Since 23andMe’s Neanderthal Ancestry report was first released eight years ago, new scientific discoveries have enabled 23andMe to identify previously unknown associations between Neanderthal DNA variants and certain traits. 
While most people have a relatively tiny percentage of Neanderthal DNA, our ancient cousins are a big part of the human story. Now we’re celebrating that ancient DNA in a big way with the release of an even more detailed Neanderthal Ancestry report.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/macbook-pro-stock-mockup@2x-1024x649.png" alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-28102" width="1024" height="649" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/macbook-pro-stock-mockup@2x-1024x649.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/macbook-pro-stock-mockup@2x-300x190.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/macbook-pro-stock-mockup@2x-768x486.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/macbook-pro-stock-mockup@2x-880x557.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/macbook-pro-stock-mockup@2x-1180x747.png 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
<h6>A Brief History of the Neanderthal Ancestry Report</h6>
Since the Neanderthal genome was sequenced for the first time in 2010, scientists have learned a lot more about how these ancient hominins lived, and how their DNA may affect us today. These studies have even given us insight into human migration out of Africa. Most recently <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(20)30059-3">we learned</a> that modern humans may have left the continent 200,000 years ago, much earlier than we thought. Since 23andMe first started offering Neanderthal ancestry insights in 2011, many new discoveries have been made that we’d like to highlight. 
But this series of recent scientific discoveries aren’t the only driving force behind this update — we also listened to all the customer feedback and questions we’ve received over the years. We appreciate all of the Neanderthal nerds who asked for more features, suggested new stories, and shared their own experiences.

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/blog_image-1024x315.png" alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-28100" width="1024" height="315" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/blog_image-1024x315.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/blog_image-300x92.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/blog_image-768x237.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/blog_image-880x271.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/blog_image-1180x363.png 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /> 
<h6>What’s New in this Update </h6>
All the Neanderthal report features our customers know and love — their Neanderthal Ancestry percentile, Connections leaderboard, and ancient history stories —  are still included in the report. Now, customers will also see more than double the number of Neanderthal trait associations, including brand new trait associations, some of which are exclusive to customers on a v5 chip.  We’ve also added three new social share cards for your Neanderthal results as part of the ultimate ancient DNA conversation starter pack. 
In addition to giving the Neanderthal report a whole new look and feel, we’ve simplified customers’ results for clarity and added new stories to help bring humans’ ancient Neanderthal ancestors to life. 
 
<h6><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/neanderthal_desktop_v2_1.2-copy-1024x464.png" alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-28103" width="1024" height="464" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/neanderthal_desktop_v2_1.2-copy-1024x464.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/neanderthal_desktop_v2_1.2-copy-300x136.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/neanderthal_desktop_v2_1.2-copy-768x348.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/neanderthal_desktop_v2_1.2-copy-880x399.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/neanderthal_desktop_v2_1.2-copy-1180x535.png 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
The Science Behind the Report</h6>
Research suggests that 1-2 percent of the genomes of all modern humans with European, Asian, or Native American ancestry are of Neanderthal origin. (A <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(20)30059-3">recent study </a>suggests that people of African ancestry also have a very small amount of Neanderthal DNA, a surprising finding that suggests modern humans migrated out of Africa much earlier than we thought, intermixed with Neanderthals, and then some migrated back to the continent.)  Scientists at 23andMe further noticed that several Neanderthal DNA variants are associated with traits in 23andMe customers. To do this, scientists combined and analyzed data from 23andMe’s database of genotyped customers who have consented to participate in research through web-based surveys. The team was then able to identify associations between Neanderthal DNA variants and human traits like the likelihood of sneezing after eating dark chocolate, sense of direction, mosquito bite frequency, body type, dandruff, or being naturally strong, among others.
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Many of these new Neanderthal trait associations were identified from DNA variants that are only found on 23andMe’s v5 chip. A customer will need to upgrade their chip if they’re on a previous version in order to see all of the new possible Neanderthal trait associations. 
&nbsp;
“So much about Neanderthals have been discovered over the last decade, and we’re really starting to understand that they were probably a lot like us,” said Samantha Ancona Esselmann, Ph.D., the 23andMe product scientist behind the new report. “23andMe has a unique opportunity to highlight some of those exciting new discoveries to help bring our Neanderthal ancestors to life.”
<h6>What’s changing for existing customers?</h6>
If you are on the most recent version of the 23andMe genotyping chip (called “v5”), you can expect your Neanderthal DNA variant count and percentile to change with the most recent update. That’s because we improved the way we count your Neanderthal variants. Now, our analysis does a better job identifying Neanderthal ancestry in non-European populations and provides you with a more representative estimate of your Neanderthal ancestry compared to people from around the world. 
Customers on earlier versions of the genotyping chip should see no change in their number of Neanderthal DNA variants, but they may see a small percentile change reflecting the most up-to-date analysis.
Not a 23andMe customer yet? <a href="https://www.23andme.com/compare-dna-tests/">Buy a kit </a>to start learning all about your own Neanderthal DNA and more. If you’re already a customer, you can share your updated Neanderthal results and fun facts with share cards to post on your favorite social media channels. 
&nbsp;
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/iphone-x-mockup-scene@2x-2-1024x768.png" alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-28105" width="1024" height="768" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/iphone-x-mockup-scene@2x-2-1024x768.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/iphone-x-mockup-scene@2x-2-300x225.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/iphone-x-mockup-scene@2x-2-768x576.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/iphone-x-mockup-scene@2x-2-880x660.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/iphone-x-mockup-scene@2x-2-1180x885.png 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />

23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

Celebrate your Ancient DNA with a New Neanderthal Report

Much like when I hesitated over opening my health results, I, surprisingly, also felt a mix of nerves and anticipation about learning my ancestry results. 
After all, DNA has the power to bust through family myths and long-held identities of who we are. 

