between 15-20 percent more likely to oppose making standard time permanent. However, there was no association with the genetic tendency to be a morning person. (23andMe uses a polygenic model that relies on more than 400 genetic variants associated with wake times to estimate someone’s likelihood of being a morning person.)



While genetics didn’t appear to influence where someone stood on the issue, other factors surprisingly did, and many were tied to the seasons.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hot-and-cold-on-time-change">Hot and Cold on Time Change</h6>



The biggest predictor of whether someone supported making daylight saving time permanent was whether they liked very hot weather and disliked cold weather. About 86 percent of those who liked hot weather over cold supported making daylight saving time permanent. That’s 17 percent higher support for daylight saving time when compared to people who said they liked cold over hot weather.



In addition to temperature preference, people with seasonal affective disorder — a condition associated with depression during winter triggered by less sunlight —were more likely to support permanent daylight savings time. About 81 percent of those with seasonal affective disorder supported making daylight saving permanent, about 8 percentage points higher than all those surveyed.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-age-and-education">Age and Education</h6>



Beyond the temperature and daylight, age and education level also appears to play a big role in opinions about daylight saving time. Older people and those with higher degrees were more likely to want to keep things as they are and less likely to support making daylight saving permanent, for instance. People in their 40s were most likely to support making daylight saving permanent.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="550" height="452" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/daylight-3.jpg" alt="A chart showing support of making daylight saving time permanent based on age. People in their 40s were most supportive." class="wp-image-30641" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/daylight-3.jpg 550w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/daylight-3-300x247.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">People in their 40s were most likely to support making daylight saving time permanent. </figcaption></figure>



Beyond age and education level, we wondered if having a job or an early work schedule or other social behavior might also play a role. Employment didn’t seem to impact opinions, but perhaps unsurprisingly, having to get up early sure did. Those who had to get up early for work were less likely to support making daylight saving permanent.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="550" height="452" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/daylight-2.jpg" alt="A graph showing breaking down support for making daylight saving time permanent based on wake up time. People who wake-up between 9 am and 10 am had the most support." class="wp-image-30642" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/daylight-2.jpg 550w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/daylight-2-300x247.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">People who wake up between 9 am and 10 were the strongest supporters of making daylight saving time permanent. </figcaption></figure>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more">More</h6>



We also found that people who were more apt to socialize were also more likely to support making daylight saving time permanent. We measured that in part by how they answered the question of how often there were “people around with whom to have fun.” And we found that 78 percent of those who answered that they usually or always had people around with whom they had fun support making daylight saving permanent.&nbsp;&nbsp;



While genetic associations often turn up for unexpected traits, perhaps it shouldn&#8217;t be surprising that attitudes about daylight saving time aren&#8217;t one of them. Our exploration of attitudes toward daylight saving time offers an example of the power of 23andMe’s unique research platform. It’s a platform that allows our scientists to more easily and quickly explore lighter behavioral traits like this, as well as others that are much more grounded in biology.



23andMe Ancestry and Trait service customers can see what their genetics says about being a morning person or a night owl in their <a href="https://you.23andme.com/reports/trait.wakeup_time/">Wake Up Time report.</a>



Not yet a customer? Find out more about 23andMe services <a href="https://www.23andme.com/compare-dna-tests/">here</a>.

Turning Back the Clock on Daylight Saving Time

A team of researchers led by scientists from the University of Edinburgh completed the largest genetic study to date looking at dyslexia and linking the condition to genes associated with neurodevelopment.



Dyslexia is estimated to affect between 5 to 17 percent of the population. It impacts a person’s reading ability and often runs in families.



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<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-links-to-neurodevelopment">Links to neurodevelopment</h6>



The new study, published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-022-01192-y">Nature Genetics</a>, offers more insight into the biological mechanisms behind dyslexia. The study found genetic links between the condition and genes associated with neurodevelopment,. Researchers also identified a genetic link between dyslexia and ambidexterity.&nbsp;&nbsp;



But the study did not confirm some previous research suggesting a genetic link between dyslexia and changes in brain structure.



