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

23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

A Neanderthal Renaissance

Our customers often share their stories with us, which are both moving and motivating as we get to see the real impact 23andMe results can have in people’s lives.
One such story came in recently from Bev Glaspey of Lake Placid, Florida. Bev called it her ‘Family Christmas Story,’ because it was about the best kind of present, a gift of family.
This is their story.
<div id="attachment_25935" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25935" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_1636-e1513622666512-1024x609.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-25935 size-large" width="1024" height="609" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_1636-e1513622666512-1024x609.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_1636-e1513622666512-300x179.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_1636-e1513622666512-768x457.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_1636-e1513622666512-880x524.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_1636-e1513622666512-1180x702.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />At their first meeting in early December, from left to right, Florence&#8217;s half-brother Robin, her daughter Bev, and Florence.</div>
Bev’s mom, Florence Axelson was born in Chicago in 1922, and adopted when she was 1 year-old. For all of her 95 years she had almost no information about her birth family. The one exception was that back in the mid-1970s Florence applied for a passport and in the process she also had to get a copy of her birth certificate.
Getting that document also got Florence the first bit of information about her origins, her biological mother’s name. But when she tried to use that bit of information to get more details about her adoption she hit a brick wall. The records, she was told, had been destroyed in a fire.
There was little more that she had to go on, and over time life got in the way of searching. That didn’t mean it wasn’t something she thought about. In fact, all of her daughters, Bev and Bev’s two sisters, all wondered about their mother’s family. Even simple things, like what their family’s nationality was, remained unknown.
That is until Bev purchased a 23andMe kit for herself and her mom. Bev started exploring their DNA Relatives, finding cousins she never knew she had. The closest was a cousin named Cathy, who was the key to unlocking Florence’s story.
Cathy&#8217;s mom, who is still alive, is Florence’s half-sister.
“Mom found out she was the firstborn child to a young unwed mother,” Bev said.
She learned that she didn’t just have one half sibling, but her biological mother had 12 children in all, three of her half-sisters and one half-brother are still living.
Florence was able to talk to two of her half sisters, and then at 95 she was able to meet her half brother Robin and his wife Kim for the first time when he came in early December to visit her at her assisted living facility.
“I was able to find mom’s birth mother’s family,” Bev said. “This has been a wonderful gift to our family. “

One Family’s 23andMe Christmas Story

Thanksgiving is about family. A ritual that weaves together each generation, sharing old memories, making new ones, and seeing in all that, the common heritage we share in our DNA.
A few days ago 23andMe invited about half a dozen families to come together for a holiday dinner and a chance to meet a newfound father, mother, brother or sister for the first time. 
“It’s an emotional thing for me because I always thought I was as an only child,” said Barbara Saunders, just before meeting her sisters Ida Sturgill and Joyce Randall. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/LMW0704-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-25902" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/LMW0704-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/LMW0704-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/LMW0704-768x512.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/LMW0704-880x587.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/LMW0704-1180x787.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /> The meeting in New York just before Thanksgiving was the culmination of months of talking and email after the sisters had connected using 23andMe. Now they were getting a chance to see each other for the first time.
“I have chills,” said Ida, before Barbara walked in and all three sisters hugged.
Their embrace and disbelief at seeing and touching their newfound sister were much like what rippled through each family that came together.
Standing with her son, Travis, Ida Pollock looked both excited and nervous, as she waited to meet “my son that I gave up for adoption 55 years ago.”
Barrie stood with his son, Alex, pinching himself that this was all possible. As she entered the room and their faces flushed with emotion, he uttered, “Oh my goodness,” and embraced his mom, and then his brother. 
Ida said she felt thankful. Bodie felt overwhelmed.
“To have everything come full circle like this is just beyond being thankful,” he said.
As Natosha Brown walked in and saw her biological father, William, and her four sisters and a niece, her father said he had been searching for her since he’d learned of her birth. 
“I feel like we have 36 years to make up for,” Natosha said. Smiling and crying the sisters embraced. Her father captured the feeling of everyone who was there.
“It’s a blessing and its thanksgiving, so what better time,” he said.
See more about the families that met for the first time using 23andMe <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY7JOD4eQR0&#038;list=PLFvkfbvHpp1kU9nvguZrZ2Y7nYc8_swVA">here</a>. 
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<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zY7JOD4eQR0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