<h6>Opening Up My Ancestry Results</h6>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Amanda-Percentages.png" alt="" class="alignright wp-image-28118 size-full" width="283" height="512" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Amanda-Percentages.png 283w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Amanda-Percentages-166x300.png 166w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 283px) 100vw, 283px" />I was raised knowing I had deep roots in the American South and German ancestors that moved from Prussia to Buffalo, NY in the 1800s. But mostly, I was raised passionately Scottish. How Scottish? My parents took photos of my brother and me as babies in wee kilts. My brother went to a bagpipe camp and played in a bagpipe band. We helped organize the local Highland Games and we even made a pilgrimage to Scotland to view headstones and church plaques that had our last names carved into them. 
&nbsp;
Fortunately, my 23andMe Ancestry Composition results confirmed that I was indeed partly Scottish, but it also showed I had an equal percentage of English, German, and Irish ancestry. There were even small amounts from regions in Scandinavia,  Spain, and Portugal, as well as western Asia and northern Africa. 
&nbsp;
I was surprised to see that my 23andMe is even able to pinpoint the very regions in some countries that my genetic ancestors most likely lived as well as a timeline of when ancestors lived in those countries. 
&nbsp;
Indeed, the Scottish and German ancestors were the most recent immigrants to America so in some ways, it made sense that those cultural identities held the most weight in my family lore. But, having never identified with the other heritages felt like a slight to those branches of the family tree. There is a unique satisfaction in having a more complete picture.
&nbsp;
<h6>My DNA Relatives</h6>
As my DNA had revealed surprises in where my family is from, I braced myself to learn who I was related to via the site’s DNA Relatives feature. 23andMe even warns you about this before you opt-in to participate in DNA Relatives, letting you know you might learn something unexpected.
&nbsp;
My results didn’t reveal any family secrets, fortunately. They did, however, help us solve one family mystery. More on that in a minute.
&nbsp;
DNA Relatives connects you to other 23andMe customers, who have also opted-in and with whom you share DNA, looking at how much DNA you share and the length of the segments of DNA, 23andMe can predict how closely you are related. 
&nbsp;
But beyond the first few close family members, I knew on my DNA Relatives list, 23andMe matched me to literally hundreds of much more distant relatives, I don’t know at all. I recognized hardly any last names. 
&nbsp;
But I wanted to learn more about these genetic cousins, so starting with those who shared the most DNA with me, I clicked through names in the hopes that they had filled out their profiles, listing birthplaces or surnames I might recognize.
&nbsp;
In one profile, I discovered someone who had listed the last name I’d heard before. It was a name that was bounced around in family discussions as the possible last name of my great-grandmother who was adopted. Sure enough, my DNA relative listed my nana’s birthplace as a birthplace for his family members. 
&nbsp;
I messaged him through 23andMe and it turns out his great-grandfather and my great-grandmother were brother and sister. He even had photos of the two together, arm and arm in front of their childhood home as adults. We had always assumed that she had no ties to her birth family after what was likely a traumatic separation from her parents. But clearly, that wasn’t the whole story. It gave me joy learning that she and her brother had had a relationship during their adulthood. 
<h6><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Amanda-Timeline.png" alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-28117" width="600" height="220" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Amanda-Timeline.png 512w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Amanda-Timeline-300x110.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></h6>
<h6>Exploring More</h6>
Within the first week of opening my results, other DNA relatives seeking answers to mysteries in their own family trees were sending me messages. Just like me, they were looking for information to fill in the connections in their family trees. One woman, who said a certain branch of her family refused to accept her as a relative, was able to find a common ancestor with me that proved her relation to them.
&nbsp;
As a result of these discoveries, and the rush of finding answers to mysteries that may have endured for centuries, I began pulling down old family bibles that listed births, marriages, and deaths to paint a fuller picture of extended family trees. I soon fell down the rabbit hole of genealogical research – finding evidence of both slave owners and abolitionists, loyalists and patriots fighting against each other in the Revolutionary War. I know from our own family stories that we have ancestors who were members of the original 13 colonies as well as others who immigrated through Ellis Island. 
&nbsp;
Some believe DNA testing might be used as a way to further an “us vs. them” mentality. But what I found was quite the opposite. I suddenly felt related to everyone and living in a world where everyone feels like family is a good feeling. 
Amanda McCorquodale is a freelance writer. Her work has appeared in Gourmet, Miami Magazine and Mental Floss. She previously worked as an associate editor at the Huffington Post and as an Arts and Culture Editor at the Miami New Times. She lives in New York with her family. This is the third and last part of the series. You can read <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-and-you/23andme-how-to/taking-the-leap-into-my-dna-part-i/">Part I here</a>, and <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-customer-stories/taking-a-leap-into-my-dna-part-ii/">Part II here.</a>

Amanda McCorquodale

Taking a Leap Into My DNA: Part III

23andMe is boosting the way you see your family connections with a new feature. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Tree-Overview-e1582841796172-300x183.jpg" alt="" class="alignright wp-image-28065 size-medium" width="300" height="183" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Tree-Overview-e1582841796172-300x183.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Tree-Overview-e1582841796172.jpg 708w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
The feature, Family Tree, will automatically start your tree based on your list of DNA Relatives. With a new algorithm, 23andMe’s Family Tree predicts how you might be connected to your genetic relatives, so you don’t have to start from scratch.

“23andMe’s service strives to help customers explore their family ties, known and new,” said Hilary Vance, Family Tree product manager at 23andMe. “We hope our new Family Tree will make understanding your relationships easier than ever, so our customers can focus on what’s important — connecting with family.” 

<h6>Quickly see the big picture</h6>

According to a recent study conducted by 23andMe researchers, more than 50% of respondents wanted to learn more about their family history and family tree from a DNA test. Despite the high awareness and interest in family trees, very few people play an active role in developing their own tree, as 52% of respondents cited difficulty to create and not knowing where to start as the main barriers to creating one. 

With <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/ancestry/family-tree/">23andMe’s Family Tree</a>, users can see at a glance how family members are related to each other, with very little initial manual work.

To start your Family Tree, opt into DNA Relatives to see and be seen by your genetic relatives on 23andMe. Then, the Family Tree’s algorithm populates a tree in one go with your predicted genetic relatives, so you can get a head start figuring out whether cousins and other relatives are on your mom’s or dad’s side of the family.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/tree@2x-1024x354.png" alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-27798" width="1024" height="354" />
<h6>How to edit relationships and add family members</h6>

The Family Tree algorithm offers a best guess at what your family tree could look like, but it’s only a starting point.

For example, upon first look, a second cousin may be in the wrong spot by a generation. If you see an unexpected relationship on your tree, we provide resources to help you understand the available DNA evidence and edit the prediction if needed.

Using different editing tools, you can move individual people and groups of relatives elsewhere in the tree. If a relative hasn&#8217;t participated in 23andMe&#8217;s services, you can still represent them by adding information about additional relatives to your tree.