“Previous work suggested some brain structures may be altered in people with dyslexia, but we did not find evidence that genes explain this,“ said Michelle Luciano, Ph.D., the lead author and a researcher at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reading-and-spelling">Reading and spelling</h6>



Because dyslexia is so closely genetically related to performance on reading and spelling tests, Dr. Luciano called out the need for better-standardized testing as a way to identify individuals with the condition early to help them with reading and writing.



Scientists from the<a href="https://www.genlang.org/"> Genetic Language Consortium</a> and from 23andMe contributed to the study. The work relied on data from more than a million 23andMe customers who consented to participate in research. Among those consenting to participate in research were about 51,000 people who reported that they had dyslexia.



In all, researchers identified 42 genetic variants. The strongest of those were genetic variants that were also linked to cognitive ability and educational attainment. Educational attainments is a measure of the number of years in school. The genetic variants associated with dyslexia were also associated with language delay, thinking skills, and academic achievement. The results highlighted how dyslexia and its impact on reading and writing affect some of the essential processes for learning.&nbsp;



You can see the full study in<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-022-01192-y"> Nature Genetics</a>.



The researchers also assembled a list of answers to questions on the study, its purpose, and how the genetic study was conducted<a href="https://www.genlang.org/GWAS_dyslexia_FAQ.html"> here</a>.

Study Identifies Genetic Links to Dyslexia

An investigation into a missense variant associated with cataracts in Puerto Ricans.
A prospective analysis of disease incidence and progression with genetic, clinical, and lifestyle risk factors.
Those are just two of the seven posters that the <a href="https://www.23andme.com/research/">23andMe research team</a> will present at this year’s <a href="https://www.ashg.org/meetings/2022-annual-meeting/">American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) meeting</a>.
The meeting, which will be held in Los Angeles October 25-29, provides a forum for the discussion of cutting-edge science in all areas of human genetics.
Highlights of this year’s agenda include symposia, booths, scientific sessions, and workshops, as well as a <a href="https://www.ashg.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ASHG2022-presidential-symposium-speakers-and-description.pdf">Presidential Symposium</a> on recent developments in African genomics.
<h6>23andMe at ASHG</h6>
Below you’ll find a full list of our presentations and posters at ASHG.&nbsp;
In addition to our research contributions, we’ll also have a booth (#1248) where conference attendees can learn more about several of our initiatives – including our<a href="https://research.23andme.com/postdocs/"> Postdoc Program</a> and our<a href="https://research.23andme.com/research-innovation-collaborations/"> Research Innovation Collaboration Program</a>. We hope to see you there!
<h6>Wednesday, Oct. 26 from 3:00 &#8211; 4:45 P.M. PT</h6>


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“A Rare Missense Variant of Large Effect is Associated with Cataract in Puerto Ricans”



Jing Shi, PhD, Scientist II, Statistical Genetics



Poster # PB3281
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“Comparison of trans-ancestry meta- and mega-analyses of cis-eQTLs in whole blood and LCLs”



Priyanka Nandakumar, PhD, Scientist II, Statistical Genetics



Poster # PB3345
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</div>



<div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex">
<div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:33.33%">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="1020" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Wei-Wang-e1666111334580-1024x1020.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-30592" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Wei-Wang-e1666111334580-1024x1020.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Wei-Wang-e1666111334580-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Wei-Wang-e1666111334580-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Wei-Wang-e1666111334580-768x765.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Wei-Wang-e1666111334580-880x877.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Wei-Wang-e1666111334580-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Wei-Wang-e1666111334580-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Wei-Wang-e1666111334580.jpg 1064w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>
</div>



<div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:66.66%">
“Prospective analysis of disease incidence and progression with genetic, clinical and lifestyle risk factors”



Wei Wang, PhD, Scientist II, Statistical Genetics



Poster # PB3563
</div>
</div>



<div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex">
<div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow">
<h6 class="wp-block-heading">Thursday, Oct. 27 from 3:00 &#8211; 4:45 P.M. PT</h6>
</div>
</div>