23andMe Family Stories for the Holiday

By Erica Bellman, Ancestry Content Writer
Let’s imagine that, in lieu of your Aunt Betsy from Seattle, an ancient Neanderthal woman is coming to your house for Thanksgiving this year. Hide the china and practice your grunting, right? Well, maybe not. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-25886" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/iStock-596802262-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/iStock-596802262-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/iStock-596802262-768x512.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/iStock-596802262-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/iStock-596802262-880x587.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/iStock-596802262-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/iStock-596802262.jpg 1254w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Though their table manners might be lacking, the popular &#8220;caveman&#8221; stereotype is more myth than fact. Neanderthals were actually quite similar to modern humans and exhibited complex social behaviors.
“As a culture, we tend to think of Neanderthals as these brutish, bent-over, hairy individuals—a bit more ape-like than us. But there’s no evidence that supports that idea,” said Professor Tim Weaver, an anthropologist at UC Davis whose research focuses on human evolution. “I think the stereotype that’s permeated our popular culture stems from old reconstructions of the Neanderthals dating back to the early 20th century. As far as we can tell from their anatomy, genetics, and behavioral and cultural remains, Neanderthals were very similar to modern humans.”
<div style="float: right; text-align: justified; width: 320px; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;">
<h6>More about your Neanderthal guest</h6>
<ul>
<li>She probably lives in a cave—so try to be sensitive if she’s not up on the latest in politics and pop culture.</li>
<li>Neanderthals were thought to be quite social. Your guest likely has a nuclear family and a close-knit community of hunter-gatherers, so be sure to ask about her kids, parents, and friends.</li>
<li>Her physical traits may include a heavier brow, an oval-shaped skull, and a larger-than-average nose (try not to stare).</li>
<li>She’s probably on the stockier and more muscular side, so make sure her seat comfortably accommodates her stature.</li>
<li>Based on evidence that Neanderthals possessed sophisticated <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150114101528.htm">toolmaking skills</a>, your guest may be able to handily carve up the turkey or roast using a stone or bone instrument.</li>
<li>She may or may not be able to communicate with you verbally<a href="#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a> , so be prepared to use another means of conversing.</li>
<li>Be sure to ask about her neighborhood. Neanderthals were intimately in touch with their surroundings, harvesting from the land to survive. She’ll be an expert on the best hikes and outdoor activities in her homeland.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h6>Cousin</h6>
Here’s what we know of our human cousins.
The Neanderthals were our closest extinct relatives who lived throughout Eurasia 200,000 to 40,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene Epoch. Over this time glaciers retreated and advanced, and once-abundant food sources became scarce.
Before anatomically modern humans (that’s us) left Africa, the ancestors of the Neanderthals ventured into Eurasia. Ultimately, the Neanderthals would inhabit<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a> a vast expanse of land stretching from Portugal to western Siberia and from northern Europe to Israel and Iraq. The Neanderthals intermixed with modern humans emerged from Africa about 60,000 years ago, giving us both <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/new-neanderthal-research/">evolutionary advantages</a> (like the functioning of our immune systems<a href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a>) and some <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/news/the-neanderthal-within/">less-favorable variants</a>, such as susceptibility to certain allergies, depression, and blood clots.
<h6>Some History</h6>