Fill in your story by adding details about your ancestors, such as a name, photo, and place of birth. You can send a message to a relative on 23andMe, who may offer you more information to fill in the gaps.

<h6>More on the way </h6>

In the coming months, customers will see improvements and updates to the Family Tree. 

&#8220;Throughout 2020, our team will be hard at work bringing new Family Tree features to make building your family story easier than ever,” Vance said.

The joy of genetic testing is that it can introduce people to new relatives. But sometimes it can be challenging to determine how, specifically, they’re related. Take some of the guessing out of building your family tree, and let 23andMe get you started. 
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Want to see your Family Tree? Check it out on the Family &amp; Friends page of your account, or <a href="https://store.23andme.com/en-us/cart/">buy a kit</a> to get started.
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23andMe’s Latest Feature Automates Genetic Family Trees

By David Silverberg
During Christmas three years ago, when Doug Clarke and his wife exchanged 23andMe DNA kits as gifts, he had no clue his life would be irrevocably changed.
<div id="attachment_27957" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-27957" class="size-medium wp-image-27957" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/PatriciaDoug-e1580924652355-300x231.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="231" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/PatriciaDoug-e1580924652355-300x231.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/PatriciaDoug-e1580924652355.jpg 666w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Doug and Patricia after meeting in Santa Cruz for the first time.</div>
The 54-year-old Lexington, Kentucky resident always long known he’d been adopted and he wasn’t searching for his birth parents. Rather, he took the <a href="https://www.23andme.com/en-ca/howitworks/">23andMe test</a> to find out if he was at risk for certain health conditions.
But when the results revealed that a relative lived in New York, Doug reached out to him and found out this man was his cousin. Doug’s newfound cousin told him, “My aunt, Patricia, is your mother.”

<h2>A New Family Relationship</h2>
Within weeks, Doug was on a plane to Santa Cruz where his birth mother lived. It had been a tough year for Doug: he lost his father months before taking the DNA test, and the two had been very close growing up.
“To find my birth mother helped ease that sting of losing the father who raised me,” Clarke said in an interview.
Meeting his birth mother at a lighthouse near Santa Cruz proved to be the catalyst for a new relationship he never thought he would find.
“There’s literally no way I would have met my mother without 23andMe,” Doug said.
Patricia and Doug joined 23andMe for a special Mother&#8217;s Day event in 2018 where we chronicled their story in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaGUyrlp9ac">video</a>: 
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XaGUyrlp9ac" width="966" height="543" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<h2>Spending Time</h2>
But it’s the relationship that the two have formed since that initial meeting, that has been the true gift. Their story of building a bond that has only grown since that first meeting is something they both have worked at nurturing. Now they talk every week on Sundays and spend holidays together. They have merged their two families allowing them to gradually become acquainted.
It’s been a blessing for Patricia Johnson, Doug’s birth mother. For years she felt shame and guilt for giving her son up for adoption.
“I always wondered if my baby was going to be OK, if he was doing well,” Patricia, 79, said. “But now that I know him and have seen what a great man he’s become, I no longer feel that guilt.”
In fact, Doug has been there for her during unfortunate mishaps, like when she suffered a fall and endured a compression fracture in her spine in December 2019.
“And who was there to take care of me after the long plane ride from Kentucky? My son,” she said. “He did my laundry, cooked for me, and applied those IcyHot patches on my back.”
Patricia saw a lot of similarities between the two even at that initial meeting.
“Our eyes are the same for sure, and we make the same hand gestures,” she said. “Even our likes and dislikes with food and music are the same!”
<h2>What New DNA Relatives Should Expect</h2>
It’s not just Doug she’s bonded with but his family too.  Patricia is gradually getting to know Doug’s wife Lisa, his daughter-in-law, his sister, nephew, and brother-in-law. For his part, Doug is in touch with his half-sister and cousins, aunts and uncles from Patricia’s side of the family.
Doug cautioned that adoptees should temper their expectations if they reconnect with their birth parents via 23andMe or other methods.
“Don’t think the heavens will open and angels will start singing and you’ll have the perfect relationship,” he said. “Just go into it with an open mind. And if you don’t go through with it because you’re scared, you might have missed out on an opportunity of a lifetime.”
Patricia is often quick to share her story of reuniting with her long-lost son, so much so she even inspired someone randomly.
When her WiFi connection malfunctioned, a technician came into her home to fix it. The two began talking and Patricia said she:
“Got all blubbery and told him about Doug and what happened and what this DNA test gave me. He told me he is also adopted and just as he was walking out the door he said ‘I think I’m going try 23andmMe and look for my parents.’ And I said, ‘Honey, do it! It’s worth every cent you have!’”
David Silverberg is a freelance journalist and content creator who regularly contributes to BBC News, The Washington Post, Business Insider, and Gamespot. He is also a theatre artist and wrote about his Jewish heritage in his new solo show Jewnique. Find him at<a href="http://davidsilverberg.ca"> DavidSilverberg.ca</a>

A mother and Son Fostered New Relationship

Five short stories about the genetic history of Western Europe — from the Celts to Charlemagne.



You probably have some Celtic ancestry (but don’t dig out your bagpipes just yet)



<div style="float: right; text-align: justified; width: 300px; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;">
<h6>Did you know?</h6>
<code style="display: none;"> 
</code><code style="display: none;"> 
</code><code style="display: none;"> 
</code><code style="display: none;"> 
</code><a href="https://you.23andme.com/reports/ancestry_composition/french_german/">French &amp; German</a> ancestry doesn’t only reflect ancestry from France or Germany. It also represents ancestry from one of the predominantly French or Germanic- speaking countries of Europe, including: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, and Switzerland.
</div>



Near the dawn of European written history, Greek scholars recorded the existence of the Keltoi, or <a href="https://www.ancient.eu/celt/">Celts</a> — advanced Iron Age tribes with roots near the headwaters of the Rhine and Danube rivers in the Alps.



In the 19th century, finely wrought gold, bronze, and iron artifacts from an early Celtic society were discovered in the Austrian Alps. These artifacts hint at wealth and a facility with metalworking that may have aided in the rapid expansion of the Celts across Europe.