<div style="height:11px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex">
<div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:33.33%">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1016" height="1024" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/katelynn-e1666109571153-1016x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-30595" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/katelynn-e1666109571153-1016x1024.jpg 1016w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/katelynn-e1666109571153-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/katelynn-e1666109571153-298x300.jpg 298w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/katelynn-e1666109571153-768x774.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/katelynn-e1666109571153-873x880.jpg 873w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/katelynn-e1666109571153.jpg 1060w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1016px) 100vw, 1016px" /></figure>
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<div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:66.66%">
“Advancing rare disease research through web-based recruitment: the 23andMe Systemic Sclerosis Research Study”



Katelyn Kukar, Associate Program Manager



Poster # PB1256
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</div>



<div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex">
<div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:33.33%">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="512" height="512" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Kipper-Fletez-Brant.png" alt="" class="wp-image-30591" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Kipper-Fletez-Brant.png 512w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Kipper-Fletez-Brant-150x150.png 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Kipper-Fletez-Brant-300x300.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Kipper-Fletez-Brant-271x271.png 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Kipper-Fletez-Brant-372x372.png 372w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" /></figure>
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<div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:66.66%">
“The genetic architectures of gene expression in individuals of African and European ancestry: results and consequences of eQTL studies”



Kipper Fletez-Brant, PhD, Scientist II, Computational Biology



Poster # PB2700
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</div>



<div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex">
<div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:33.33%">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1022" height="1024" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Zachary-Fuller-e1666111361846-1022x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-30590" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Zachary-Fuller-e1666111361846-1022x1024.jpg 1022w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Zachary-Fuller-e1666111361846-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Zachary-Fuller-e1666111361846-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Zachary-Fuller-e1666111361846-768x769.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Zachary-Fuller-e1666111361846-878x880.jpg 878w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Zachary-Fuller-e1666111361846-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Zachary-Fuller-e1666111361846-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Zachary-Fuller-e1666111361846-574x574.jpg 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Zachary-Fuller-e1666111361846.jpg 1058w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1022px) 100vw, 1022px" /></figure>
</div>



<div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:66.66%">
“Burden testing of imputed rare variants to inform therapeutic hypotheses”



Zachary Fuller, PhD, Scientist I, Statistical Genetics



Poster # PB3330
</div>
</div>



<div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex">
<div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:33.33%">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="1024" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Chris-German-e1666111393253-1024x1024.png" alt="" class="wp-image-30589" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Chris-German-e1666111393253-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Chris-German-e1666111393253-150x150.png 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Chris-German-e1666111393253-300x300.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Chris-German-e1666111393253-768x768.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Chris-German-e1666111393253-880x880.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Chris-German-e1666111393253-1180x1180.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Chris-German-e1666111393253-271x271.png 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Chris-German-e1666111393253-372x372.png 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Chris-German-e1666111393253-574x574.png 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Chris-German-e1666111393253-980x980.png 980w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Chris-German-e1666111393253.png 1512w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>
</div>



<div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:66.66%">
&#8220;GWAS of pericarditis derived from a natural language processing model on self-reported free text data identifies a genome-wide significant association on chromosome 2q14.1”



Chris German, PhD, Scientist I, Statistical Genetics



Poster # PB3426
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</div>

23andMe Research at ASHG Meeting

We know Halloween is scary good, and that’s not because of pumpkin spice.



So, what gives?



There are the costumes, the candy, and the usually risk-free thrill of something scary, or the chance to scare the heck out of somebody else. But why do we like it so much?