For millennia Neanderthals thrived, but eventually they went extinct, and scientists aren’t entirely sure why. Some theorize that migration and random species drift<a href="#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a> (a mechanism of evolution that produces random, rather than selection-driven, genetic changes in a population) caused the disappearance of the Neanderthals, while others blame dietary insufficiencies<a href="#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a> caused by changing ecological and climatic conditions. Perhaps the most popular explanation for the disappearance was competition with modern humans for resources.
But one thing is for certain: the Neanderthals did intermix with modern humans before their demise, so segments of their DNA live on in many of us today. Unless you’re from Sub-Saharan Africa, your DNA reflects somewhere between one percent and four percent Neanderthal ancestry.
<h6>Time to Eat</h6>
Now, we’ll get to the main course of this post: what to serve your guest for Thanksgiving dinner. Contrary to popular belief, Neanderthals were not all die-hard carnivores, so it’s best to avoid offending your guest with a plethora of meat dishes. Rather, our ancient relatives adapted their diets to match the resources that were readily available and most abundant in nutrients, so be sure to ask where exactly she is from. Your Neanderthal guest may also be particular about what she will and won’t eat. “From what we know from the archaeological record and the bones found at Neanderthal sites, they seemed to focus more on large mammals rather than small game like rabbits. The breadth of their diets seems to have been narrower than those of modern humans,” said Professor Weaver.
Two Neanderthal individuals found in a cave in El Sidrón, Spain appeared to have consumed little to no meat. Traces of pine nuts, moss, tree barks, and mushrooms were found in this pair’s dental plaques, suggesting a mostly vegetarian diet (err, except for the evidence of cannibalism found in their cave&#8230;but we digress). After studying the dental plaques of another Neanderthal found in Spy, Belgium, scientists concluded<a href="#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a> that the individual ate mostly meat, as well as some mushrooms. Woolly rhino or wild sheep ragout, anyone? The bones of mammoths, reindeer, and horses were also found in the Spy cave. Other research<a href="#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7">[7]</a> reports that Neanderthals living on the Gibraltar coast may have eaten various mollusks, seals, and even dolphins. In summary, Neanderthals ate what was most readily available and nutrient-dense in their immediate surroundings; they adapted their diets<a href="#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8">[8]</a> to meet the resources provided by their environments.
Enjoy connecting with your Neanderthal guest and learning about some of the traits you might have in common. By the end of the meal, we predict you and your other relatives will be competing to see who had the good fortune of acquiring the most Neanderthal DNA.
<h5 style="text-align: center;">Curated Menu</h5>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/sauteed_greens_with_pine_nuts_and_raisins/">Sauteéd Greens with Pine Nuts and Raisins</a>. Opt for wild edible greens like dandelion and chicories. High in fatty acids and calorically rich, pine nuts also contain lutein, a carotenoid that may help prevent eye disease.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/leek-and-wild-mushroom-stuffing-107292">Wild Mushroom and Leek Stuffing</a>. If your guest is from Spain, she’s likely fond of a variety of mushrooms. High in dietary fiber, B vitamins, and minerals, they’re fundamental to her diet. Bonus points if you forage for them yourself.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/crown-roast-of-lamb-recipe-2082917">A Crown Roast of Lamb</a>. Rather than turkey, opt for this earthy, gamey alternative. Your guest will appreciate the simple preparation and ample protein. If lamb isn’t available, your guest may also enjoy venison or reindeer.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/baked-clams-bacon-and-garlic">Baked Clams with Bacon and Garlic</a>. Your guest may hail from a coastal region. She’d appreciate these flavorful bivalves, oven-roasted with savory bacon and spices.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.forestandfauna.com/foraging-wild-greens-miners-lettuce-salad/">Miner’s Lettuce Salad.</a> Since it’s still unclear whether all Neanderthals were as adept at controlling fire as their human relatives<a href="#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9">[9]</a>, we’re also including a raw option. This version has fresh Miner’s lettuce, a wild edible that tastes like a cross between watercress and spinach.</li>