By the <a href="https://www.ancient.eu/celt/">3rd century BCE</a>, there were Celtic-speaking peoples from the British Isles to the Black Sea.&nbsp;



So, you probably inherited some Celtic-like DNA even if your family never lived in the British Isles, but it’s old&#8230;really old.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="512" height="276" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/celtic-expansion.jpg" alt="Map of Celtic Origins in Europe" class="wp-image-28132" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/celtic-expansion.jpg 512w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/celtic-expansion-300x162.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" /></figure>







<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nbsp">&nbsp;</h6>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-europe-belonged-to-caesar">When Europe belonged to Caesar</h6>



After fending off frequent attacks from the Celtic tribes of Gaul (the heart of which is now France and Belgium), Julius Caesar and his Roman legions decided to remove this Celtic threat for good.&nbsp;



In 58 BCE, Roman troops led by Caesar began a series of devastating military campaigns to subjugate the Celtic tribes and secure the western bank of the Rhine River—a natural barrier against the restless Germanic tribes to the east. By 51 BCE, Gaul fell to Caesar.



Over the next 500 years, Latin became the lingua franca in Gaul, and Celtic languages found refuge along the Atlantic fringe of Europe.&nbsp;



Despite this massive cultural shift, genetic <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26387712">evidence</a> suggests the Romans from Rome didn’t leave much DNA behind in Gaul.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="237" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Roman-Empire-300x237.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-27965" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Roman-Empire-300x237.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Roman-Empire.jpg 512w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></figure>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-german-tribes-go-south">German tribes go South</h6>



Ever heard of “Francia”? The “Frankish Kingdom”? The “Franks”?&nbsp;



It’s fine if you haven’t, but you might have a genetic connection to them.



After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE, the Franks — a federation of Germanic tribes led by Clovis I — wrested control of Gaul from the Romans and Visigoths, marking the founding of Francia (the Frankish Kingdom) and the beginning of the Merovingian Dynasty.&nbsp;



Germanic-speaking precursors to the Franks and other Germanic tribes are thought to have originated in southern Scandinavia over 3,000 years ago, expanding further and further south into formerly Celtic and Roman territory. Recent <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26387712">studies</a> found evidence that the widespread migrations of Germanic peoples between the 4th and 6th centuries (called the “Migration Period”) had a more significant impact on northwestern and central Europe’s DNA than did the expansion of the Roman Empire. 



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-27967 size-full" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/FrenchGerman.png" alt="" width="512" height="216" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/FrenchGerman.png 512w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/FrenchGerman-300x127.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" /></h6>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-spirit-of-francia">The Spirit of Francia</h6>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-did-you-know-nbsp">Did you know?&nbsp;</h2>



23andMe’s “French &amp; German” ancestry falls roughly within the historical bounds of the Frankish Kingdom—Francia—as it existed in the early 9th century under Charlemagne.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="512" height="365" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Francia.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-27968" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Francia.jpg 512w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Francia-300x214.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" /></figure>







And, speaking of Charlemagne&#8230;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-you-could-be-descended-from-charlemagne-king-of-the-franks-nbsp">How you could be descended from Charlemagne, King of the Franks&nbsp;</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="512" height="216" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Charlemagne.png" alt="" class="wp-image-27969" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Charlemagne.png 512w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Charlemagne-300x127.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" /></figure>



<div style="float: right; text-align: justified; width: 300px; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;">
<h6>Fast Facts</h6>
• Approximately 1 million 23andMe customers have a majority French German Ancestry, while over 5 million customers possess at least 1 percent of this genetic heritage
• Today, Frenchand German Ancestry is widespread across central and western Europe, with particularly high concentrations near the Upper Rhine River, where France, Germany, and Switzerland converge.
• “French and German Ancestry is most prevalent among 23andMe customers from Switzerland, with an average of around 64 percent.
</div>



The authors of a recent <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23667324">study</a> estimated that every European who lived over 1,000 years ago — and left descendants — is very likely the ancestor of every ethnically European person alive today. And Charlemagne, King of the Franks, was particularly prolific, siring around 20 children.



Suppose you go far enough back in time. In that case, your pedigree is actually “collapsing” repeatedly, with many of your ancestors showing up on multiple branches of your family tree.



So, if you have European ancestry, you’re probably descended from Charlemagne.&nbsp;

What is French and German Ancestry?

by Samantha Ancona Esselmann, Ph.D., product scientist at 23andMe
When 23andMe scientists added a “<a href="https://you.23andme.com/reports/ancestry_composition/filipino">Filipino</a>” population to our Ancestry Composition report two years ago, customers were excited to see their Filipino ancestry reflected in their results for the first time. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-27890" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Did-you-Know-Map-300x211.png" alt="" width="300" height="211" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Did-you-Know-Map-300x211.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Did-you-Know-Map-768x541.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Did-you-Know-Map-1024x721.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Did-you-Know-Map-880x620.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Did-you-Know-Map-1180x831.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Did-you-Know-Map.png 1440w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Only, there was a twist! Many customers with no known Filipino ancestors were getting 5 percent, 20 percent, even 50 percent or more of this ancestry, and were understandably confused.
In response to customer feedback, our team performed more analyses and confirmed that we were missing a big part of the story — or maybe a better way of saying it was that we were missing a big part of the human migration story.