As fans of this time of year, a few of our scientists dove into the data to take a closer look. They wanted to know just how much people say they fear creepy crawly spiders or love horror films, or whether they prefer the sweet taste of, say a Snickers bar, over the tang of a Sour Patch Kids candy.&nbsp;



We looked at the data to see what it says about fear, taste, and attraction to the thrill of something scary. Here’s what we found.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="569" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2022-10-17-at-3.35.46-PM-1024x569.png" alt="" class="wp-image-30608" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2022-10-17-at-3.35.46-PM-1024x569.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2022-10-17-at-3.35.46-PM-300x167.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2022-10-17-at-3.35.46-PM-768x427.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2022-10-17-at-3.35.46-PM-880x489.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2022-10-17-at-3.35.46-PM-1180x656.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2022-10-17-at-3.35.46-PM.png 1562w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fear-and-loathing">Fear and loathing</h6>



At 23andMe we ask all sorts of questions about everything from whether you can curl your tongue or do a cartwheel. This is because it adds to our understanding of human traits, behavior, and in some cases human health.&nbsp;



While this was a fun exercise, it also did reveal some interesting associations between certain fears and mental health-related conditions. So we saw that those who reported a fear of spiders also were much more likely to have a fear of heights, as well as a likelihood to have anxiety and depression.&nbsp;&nbsp;



If you do have a bit of arachnophobia, you’re not alone. A lot of people are afraid of spiders, about 22 percent of the population say they have that fear, according to <a href="https://www.chapman.edu/wilkinson/research-centers/babbie-center/_files/Babbie%20center%20fear2021/blogpost-americas-top-fears-2020_-21-final.pdf">Chapman University Survey of American Fears</a>. 23andMe’s data shows a higher percentage of people say they are afraid of spiders, about 38 percent, but the surveys are done differently. The annual Chapman survey includes questions about a large number of fears. A fear of spiders ranks among fears just behind a fear of snakes, but ahead of murder hornets.&nbsp;



Since that, all sounds like the plot line for a scary movie, that brings us to, well, scary movies. Despite our fears, some of us are actually attracted to horror films. From a scientific point of view, we see that this may be another form of thrill-seeking or risk-taking, which may in turn also reflect on behavior.&nbsp;



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-age-matters">Age matters</h6>



A lot changes as we get older, and it’s not just attitudes, hair lines and wrinkles. As we age, it appears that the years lessen certain fears, and change our perceptions and tastes in everything from the food we eat to the films we watch. These trends are very distinct in the data.



As we age, some of our fears — at least in the case of spiders — fade. Perhaps we focus on bigger things or just put things into perspective.&nbsp;



And maybe as we age what also fades appears to be any thrill from seeing a scary movie. In truth, most 23andMe customers who consented to participate in research — more than half surveyed — actually say they don’t like horror movies, but age matters.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="633" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Halloween-Related-Preferences-by-Age-1024x633.png" alt="A bar chart showing how fear of spiders, preference for sweet or sour candy and horror movies changes as we age." class="wp-image-30400" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Halloween-Related-Preferences-by-Age-1024x633.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Halloween-Related-Preferences-by-Age-300x186.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Halloween-Related-Preferences-by-Age-768x475.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Halloween-Related-Preferences-by-Age-880x544.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Halloween-Related-Preferences-by-Age-1180x730.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Halloween-Related-Preferences-by-Age.png 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



More than half of people under 30, about 60 percent, say they like scary films. So, expect more reboots of movies like Scream, Halloween, and, yikes, Saw. As a side note, in looking at those who said they liked the “Horror” genre we saw an association with depression, smoking, and a lack of religiosity.&nbsp;



Breaking down the data by age we see that with every decade the taste for a devilishly scary movie diminishes. By the age of 60 more than three-quarters of people say they dislike horror films.



One surprise, although maybe it shouldn’t be, is that it’s not just our film tastes that change with age. So too do our candy preferences. The older you get, according to our data, the more likely you prefer sweet candy over sour. This might actually reflect changes in our taste buds as we age.&nbsp;



Both our genetics and our environment shape our taste preferences, whether we like <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/traits/sweet-salty/">salty or sweet snacks</a>, for instance, or our <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/traits/bitter-taste/">bitter taste perception</a>. But our taste perceptions also change <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8618294/">as we age</a>.&nbsp;



There are multiple factors for this including physiological ones that can dull taste receptor cells. Some studies indicate an age-related decline in sweet and salty taste perception, but with contradictory results. Our data indicate that as people age they report liking sweet candy more than sour ones.&nbsp;



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-sex-matters">Genetic sex matters</h6>



We also saw differences in responses between males vs females, defined here solely by chromosomal sex, not necessarily sex assigned at birth or gender identity.