<li><a href="https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015198-fresh-and-wild-mushroom-stew">Wild Mushroom Stew.</a> End your meal with a cup of wild mushroom stew to keep your guest warm for her journey home.</li>
</ul>
<div>Erica Bellman is a Ancestry Content Writer at 23andMe. She writes content for 23andMe&#8217;s Ancestry product, surfacing stories that enable customers to better understand their unique results. As a journalist, Erica has interviewed performance artists, indie rock bands, and backcountry skiers. Her favorite author is Haruki Murakami. </div>
<hr />
<a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> Fabre V et al. (2009). &#8220;Genetic evidence of geographical groups among Neanderthals.&#8221; PLoS One. 4(4):e5151. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2664900/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2664900/</a>
<a href="#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2">[2]</a> Callaway E. (2011). &#8220;Ancient DNA reveals secrets of human history.&#8221; Nature. 476(7359):136-7. <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/2011/110809/full/476136a.html">https://www.nature.com/news/2011/110809/full/476136a.html</a>
<a href="#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3">[3]</a> Kolodny O et al. (2017). &#8220;A parsimonious neutral model suggests Neanderthal replacement was determined by migration and random species drift.&#8221; Nat Commun. 8(1):1040. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-01043-z">https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-01043-z</a>
<a href="#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4">[4]</a> El Zaatari S et al. (2016). &#8220;Neandertal versus Modern Human Dietary Responses to Climatic Fluctuations.&#8221; PLoS One. 11(4):e0153277. <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0153277">http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0153277</a>
<a href="#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5">[5]</a> D&#8217;Anastasio R et al. (2013). &#8220;Micro-biomechanics of the Kebara 2 hyoid and its implications for speech in Neanderthals.&#8221; PLoS One. 8(12):e82261. <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0082261">http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0082261</a>
<a href="#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6">[6]</a> Weyrich LS et al. (2017). &#8220;Neanderthal behaviour, diet, and disease inferred from ancient DNA in dental calculus.&#8221; Nature. 544(7650):357-361. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature21674">https://www.nature.com/articles/nature21674</a>
<a href="#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7">[7]</a> Stringer CB et al. (2008). &#8220;Neanderthal exploitation of marine mammals in Gibraltar.&#8221; Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 105(38):14319-24. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2567146/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2567146/</a>
<a href="#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8">[8]</a> El Zaatari S et al. (2016). &#8220;Neandertal versus Modern Human Dietary Responses to Climatic Fluctuations.&#8221; PLoS One. 11(4):e0153277. <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0153277">http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0153277</a>
<a href="#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9">[9]</a> Gowlett JA. (2016). &#8220;The discovery of fire by humans: a long and convoluted process.&#8221; Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 371(1696). <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4874402">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4874402</a>