It was true that people with the highest proportion of “Filipino” in their ancestry estimates were actually of Filipino descent (over 90 percent on average), but this so-called “Filipino” ancestry reached an average of 75 percent in customers from Samoa, 71 percent in Tonga, 68 percent in Guam, 18 percent in Hawaii, and even 34 percent among customers from Madagascar, off the southeastern coast of Africa.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-27891" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Filipinio-Ancestry-Map.png" alt="" width="600" height="304" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Filipinio-Ancestry-Map.png 512w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Filipinio-Ancestry-Map-300x152.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" />
Clearly, this update was not just identifying Filipino ancestry, but a shared genetic heritage that was spread across nearly two-thirds of the circumference of the globe.
Our ancestry scientists realized right away that this shared ancestry was a reflection of human migration and the major expansion of seafaring people who spoke Austronesian languages that began around 5,000 years ago near Taiwan and spread across a vast part of the world.
We renamed the population to “Filipino &amp; Austronesian,” and the population description was updated to shed light on this shared linguistic, genetic, and cultural history.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-27892" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Austronesian-Expansion-Map.png" alt="" width="600" height="275" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Austronesian-Expansion-Map.png 512w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Austronesian-Expansion-Map-300x138.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" />
Here are our favorite stories about the “Austronesian Expansion,” from out-of-this-world navigation techniques to the gut bacteria that hitched a ride across the sea.
<h6>The Final Frontier</h6>
Around 5,000 years ago, Austronesians began a millennia-long expansion into the Pacific from Taiwan. They carried their knowledge of navigation and farming more than halfway around the world. They expanded through the Philippines and Indonesia all the way to Hawaii in the east and Madagascar in the west. During this <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21074440">expansion</a>, the Austronesians mixed with people they met along their way, including the indigenous Filipinos, Papuans (whose ancestors are thought to have arrived over 50,000 years ago), and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25137359">Southeast Asian</a> mainlanders.
Polynesian culture later emerged from Austronesian societies in Tonga and Samoa. It spread to the equatorial islands of the central Pacific — including French Polynesia — as recently as 1,000 years ago. Soon after, Polynesians settled the far-flung lands of Hawaii, Aotearoa (New Zealand), and Rapa Nui (Easter Island). This late, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21187404">rapid settlement</a> is thought to explain the remarkable similarities between the cultures and languages of the remote Pacific.
<h6><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-27889" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Out-of-Taiwan-Map.png" alt="" width="600" height="360" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Out-of-Taiwan-Map.png 512w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Out-of-Taiwan-Map-300x180.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></h6>
<h6>Way-finders</h6>
Long before the European Age of Exploration, Polynesian voyagers were crossing thousands of miles of uncharted water, settling one uninhabited island after another. Almost all knowledge of traditional Polynesian navigation is lost to time, but their techniques likely included:
<ol>
<li>“<a href="https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2009.52">Wave-piloting</a>,” which involves sensing the reflections and refractions of ocean swells off of distant islands.</li>
<li> Following birds or <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26857090">turtles</a> to land.</li>
<li> Spotting island-hugging bioluminescence.</li>
<li> Relying on memorized star maps as a guide — a skill highlighted in the 2016 animated film, Moana.</li>
</ol>
Only a handful of Pacific Islanders carry the traditional knowledge of wave piloting, but in 2006, researchers accompanied a Marshallese wave pilot on a journey between islands. To navigate the journey, the wave pilot relied only on his ability to read the ocean swells. In a test of the wave pilot’s skill, the researchers set the ship miles off-course while the navigator slept. But soon after he woke up, the wave pilot had the ship back on course, having correctly interpreted the pattern of waves reflecting off a nearby island.
<h6><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-27888" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Way-Finders.png" alt="" width="600" height="360" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Way-Finders.png 750w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Way-Finders-300x180.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></h6>
<h6></h6>
<h6>Language on the move</h6>
Before DNA shed light on the origins of Austronesians, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19164742">studies of their languages</a> pointed to an Austronesian origin closely related to the indigenous people of Taiwan. A team of scientists in New Zealand built a database of simple words from 400 Austronesian languages, and by focusing on cognates (similar words that mean the same thing), the team was able to build a family tree of Austronesian languages — with indigenous Taiwanese Formosan languages at the root. Branching from there were the languages spoken in the Philippines, Indonesia, New Guinea, Fiji, and finally, the closely related Polynesian languages, such as Samoan, Maori, Tahitian, and Hawaiian.
This language tree mirrors the genetic relationships of a number of other living things found throughout the Pacific — from <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19164753">gut bacteria</a> to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26499243">paper mulberry</a> plants (used to make barkcloth). Researchers believe these different organisms originated in Taiwan and hitched a ride across the Pacific with the Austronesian voyagers.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-27887" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Austronesian-Language-Tree.png" alt="" width="600" height="360" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Austronesian-Language-Tree.png 512w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Austronesian-Language-Tree-300x180.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" />
<h6>Melanesian Exchange</h6>
The ancestors of Melanesians — the indigenous inhabitants of Near Oceania — reached the islands of the western Pacific much earlier than the Austronesians. They arrived on these islands well over 50,000 years ago. Today this ancestry is common in populations from Papua New Guinea to Fiji, a distance spanning over 2,500 miles. But, the oldest human remains found on Vanuatu (an archipelago between New Guinea and Fiji) and on islands further East aren’t Melanesian. So when did the Melanesians reach Vanuatu and who was there before them?
A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29501328">recent study</a> of ancient human remains from Vanuatu showed that Austronesian settlers first reached Vanuatu around 3,000 years ago. Soon after, people with Melanesian ancestry began to arrive. Today, even though <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29487365">Vanuatuans speak primarily Austronesian languages</a>, they have mostly Melanesian ancestry.
It seems that early Melanesian voyagers halted their eastward migration in the Solomon Islands. They only ventured further into the Pacific after a new wave of voyagers — the Austronesians — passed through the region to settle Vanuatu, Tonga, and other remote Pacific islands. Today, almost all populations in the remote Pacific have more than 25 percent Melanesian ancestry. This is despite initial settlement by Austronesians.
<h6><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-27886" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Vanatu-Ancestry-Timeline.png" alt="" width="600" height="360" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Vanatu-Ancestry-Timeline.png 512w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Vanatu-Ancestry-Timeline-300x180.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></h6>
<h6>Indonesian Melting Pot</h6>
Indonesia is genetically diverse. This is not particularly surprising for a 3,000-mile-wide nation made up of more than 17,000 islands.
Austronesian ancestry is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25137359">found throughout Indonesia.</a> But where the inhabitants of the large western islands have strong genetic ties to the Southeast Asian mainland, the inhabitants of the islands east of Bali have very little.
The most likely scenario is that a western group of Austronesian voyagers mixed with people in southern Vietnam or the Malay Peninsula. This mixed population likely continued on to settle western Indonesia. Eastern Indonesia, on the other hand, is home to people with a combination of primarily<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22396590"> Austronesian and Melanesian</a> ancestry.
<h6><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-27885" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Migration-Heat-Map.png" alt="" width="600" height="360" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Migration-Heat-Map.png 512w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Migration-Heat-Map-300x180.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></h6>
<h6>The Malagasy Mystery</h6>
The Malagasy people of Madagascar speak an Austronesian language, but Madagascar is a world away from Southeast Asia. Malagasy people also have African ancestry. So who reached Madagascar first and where did they come from?
Although the African continent is much closer, there is cultural, genetic, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27247383">archaeological</a>, and linguistic evidence pointing to an initial settlement of Madagascar by Austronesian voyagers between 1,200 and 1,500 years ago. This was followed by the arrival of Bantu speakers from southern East Africa.
Linguistic and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15793703">genetic studies</a> showed that the Austronesian founders of Madagascar were most closely related to present-day groups living in central and eastern Indonesia (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27381999">1</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27188237">2</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25880430">3</a>). These studies also revealed that<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28716916"> African ancestry</a> is generally higher in Madagascar’s coastal lowlands. Austronesian ancestry reaches higher levels in the country’s central highlands.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-27884" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Madagascar-Migration.png" alt="" width="600" height="360" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Madagascar-Migration.png 512w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Madagascar-Migration-300x180.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" />Customers can see these stories on the <a href="https://you.23andme.com/reports/ancestry_composition/filipino/">Filipino &amp; Austronesian Ancestry Detail Report</a> page. Not yet a customer, find out more about 23andMe’s Ancestry + Traits service <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/">here</a>.