More men than women said they liked horror films, but they were not popular with either men or women. About 37 percent of men said they like horror films, and about 32 percent of women felt that way but a majority of both men and women said they disliked scary movies.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="633" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Genetic-Sex-Halloween-Preferences-1024x633.png" alt="This bar chart looks at differences in preferences based on genetic sex" class="wp-image-30402" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Genetic-Sex-Halloween-Preferences-1024x633.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Genetic-Sex-Halloween-Preferences-300x185.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Genetic-Sex-Halloween-Preferences-768x474.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Genetic-Sex-Halloween-Preferences-880x544.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Genetic-Sex-Halloween-Preferences.png 1104w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



As for a fear of spiders, we also saw a difference but a majority of both men and women said they weren’t afraid of spiders. Only about 22 percent of men said they were afraid of spiders and about 45 percent of women said they were afraid of them.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-horror">The horror</h6>



Mapping some of this data into a sort of Venn diagram of fears we see that there are a chosen few — about 20 percent of those surveyed — who describe themselves as brave, not afraid of spiders, and fans of horror films.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="697" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Not-Brave-v-Fearful-e1665524256291-1024x697.png" alt="Ven Diagram looking at overlap between fears and preferences." class="wp-image-30403" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Not-Brave-v-Fearful-e1665524256291-1024x697.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Not-Brave-v-Fearful-e1665524256291-300x204.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Not-Brave-v-Fearful-e1665524256291-768x523.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Not-Brave-v-Fearful-e1665524256291-880x599.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Not-Brave-v-Fearful-e1665524256291-1180x803.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Not-Brave-v-Fearful-e1665524256291.png 1466w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Perhaps Halloween is ideally made for them, but even those of us who are fearful, don’t like scary movies, and are afraid of spiders can at least look forward to candy.&nbsp;



We plan to continue to collect these data over time. We also hope to look at how genetics might play a role, not just in how we experience Halloween but what these traits might say about mental health conditions and how they might change with age.