Erica Bellman

Six Things to Serve Your Neanderthal Guest for Thanksgiving

A remarkable aspect of 23andMe&#8217;s Ancestry Composition feature is that the innovative machine learning technology under the hood gets better and more precise as we add new customers and refine our technology.
We&#8217;ve been revving that machine up lately, so this week some customers who have tested on our latest genotyping chip will start to see more precise detail in their<a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/"> Ancestry Composition</a> results.
What’s happening here reflects both changes to our genotyping chip and our ever-increasing numbers of new customers. These new customers enabled us to “retrain” the machine learning algorithm and improve the accuracy and specificity of ancestry assignments we report. So now, for example, a customer with a percentage of their Ancestry Composition previously designated as “Broadly European,” may now see some of this ancestry assigned as &#8220;French or German.&#8221;
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/24936289936_507c63c5e3_o-1024x647.png" alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-25829" width="1024" height="647" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/24936289936_507c63c5e3_o-1024x647.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/24936289936_507c63c5e3_o-300x190.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/24936289936_507c63c5e3_o-768x485.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/24936289936_507c63c5e3_o-880x556.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/24936289936_507c63c5e3_o-1180x746.png 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
These changes improve an already fantastic feature by boosting precision and recall for many ancestral populations. Customers interested in their <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-and-you/23andme-how-to/meet-your-chromosome-painting/">Chromosome Paintings</a> may also notice improvements due to our use of an updated &#8220;phasing&#8221; algorithm. 
These changes will also help set the table for 23andMe to begin to add additional reference populations in the coming months. These, in turn, will also improve results for customers. 
Currently, we use 24 reference populations from around the world to report 31 population labels, including higher-order groupings. Adding new populations will allow 23andMe to offer more details to customers. That was in part what motivated our researchers to launch the <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/the-african-genetics-project/">African Genetics Project</a> last year. By adding new African reference populations, we will be able to return more precise results to customers with African ancestry. We plan to do similar work with other understudied populations around the world.
Changes to our genotyping chip will also help with this work. 23andMe periodically updates the chip we use for genotyping. We do this to take advantage of improvements in technology, to update the kind of information we can offer customers, and to offer flexibility for future research. This newest chip — our fifth version, hence the name v5 — is an Illumina<a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&#038;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.illumina.com%2Fglobalscreeningarray&#038;esheet=51363623&#038;newsitemid=20160616005665&#038;lan=en-US&#038;anchor=Infinium%C2%AE+Global+Screening+Array&#038;index=2&#038;md5=29b7081699c1fde5cc84559e32a3ca42"> Infinium® Global Screening Array</a> supplemented with ~50,000 SNPs of custom content. This array was specifically designed to better capture global genetic diversity and to help standardize the platform for genetic research.
Ancestry Composition is a great tool that promises to keep getting better, so if you haven’t had a look lately <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/">check it out</a>. You can read more about the science behind all this by looking at this white paper on<a href="https://www.23andme.com/ancestry-composition-guide/"> Ancestry Composition</a>.

23andMe revs up Ancestry Composition feature

By Erica Bellman
If you’re familiar with 23andMe’s products, you know there are currently two options for how customers can receive results: <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/">Ancestry only</a>, or
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-25799 size-medium" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Map-of-India-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Map-of-India-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Map-of-India-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Map-of-India-768x513.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Map-of-India-880x587.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Map-of-India-1180x788.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
both <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-health-ancestry/">Ancestry and Health</a>. On the surface, these two categories might seem unrelated, but when it comes to the science, ancestry and health are intrinsically linked, and knowledge of one may provide vital information about the other.
<h6>Heritable Disorders</h6>
A <a href="https://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v49/n9/full/ng.3953.html?foxtrotcallback=true">recent article</a> in Nature illuminates this connection. The piece looks at how recent studies of certain South Asian populations’ ancestral origins have spurred important insights about recessive heritable disorders.
To understand why the South Asian studies could be so fruitful for genetic health research, it’s crucial to understand the so-called “founder effect.” In essence, the founder effect is the loss of genetic variation that occurs when a new population emerges from a very small number of individuals (or founders) — who are isolated by geography or culture, for example — from a larger population.
Throughout South Asia’s “mosaic” of populations, a prominent demographic pattern has been for individuals to marry within their communities. One of the results of this pattern is the higher-than-typical frequency of certain of genetic variants that can cause recessive disorders, which in turn makes those variants easier to detect, screen for, and ultimately prevent.