What is Austronesian ancestry?

Already among the most comprehensive DNA ancestry tests on the market, 23andMe is updating its ancestry offerings, adding new populations in South Asia, North Africa, and Western Asia, and an innovative new Family Tree.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-27439" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/35ffff6dd8c2445dd3115a1601aa3c079f4e7361-2-300x219.png" alt="" width="300" height="219" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/35ffff6dd8c2445dd3115a1601aa3c079f4e7361-2-300x219.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/35ffff6dd8c2445dd3115a1601aa3c079f4e7361-2-768x561.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/35ffff6dd8c2445dd3115a1601aa3c079f4e7361-2.png 822w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
This update expands the number of regions covered worldwide to more than 1,500 and introduces a new Family Tree builder that is automatically assembled based on a customer’s DNA. The update will also eventually include more than 30 trait reports for Ancestry Service customers at no additional cost.
“This is another step in our constant push to improve the granularity of ancestry results, as well as folding in even more engaging tools and content for our customers, said Hilary Vance, a 23andMe Ancestry Service product manager.”

<h2>Ancestry Composition Update</h2>
This is 23andMe’s second major update to its Ancestry Composition tool in less than a year, layering additional detail into the tremendous offerings already available to customers.
This new data will give a more granular breakdown of Ancestry Composition results for customers with Central Asian, South Asian, Western Asian, and North African ancestry, breaking those regions into more than a dozen new populations. To provide these more specific results and improve our research, we’ve undertaken a number of programs to diversify the 23andMe database. Data from one of our most recent initiatives, the <a href="https://www.23andme.com/global-genetics/">Global Genetics Project</a>, is now being used to update reference populations in the new regions.
<h2>More Regions</h2>
For example, what was previously the “Broadly South Asian” population will now be broken into seven more granular populations: Central Asian, Northern Indian &amp; Pakistani, Bengali &amp; Northeastern Indian, Gujarati Patidar, Southern Indian Subgroup, Southern Indian &amp; Sri Lankan, and Malayali Subgroup.
We are also expanding the number of populations in North Africa and Western Asia to eight: Peninsular Arab, Levantine, Egyptian, Coptic Egyptian, North African, Cypriot, Anatolian, and an Iranian, Caucasian &amp; Mesopotamian population. 

We previewed these changes in our beta testing program earlier this year, previously on the blog, but we’ve adjusted that beta version based on feedback from some of the customers who tested it.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-27436 size-full" title="Iranian, Caucasia and Mesopotamian Ancestry in Detail" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/8f0e765ac20106a2c2356056fd75850aa0b19708-e1568058586174.png" alt="" width="1409" height="1518" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/8f0e765ac20106a2c2356056fd75850aa0b19708-e1568058586174.png 1409w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/8f0e765ac20106a2c2356056fd75850aa0b19708-e1568058586174-278x300.png 278w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/8f0e765ac20106a2c2356056fd75850aa0b19708-e1568058586174-768x827.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/8f0e765ac20106a2c2356056fd75850aa0b19708-e1568058586174-950x1024.png 950w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/8f0e765ac20106a2c2356056fd75850aa0b19708-e1568058586174-817x880.png 817w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/8f0e765ac20106a2c2356056fd75850aa0b19708-e1568058586174-1095x1180.png 1095w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1409px) 100vw, 1409px" />
Now, customers may also see more granularity in their Ancestry Detail Reports, which look at where your more recent ancestors may have lived within the last 200 years — down to state, county, or even city. That information is displayed on interactive maps near the top of the Ancestry Detail reports.
For example, a customer with Indian ancestry could see evidence of recent ancestry from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, or Delhi in Northern India.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-27438" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/df9a63d7103585019dba744e23ce538a0ffc573e.png" alt="" width="2266" height="885" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/df9a63d7103585019dba744e23ce538a0ffc573e.png 2266w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/df9a63d7103585019dba744e23ce538a0ffc573e-300x117.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/df9a63d7103585019dba744e23ce538a0ffc573e-768x300.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/df9a63d7103585019dba744e23ce538a0ffc573e-1024x400.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/df9a63d7103585019dba744e23ce538a0ffc573e-880x344.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/df9a63d7103585019dba744e23ce538a0ffc573e-1180x461.png 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2266px) 100vw, 2266px" />Beyond this latest update, 23andMe has also been busy adding in more detail and features to its ancestry offerings. Over the last year or so, we’ve added recent ancestral locations, additional African and East Asian populations, and new interactive maps. In addition, we designed a new Ancestry Overview page to help customers more easily explore and access their reports.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-27553 size-large" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Replacement-No-Indian-953x1024.jpg" alt="" width="953" height="1024" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Replacement-No-Indian-953x1024.jpg 953w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Replacement-No-Indian-279x300.jpg 279w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Replacement-No-Indian-768x826.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Replacement-No-Indian-819x880.jpg 819w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Replacement-No-Indian-1098x1180.jpg 1098w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Replacement-No-Indian.jpg 1146w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 953px) 100vw, 953px" />
These pages offer customers an opportunity to not only connect with their own heritage, but also to explore other cultures around the world. 
<h2>Family Tree</h2>
Your family tree is written in your DNA, and 23andMe researchers have developed an algorithm to help you read it.
Instead of relying on customers to painstakingly enter names and dates—or track down records—just to get started, 23andMe&#8217;s new Family Tree does it for you using your genetic connections and DNA Relatives.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-27444" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/for_comms@1x.png" alt="" width="3525" height="2580" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/for_comms@1x.png 3525w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/for_comms@1x-300x220.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/for_comms@1x-768x562.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/for_comms@1x-1024x749.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/for_comms@1x-880x644.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/for_comms@1x-1180x864.png 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 3525px) 100vw, 3525px" />
With the click of a button, your genetic family tree is built automatically by an algorithm that predicts relationships based the DNA shared between you and your DNA Relatives. The size of your family tree depends on how many connections and DNA Relatives you have close relationships with in the 23andMe database. Participating in 23andMe’s DNA Relatives tool helps improve the experience. Customers will also be able to add names of relatives, or ancestors, to the family tree whether or not those individuals are on 23andMe. As the 23andMe database grows, customers may see their trees expand.
We created this new feature because we heard from customers who want to understand their recent family history, but don’t want the hassle of building a traditional family tree from scratch. The team is also working on additional functionality, such as the ability to edit your predicted relationships, which is expected to roll out in the coming weeks. 23andMe’s Family Tree offers a simple friction-free option, and a beautiful way to visualize how you connect with DNA Relatives.
<h2>Traits</h2>
DNA enhances our knowledge of our ancestry and family connections. It can also tell us more about the genetic underpinnings of our traits. Those include traits that affect our appearance, or our senses, or our behaviors.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-27455 size-full" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Traits.png" alt="" width="820" height="352" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Traits.png 820w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Traits-300x129.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Traits-768x330.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" />
With this latest update, 23andMe is now folding in more than 30 trait reports as part of our ancestry offerings. All Ancestry Service customers will have access to these trait reports in the coming months. These reports — including your genetic likelihood of disliking cilantro, your likelihood of having a dimple or preferring chocolate over vanilla ice cream — offer up a fun way to explore what else you can learn through your DNA.
Your traits are also intricately connected to family, passed down over the generations from your parents and grandparents and often shared with siblings and cousins. So, understanding your traits gives you another dimension to understanding your family connections.
It’s also a great introduction to how lifestyle, environment, and genetics work together to influence who we are.
<h2>Exploring Your Ancestry with 23andMe</h2>
<a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/">23andMe’s genetic ancestry</a> offerings open the door to exploring your genetics.
With innovative and scientifically robust features, more than 1,500 geographic regions to connect with, more than 30 trait reports, and an innovative genetic Family Tree, 23andMe offers more specificity, more interactivity, and more to explore. 
23andMe customers can go to their<a href="https://you.23andme.com/ancestry/"> Ancestry Overview</a> to start exploring. Not yet a customer? Find out more about 23andMe’s ancestry offerings <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/"> here</a>.