Trick or Treat, Scary or Sweet

Bolstered by the early success of recruitment for our<a href="https://www.23andme.com/rare-disease-research-study/"> Rare Disease Research Study</a>, 23andMe has expanded its scope from four to now include twelve rare conditions.
Finding and then enrolling participants in the study of rare diseases has always been a challenge for scientists. Diseases are considered rare if they affect fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S., and with those numbers spread out across the country finding and then getting participants for research is difficult. Even when the studies move forward, they often include very few people, which hampers the ability to make meaningful insights.
<h6>23andMe research model and rare disease</h6>
About a year ago 23andMe published a paper illustrating how our research model is uniquely positioned for this kind of research. The paper outlined what at the time was believed to be the<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/new-way-to-study-rare-disease/"> largest genetic study of rare diseases ever done</a>. Using insights from that paper, 23andMe launched its Rare Diseases Research Study. 
The handful of conditions we began with included:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.23andme.com/rare-disease-research-study/systemic-sclerosis/">Systemic sclerosis</a>, which causes the hardening of the body’s connective tissue. (This study was first begun in 2021.)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.23andme.com/rare-disease-research-study/anca-associated-vasculitis/">ANCA-associated vasculitis</a>, a group of autoimmune diseases that are characterized by inflammation of small vessels. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.23andme.com/rare-disease-research-study/pemphigus-vulgaris/">Pemphigus vulgaris</a>, an autoimmune disorder that involves blistering and erosion of the skin as well as the mucous membranes.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.23andme.com/rare-disease-research-study/dermatomyositis/">Dermatomyositis</a>, an inflammatory disease marked by muscle weakness and a distinctive skin rash.</li>
</ul>
Before launching the Rare Disease Research Study, some of 23andMe’s rare disease cohorts had fewer than 150 individuals who had consented to participate in research. Since launching the study, we’ve added almost 200 consented research participants to help fuel this research. 
<h6>New Conditions</h6>
With this positive trend, 23andMe added eight more diseases to this study including;
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"> <a href="https://www.23andme.com/rare-disease-research-study/pulmonary-arterial-hypertension/">Pulmonary arterial hypertension</a>, a rare and progressive form of pulmonary hypertension (PH) that is caused by an obstruction in the small arteries in the lung. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.23andme.com/rare-disease-research-study/primary-sclerosing-cholangitis/">Primary sclerosing cholangitis</a>, a chronic disease in which the bile ducts inside and outside the liver become inflamed and scarred, and eventually narrowed or blocked.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.23andme.com/rare-disease-research-study/pulmonary-fibrosis/">Pulmonary fibrosis</a> is a lung disease that occurs when lung tissue becomes damaged and scarred.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.23andme.com/rare-disease-research-study/myasthenia-gravis/">Myasthenia gravis</a>, a chronic autoimmune disorder in which antibodies destroy the communication between nerves and muscle, resulting in weakness of the skeletal muscles.  </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.23andme.com/rare-disease-research-study/myelodysplastic-syndrome/">Myelodysplastic syndrome</a>, a group of disorders caused by blood cells that are poorly formed or don&#8217;t work properly.  </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.23andme.com/rare-disease-research-study/lymphangioleiomyomatosis/">Lymphangioleiomyomatosis</a>, a lung disease caused by the abnormal growth of smooth muscle cells, especially in the lungs and lymphatic system.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.23andme.com/rare-disease-research-study/giant-cell-arteritis/">Giant cell arteritis,</a> a part of a group of disorders that cause inflammation within blood vessels, most commonly in the head.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.23andme.com/rare-disease-research-study/essential-thrombocythemia/">Essential thrombocythemia</a>, a condition where too many platelets are produced in a person’s bone marrow. Symptoms develop over time but they can lead to difficulty breathing, weakness, fatigue, clotting, strokes, and an enlarged spleen, among other things.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
The goal is to recruit 1,000 participants for each of these conditions which can help us have stronger statistical power for research. This can drive meaningful insights that could ultimately lead to the development of better treatments. We hope to expand this study further by adding new rare conditions in the future.
To learn more go<a href="https://www.23andme.com/rare-disease-research-study/"> here</a>.