<h6>Founder Populations</h6>
It’s important to note that this certainly isn’t the first time scientists have identified health implications for a population descended from founders. For example, individuals of <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/ashkenazi-ancestry-and-health">Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry</a> were vital in improving our understanding of Tay-Sachs disease. The Finnish people have been studied due to their genetic uniformity and the occurrence of hereditary diseases such as congenital <a href="https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/1500/congenital-nephrotic-syndrome-finnish-type">nephrosis</a>, a kidney disease.
By continuing to study recessive disorders in founder populations, geneticists will be able to identify variants in the same deleterious gene in other populations. This helps to better understand the biology of the conditions, and develop potential treatments.
“If we know people of a certain ancestry have the same disease, we’re able to locate the regions of their genome where their ancestral background may overlap,” said Kimberly McManus, a population geneticist on 23andMe’s Research and Development team. “These sites can be informative, because they’re potential segments that may be causing or influencing the disease.”
<h6>More Data</h6>
Right now, one of the biggest hurdles to advancement in ancestry-inspired health research is the relative lack of genetic samples obtained from founder populations. Populations in South Asia, Africa and East Asia hold some of the richest genetic diversity in the world. However, they’ve historically been the least studied.
“Until a few years ago, more than 90% of genetic studies were based on individuals of European descent,&#8221; Kimberly said. &#8220;(This was) primarily due to the lack of available data from diverse populations.”
But some research-driven organizations are implementing programs that could significantly increase the diversity of the data available for study.
<h6>African Genetics</h6>
For 23andMe’s <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/the-african-genetics-project/">African Genetics Project,</a> the company distributed free kits to people of underrepresented populations in Sub-Saharan Africa. The aim is to better serve those communities and customers who might have ancestral ties there.
“The benefits of increasing our sample sizes from these populations will be twofold,” Kimberly said. “It will allow people from these populations to better understand their ancestry. And it will allow researchers to investigate genetic health risks in these populations, as the genetics may be slightly different than in other populations.”
These new horizons for research and increased diversity of genetic samples. They present exciting possibilities for health breakthroughs. However, genetic similarities between populations around the world far outweigh the differences.
“Ancestry-inspired health is very important,&#8221; Kimberly said. &#8220;But it’s also important to remember that the vast, vast majority of variants are shared between all populations.  Sequencing genomes of understudied groups can just be useful in better understanding some of the health traits shared among these populations.”

Ancestry-inspired genetic health and understudied populations

Maybe the gap between the Greatest Generation and Generation Z, or the chasm between Baby Boomers and Gen X, isn’t a divide at all; perhaps we just haven’t had the right tools to see the thread that connects us, a thread woven into our very DNA.
October is Family History Month, a time to reflect on where we come from and all those who came before us. 23andMe offers people a different way to learn about themselves and their families, giving families an opportunity to see the DNA they share across generations.
23andMe’s newest tool, GrandTree, allows families to connect deeper across three generations, letting them see the thread that ties grandchildren to their grandparents. 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GrandTree-1024x705.jpg" alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-25777" width="1024" height="705" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GrandTree-1024x705.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GrandTree-300x207.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GrandTree-768x529.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GrandTree-880x606.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GrandTree-1180x812.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GrandTree.jpg 1188w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />If a grandchild, and a grandparent are 23andMe customers, and they are sharing their 23andMe results with each other, GrandTree allows them to see more than just the percentage of DNA that they share. It also allows customers the chance to trace a trait through generations. Showing if a grandchild got their red hair largely  from one grandparent or another, for instance. If a grandparent or grandchild hasn’t yet tested, 23andMe makes it easy for customers to invite them to sign up.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GrandTree-2-1024x723.jpg" alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-25776" width="1024" height="723" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GrandTree-2-1024x723.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GrandTree-2-300x212.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GrandTree-2-768x542.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GrandTree-2-880x621.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GrandTree-2.jpg 1082w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Looking at DNA offers a unique way to connect across generational lines, and the GrandTree tool is just one of many features  23andMe has to do that. Customers can also use 23andMe’s Share and Compare feature to see what traits and ancestry they share with a brother or sister, or their parents, or children. You can even see the overlapping segments on each chromosome that you share. You can go deeper by using the DNA Relatives tool to do something similar but also compare yourself with a parent, grandparent, child, (or anyone you share with), and see detailed segment data.
Beyond that 23andMe’s Ancestry Composition feature, which highlights the mix of places where your ancestors came from, includes a feature that allows you to compare your DNA to your parents’ — if they are using 23andMe — and see a “split view” of what ancestry came from your mother and what came from your father.
When families use 23andMe together, they connect in a different way, tracing the thread of traits, and ancestry, that links child to parent and grandparent, bridging the gap between each generation.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GrandTree3-1024x751.jpg" alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-25775" width="1024" height="751" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GrandTree3-1024x751.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GrandTree3-300x220.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GrandTree3-768x563.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GrandTree3-880x645.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/GrandTree3.jpg 1042w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />

Connecting Generations with 23andMe’s GrandTree

Over the last year or so, we’ve been working hard to update some of our most popular tools here at 23andMe, and sometimes in the<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/haplogroup-300x300.png" alt="" class="alignright wp-image-25344 size-medium" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/haplogroup-300x300.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/haplogroup-150x150.png 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/haplogroup-271x271.png 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/haplogroup-372x372.png 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/haplogroup-574x574.png 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/haplogroup.png 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> flurry of all that activity, we make a mistake.
This week one of our customers alerted us to outdated information provided within one of our paternal haplogroup summaries. Although the erroneous reference occurred in just one section of one report, the error has big implications for people with Ashkenazi ancestry.
The reference, which we missed in the editing process, was to a discredited theory about the origins of the Ashkenazi Jewish population. 23andMe corrected the error within 24 hours of being alerted about it. Our mentioning the so-called “Khazar theory” was an unfortunate mistake for which we apologize, and 23andMe does not endorse the theory. In fact, one of our scientists was co-author on one of the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms3928">papers</a> that discredits it.   
 
 
We regularly field questions, concerns, and suggestions from customers. These communications help us make the 23andMe experience the best it can be. Don&#8217;t hesitate to contact our Customer Care if you have questions or concerns of your own.

Haplogroup Report Edit

Papa was a rolling stone. (His Y chromosome was anyway.)
The story of your paternal-line ancestry is the story of an extraordinary migration. Over 300,000 years and 10,000 generations, Dad’s male-line descendants have rolled over land and sea, hunted mammoths, created pottery, forged iron and survived an Ice Age. And today, the genetic voyage leads to the person reading this blog — you!
Through 23andMe&#8217;s new and improved <a href="https://you.23andme.com/reports/paternal_haplogroup/">Paternal Haplogroup report</a>, customers* can trace the footsteps of their paternal-line ancestors over thousands of generations of human history. And that should be music to the ears of anybody interested in their family’s unique history. 
<h6>What is a Paternal Haplogroup?</h6>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/male_line-300x214.png" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-25625" width="300" height="214" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/male_line-300x214.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/male_line-768x548.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/male_line-1024x731.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/male_line-880x628.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/male_line-1180x842.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/male_line.png 1450w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />The most obvious artifact of your paternal ancestry may be your surname. But surnames are actually a pretty recent invention, and names change over time as records are rewritten or lost. For some cultures, even the concept of a paternal surname is foreign. 
Genetics offers another way to discover your paternal-line history that doesn&#8217;t depend on a paper trail. And it can tell a story that reaches back hundreds of thousands of years.
Each generation, fathers pass down copies of their Y chromosomes to their sons. So if you are a genetic male, you inherited your Y chromosome — and all the genetic markers it contains — from the unbroken line of men in your paternal lineage.
Alone, this doesn&#8217;t reveal that much about your heritage. But by comparing the genetic markers on Y chromosomes from men all over the world, researchers have built a genealogical tree of all paternal lineages. This tree reaches back more than 275,000 years to just one man who lived in East Africa: the most recent paternal-line common ancestor of all humans living today. 
Your paternal-line &#8220;haplogroup&#8221; describes how your lineage is related to all the others. Each haplogroup is a family of lines that descend from a common ancestor. In the Paternal Haplogroup tree, this is represented by a branch or a cluster of branches. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/paternal_hap_tree-300x176.png" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-25627" width="300" height="176" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/paternal_hap_tree-300x176.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/paternal_hap_tree-768x450.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/paternal_hap_tree-1024x600.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/paternal_hap_tree-880x516.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/paternal_hap_tree-1180x692.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/paternal_hap_tree.png 1790w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