23andMe Adds More Diversity to Ancestry Features

Neanderthals may be an ancient species, but their genetics continue to surprise us to this day.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-23459" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Neanderthal-Image-247x300.jpg" alt="" width="247" height="300" />
For instance, new research published last month in <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/6/eaaw5873">Science Advances</a> shows that Neanderthal DNA has a longer, more consistent history than previously realized. By comparing the genetic material of two 120,000-year old Neanderthals with specimens from just 40,000 years ago, scientists identified surprising similarities that spanned the 80,000-year gap.
And that’s just one of the discoveries that have us endlessly fascinated!

Consider the following:<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-27256" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Neanderthal-Skull-300x177.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="177" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Neanderthal-Skull-300x177.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Neanderthal-Skull-768x454.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Neanderthal-Skull-1024x605.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Neanderthal-Skull-880x520.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Neanderthal-Skull-1180x697.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Neanderthal-Skull.jpg 1202w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
<h6>Our Common Ancestor</h6>
The story of modern humans and Neanderthals actually starts together since scientists believe we hail from a common ancestor, <a href="http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-heidelbergensis">Homo heidelbergensis</a>. This species inhabited much of Africa, Europe and probably Asia from at least 700,000 years ago until about 200,000 years ago. And it was only at that point that the European branch of Homo heidelbergensis had evolved into a genetically distinct species — Homo neanderthalensis, also known as Neanderthals.
<h6>Not Just a Caveman</h6>
While popular culture depicts Neanderthals as primitive creatures, they were probably a lot like us. For instance, the <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/ancestry/a-neanderthal-renaissance/">earliest European art</a> — Spanish cave paintings of animals and geometric shapes — dates from more than 20,000 years before the first modern humans arrived in Europe. And Neanderthal remains found throughout Europe suggest <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature21674">diets that evolved</a> to match their surroundings. In what is now modern Spain they ate from pine nuts and moss, but mostly ate reindeer and mushrooms in the region of Europe that is now Belgium.
<h6>A Neanderthal Human reUnion</h6>
Our stories come together again about 60,000 years ago. That’s when modern
<div id="attachment_27253" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-27253" class="size-medium wp-image-27253" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/manot_cave_view-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/manot_cave_view-300x199.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/manot_cave_view.jpg 527w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Manot Cave</div>
humans, having evolved in Africa, start to explore beyond the continent. And skeletal remains found in the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature14134">Manot Cave</a> in Israel and elsewhere suggest that modern humans and Neanderthals began to interbreed. Thus linking our genetics.
<h6>The Last Neanderthal</h6>
Neanderthals became extinct about 40,000 years ago. But the reason for their disappearance remains a mystery. Some researchers blame climate change or exposure to unfamiliar human diseases. Others point to a decline in fertility rates in Neanderthal communities. While there may be some truth to each of these hypotheses, the disappearance of Neanderthals may also have come down to pure numbers. If there were more humans than Neanderthals 40,000 years ago, the latter may have simply been absorbed into the former.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-27255" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Neanderthal-Migration-300x270.png" alt="" width="300" height="270" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Neanderthal-Migration-300x270.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Neanderthal-Migration-768x691.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Neanderthal-Migration.png 874w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
<h6>Neanderthals, Unearthed</h6>
The first Neanderthal remains were discovered in the Neander Valley in Germany in 1856. However, it wasn’t until 30 years later that scientists realized the skeleton wasn’t just a modern human with bone deformities but a whole new species. Since then, archeologists and others have discovered the bones of more than 400 Neanderthals from Wales to Israel to Uzbekistan.
<h6>Our Neanderthal Inheritance</h6>
As a result of interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans, over 40 percent of the Neanderthal genome lives on today in our gene pool. Non-African populations, in particular, carry that ancestry forward, sharing on average 1-2 percent of their DNA with Neanderthals. However, Sub-Saharan African populations have virtually no Neanderthal ancestry given that migratory paths of Neanderthals spanned from Europe to Western Asia.
<h6>Neanderthal Genes Today</h6>
While our Neanderthal heritage may be limited, it does have a handful of associations with our traits. For instance, Neanderthal genetic variants are associated with having straighter hair and with being less likely to sneeze after eating dark chocolate. And counter to the popular perception, Neanderthal variants are actually associated with having less<a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/traits/back-hair/"> back hair</a>! Perhaps most intriguingly, some scientists believe that interbreeding with Neanderthals <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/news/the-lasting-legacy-of-neanderthals/">even provided modern humans with evolutionarily advantageous traits</a> as they migrated into Europe.
<h6>How Neanderthal Are You?</h6>
If you’re just as intrigued by Neanderthals as we are, start by digging into your <a href="https://you.23andme.com/reports/neanderthal/">own shared ancestry</a>.
You can explore your Neanderthal Report <a href="https://you.23andme.com/reports/neanderthal/">here</a>. And if you’re not yet a customer, you can find out more <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/#toc-neanderthal">here</a>.