23andMe Adds More Conditions to Rare Disease Research Study

A massive new study, the largest genome-wide association study ever done, has found nearly all the common genetic variants that explain the heritability of height among people of European ancestry, and in the process may have set the framework for future genetic research into other traits and diseases.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/tallshadow-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-180" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/tallshadow-225x300.jpg 225w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/tallshadow.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" />
Using data from about 5.4 million individuals, almost half of whom were 23andMe customers who consented to participate in research, the study identified 12,111 variants or single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that help explain differences in height.
“We feel that this is really a milestone,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.broadinstitute.org/node/7053">Joel Hirschhorn</a>, senior author on the study, an institute member at the Broad, and also a professor of genetics and Concordia Professor of Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. “We’d been studying height for a while but had only identified a small fraction of common variant heritability. We’re now basically done mapping this heritability to specific genomic regions, and that highlights what increasing sample size can tell us about traits controlled by multiple genes.”
<h6>GIANT</h6>
Published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05275-y">Nature</a>, the study, led by researchers at the <a href="https://www.broadinstitute.org/news/largest-genome-wide-association-study-ever-uncovers-nearly-all-genetic-variants-linked-height">Broad Institute</a> and the international <a href="https://portals.broadinstitute.org/collaboration/giant/index.php/GIANT_consortium">Genetic Investigation of ANthropometric Traits (GIANT) Consortium</a>, is the culmination of a multi-year effort to foster collaboration between academic, non-profit, government, and commercial partners. In their effort, the researchers collected, merged, and analyzed numerous independently generated genome-wide association studies into a single data set. In all, there are more than 200 different datasets incorporated into this study, which included contributions from hundreds of scientists from around the world.
<h6>The Power of Scale</h6>
What they found is important not just because of what it says about height, syndromes, and abnormalities affecting stature, but what it says about the potential of using very, very large amounts of data to generate insights into the genetics of different traits and conditions. Because height is so heritable, and because it is easy to measure someone’s height, it offers a very straightforward way to conduct a genetic study into a trait.
&#8220;This study highlights the ability of large-scale genetic studies to reveal the underlying biology of human phenotypes,” said Adam Auton, 23andMe’s Vice President of Human Genetics. 23andMe was one of a long list of institutions and organizations involved in the study.
“With this 5.4 million person study, we&#8217;re now at the stage where we&#8217;re starting to saturate our genetic understanding of height,” Auton said. “However, for other phenotypes — particularly human diseases — we&#8217;re a long way from saturation, and there is a lot we don&#8217;t yet understand.&#8221;
<h6>Heritability of Height</h6>
Heritability is the measure of how much our DNA explains the differences in specific traits or conditions. A SNP is a one-letter variation in the genetic code at a single point along the genome. These common variants are associated with differences in everything from traits like the color of our eyes or our height, or our risk for certain diseases.
Along with genetics, one’s environment — diet, for instance — also plays a role in these different traits and conditions. In the case of height, genetics has an outsized role in explaining about 80 percent of the variation. Because researchers included more than twice the number of individuals in this study from the next largest height study, they were able to discern almost all the heritability for height. So, size matters in genetic studies.
Previous height studies were large but just not large enough. According to the authors, this study was big enough to discern almost all of the heritability for height. In finding most of the variants that explain the heritability for height, the authors estimate that they’ve now identified variants that account for 40 percent of all variation in height in people with European ancestry. But they’ve identified only around 10–20 percent of the variation in people of other ancestries.
<h6>Diversity Matters</h6>
Also significant is that the study found that the genetic variants associated with height clustered within or near genes or gene regions associated with growth and development. That makes sense, but scientists were not so sure that is what they’d find. Many scientists thought that perhaps the variants they’ve identified could be found randomly sprinkled throughout the genome. But seeing that there is clustering will allow researchers to focus more on the clues around the biology and processes involved in individual traits like height.
In addition, the study illustrates something we already know about genetic research: diversity matters.&nbsp;
Although there were large numbers of individuals – more than a million – with African, Asian, and Latino ancestry included in this study, the vast majority of the data came from people of European ancestry. Some of the variants associated with height were associated with individuals of all different ancestries, but the findings were most applicable to those of European ancestry.&nbsp;
The researchers concluded that their study would benefit from data from a more diverse pool of individuals, especially those of African ancestry since people of African ancestry have the most genetic diversity of all populations. Not only would it improve the predictive power of the models developed to predict height for non-Europeans,&nbsp; it would also help in identifying causal genes and rare variants involved in height.
Read the full paper <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05275-y">here</a>.
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Giant Study Offers Insights into the Genetics of Height

A <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-18703-w">new study</a> found that the genetic variants that underlie the ability to move to the beat of music also predict other measures of musicality, including one’s ability to follow a melody, distinguish pitch or rhythm, or even the amount of time practice singing or playing an instrument.&nbsp;
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Empirical Aesthetics and 23andMe used results from a recent<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/we-got-the-beat/"> genome-wide association study</a> (GWAS) on beat synchronization to estimate an individual’s genetic musical propensity using a polygenic score (PGS) approach in a large sample of 5,648 Swedish twins.&nbsp;
In addition to providing their genetic information, the twins were asked to complete various music questionnaires and music-related tasks.&nbsp;
Control phenotypes included non-musical traits and achievements like general intelligence, sports practice, and global and work-related flow experiences.&nbsp;
<h6>Genes and Environment Working Together&nbsp;</h6>
The team found that the PGS of self-reported beat synchronization ability (referred to in the study as PGSrhythm) was able to predict overall musicality – including musical skills as well as a tendency to enjoy and engage in musical behavior – but had no impact on the control phenotypes that were not directly related to music.
They also identified a relationship between a musically enriched childhood environment and an individual’s PGSrhythm, suggesting a correlation between genes and environment. This means that an individual&#8217;s environmental exposure (for example, whether they will take music classes) can depend on their genetic predisposition to music.
Beyond furthering the understanding of musicality’s genetic architecture, this work has far-reaching implications for the validity of using a polygenic score approach in future genetic research and shows that even a minimal phenotype used in the discovery GWAS can be a relatively good indicator of broader musicality.&nbsp;
Find out more <a href="https://www.vumc.org/music-cognition-lab/news/faq-about-beat-synchronization-gwas-study">here</a>.&nbsp;

What the Polygenic Basis of Rhythm Can Tell Us About Musical Traits

A new study by researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health confirms<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/anxiety-depression-long-covid/"> findings from 23andMe</a> that depression and anxiety dramatically increase the likelihood of experiencing long COVID.
Published online in JAMA Psychiatry earlier this month, the<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2796097"> study</a> found that psychological distress in the form of depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness were more predictive than many physical risk factors like obesity, asthma, and hypertension, said Siwen Wang, the researcher in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School who led the study.
“We were surprised by how strongly psychological distress before a COVID-19 infection was associated with an increased risk of long COVID,”<a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/psychological-distress-before-covid-19-infection-increases-risk-of-long-covid/"> Siwen said.</a>
<h2>Psychological Stress Increases Risk of COVID</h2>
The team’s findings showed that psychological stress contributed to a one-and-a-half-fold increase in the risk for long COVID. 23andMe’s results showed a two-fold increase. But the differences in the two studies may be explained by how the studies defined long COVID. 23andMe looked at data from individuals with a formal diagnosis of long COVID. The Harvard study didn&#8217;t just look those with a diagnosis but with COVID symptoms lasting four weeks or longer. But when applying similar criteria to the 23andMe data, our researchers also saw a one-and-a-half-fold increased risk of developing long COVID.
The Harvard study examined data from 54,000 individuals over a 19-month  period. About 3,200 of participants in the study contracted COVID. The 23andMe study included data from more than 100,000 individuals who reported contracting COVID-19. Of those, more than 26,000 reported that they had experienced long COVID. Over 7,000 of participants said they’d been diagnosed with it. Even after a year, more than 10 percent of those in 23andMe’s study  continued to have symptoms like brain fog, fatigue, and shortness of breath. It’s important to note that long COVID refers to individuals with symptoms that linger weeks, months, or longer after a COVID-19 infection.
<h2>23andMe Long COVID Findings</h2>
Data from 23andMe’s as-yet unpublished study<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/anxiety-depression-long-covid/"> first appeared on our blog. </a>It is part of<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/tag/covid-19/"> a series of studies</a> being conducted by 23andMe scientists since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.
Among the areas of study is research on<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/23andme-covid-study-published/"> the role blood type plays</a> in severity and susceptibility to the virus. Our researchers have also drawn new insights into the genetics that influence<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/reaction-to-covid-vaccine/"> different reactions</a> to COVID-19 vaccines. Earlier this year, 23andMe published a study in<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-021-00986-w"> Nature Genetics</a> that identified genetic variants associated with the loss of smell or taste due to COVID-19. That paper offers more detail on the study, which identified variants near two olfactory genes — UGT2A1 and UGT2A2.
The Harvard study and the preliminary 23andMe data offer more insight into the perplexing nature of long COVID. But the studies also offer another illustration of the broader health impacts of these kinds of psychological stressors.   
Find the full Harvard study<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2796097"> here</a>.

A logo for 23andMe's COVID-19 Research Study

Research — Page 10