Why 23andMe Loves Neanderthals, And You Should Too

Your DNA offers much more than just insights into your origins, it may help you map out your next travel itinerary.
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23andMe and Airbnb are teaming up to offer customers a new way to connect with their heritage, by showcasing homes and <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/#ancestry-airbnb-travel">heritage travel experiences</a> based on a customer’s DNA.
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“We empower 23andMe customers to <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/">learn about themselves and their ancestry</a> through their unique genetic code,” said 23andMe CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki. “Working with Airbnb, a leader who is reimagining travel, provides an exciting opportunity for our customers to connect with their heritage through deeply personal cultural and travel experiences.”

<h6><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/AIRbnb-3.jpg" alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-27124 size-full" title="Heritage Travel" width="977" height="434" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/AIRbnb-3.jpg 977w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/AIRbnb-3-300x133.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/AIRbnb-3-768x341.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/AIRbnb-3-880x391.jpg 880w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 977px) 100vw, 977px" />Heritage Travel</h6>
23andMe’s pioneering Ancestry Composition allows customers to <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry">discover where their DNA is from</a> out of 1000+ regions worldwide, while Airbnb offers travelers a way to immerse themselves in the local communities and cultures through enriching experiences. The collaboration, which allows customers to more easily find homes and experiences inspired by their DNA, also offers users the ability to delve into locales even with which they have no genetic ties.
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The new integration also comes as more and more 23andMe customers use insights from their <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/">Ancestry Composition</a> to connect to their cultural roots and map out their own Heritage Travel. And this trend goes beyond 23andMe customers. Since 2014, Airbnb has seen a 500 percent increase in the number of guests traveling specifically to explore their heritage.
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In a recent national survey, almost two-thirds of respondents said they thought that heritage based travel offered more valuable experiences. The survey, commissioned by Airbnb, showed that within the last five years 51 percent of those surveyed said they were much more likely to travel to a country of their heritage. And when looking at Airbnb customers that interest jumped to 62 percent. In a recent survey conducted by 23andMe, 53 percent of buyers of genetic kits say they decided to take a test because they want to know information about their ancestry and the ancestry of their family. For those who hadn’t yet taken a test, 73 percent of survey respondents said knowing their heritage by exploring personal DNA made them more likely to take a test.
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“At Airbnb, we believe that authentic travel experiences help you connect with local cultures and create a sense of belonging anywhere in the world &#8212; and what better way to do that than traveling to your roots,” said Joe Gebbia, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer. “We’re proud to team up with 23andMe, the leader in helping people learn about their genes and ancestry, to make it easier for travelers to plan trips as unique as their DNA.”
<h6><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Airbnb-4.jpg" alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-27125 size-full" title="Heritage Travel" width="977" height="433" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Airbnb-4.jpg 977w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Airbnb-4-300x133.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Airbnb-4-768x340.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Airbnb-4-880x390.jpg 880w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 977px) 100vw, 977px" />Finding Inspiration</h6>
Through this collaboration, both 23andMe and Airbnb customers will be able to find inspiration for their next trip based on their heritage. On <a href="http://www.23andme.com/airbnb">23andMe</a>, once a customer receives their ancestry reports, they will be able to click through to their ancestral populations and find Airbnb Homes and Experiences in their native countries. For example, if a 23andMe customer has Southern Italian ancestry, they might be able to find <a href="https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/53243">a trullo in Puglia</a> as a home base to explore their heritage. Or someone with Mexican roots could find an <a href="https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/166854">experience in Mexico City</a> to learn ancient techniques of natural dye as part of their heritage vacation. Additionally, Airbnb now has <a href="https://www.airbnb.com/heritagetravel">dedicated pages</a> that correspond with 23andMe’s genetic populations, so that travelers coming to Airbnb’s site will be able to easily plan an end-to-end heritage trip. 
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According to 23andMe, some of the top places in which its customers have recent ancestry outside of the United States and Canada are the United Kingdom, Italy, Mexico, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Mainland China, Spain, Nigeria, India and Russia. Most 23andMe customers have at least five populations within their Ancestry Composition report, which presents many opportunities for one to explore heritage travel. 
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But connecting to your roots doesn’t require buying a plane ticket. Through <a href="https://www.airbnb.com/s/experiences">Airbnb Experiences</a>, you can connect with your ancestry by finding culturally specific activities in your hometown. In San Francisco, you could explore a <a href="https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/11056">Chinese calligraphy and tea tasting experience</a>, for example, to connect to your Chinese ancestry, or for those with connections to Japan you could learn to make traditional <a href="https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/61279?location=Bay%20Area%2C%20CA%2C%20United%20States&#038;currentTab=experience_tab&#038;federatedSearchId=eb974aba-4590-4d73-994a-75a77e4caa3e&#038;searchId=56ae8a06-6861-45a1-9007-b0fa46125e78&#038;sectionId=d3f07bb5-9537-4020-adce-06c951b034ac&#038;source=p2">Japanese ramen noodles</a>.
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Your DNA may offer more than just personal insight but a new way to map out your next journey, and a way to connect to people and cultures with whom you share ancestral origins. 
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Not yet a customer? Take the first step of your heritage trip by exploring <a href="https://www.23andme.com/airbnb">23andMe</a>, and visit Airbnb to find your next adventure.

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