To trace your ancient paternal-line history, we can follow the path from the root of the tree out to your particular branch. And, just as you and a first cousin are connected through your grandparents, you and many others around the world are connected through the common ancestor of your haplogroup. 
If your lineage carries haplogroup R-M405, for example, you and King Henry IV of France can trace your paternal lines back to the father of haplogroup R-M405. 
<h6>Tracing the Migrations of Your Paternal-Line Ancestors</h6>
<div id="attachment_25626" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25626" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/hap_C_migrations-1024x432.png" alt="" class="wp-image-25626 size-large" width="1024" height="432" />Major migration routes of Haplogroup C-M130</div>
Researchers can discover the geographic origins and migrations of some of our paternal-line ancestors by comparing where different haplogroups are found around the world and how they are related to each other. All of our stories begin at the root of the haplogroup tree in eastern Africa. For over 200,000 years, our ancestors hunted ancient gazelle across the seas of grass and split into diverse groups within Africa. Then, sometime around sixty thousand years ago, one small group crossed the Red Sea and forged new paths across all of Eurasia.
In the new Paternal Haplogroup report, customers follow the major migration routes of their paternal lineage, branch by branch, over tens of thousands of years.
<h6>Ancient DNA Sheds New Light on Old Stories&#8230;<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/yamnaya_paternal-263x300.jpg" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-25629" width="263" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/yamnaya_paternal-263x300.jpg 263w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/yamnaya_paternal.jpg 350w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 263px) 100vw, 263px" /></h6>
With major improvements in technology, geneticists are unraveling more of our ancestral mysteries. One prime example is the origin and spread of haplogroup R — the dominant paternal haplogroup in western Eurasia. In the early 2000s, the available evidence suggested that men bearing haplogroup R reached their prominence after surviving the last great peak of the Ice Age nearly 20,000 years ago.
But just in the last several years, researchers using  DNA extracted from the remains of men who lived in Central Asia and Europe thousands of years ago have connected the recent spread of haplogroup R to <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/02/thousands-horsemen-may-have-swept-bronze-age-europe-transforming-local-population">men who swept down from the steppes</a> only 5,000 years ago. 
These migrations began with an early Bronze-Age culture called the Yamnaya. They were herders, and needed to travel fast to keep their livestock fed. Atop the world&#8217;s first domesticated horses and armed with some of the earliest bronze tools and weapons, Yamnaya men spilled east into Central Asia and west into the Balkans. Their descendants eventually stretched from the British Isles to India.
In addition to their technology and paternal lines, the Yamnaya also brought their language. This language was the ancestor of the Indo-European language family, a group that includes 445 living languages spoken historically from the western tip of Europe to central and southern Asia.
<h6>&#8230;And New Stories Are Written</h6>
With the technology to <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/10/game-changing-study-suggests-first-polynesians-voyaged-all-way-east-asia">extract ancient DNA</a> and <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/09/almost-all-living-people-outside-africa-trace-back-single-migration-more-50000-years">sequence the entire human genome</a>, new doors are opening in the study of human population history and the pace of new discoveries about our ancestors is accelerating.
What&#8217;s more, researchers from all fields have a new set of tools: people like you. From professional genealogists to beginner hobbyists, individuals are researching their family histories and sharing data like never before.
As geneticists, genealogists, and citizen scientists work together to uncover new evidence and gain new insights, new details will be added to all of our ancestral stories. 
* Because genetic females do not have Y chromosomes, 23andMe is unable to directly determine the haplogroup of their paternal line. Female customers can, however, link accounts with a brother or father to receive their paternal haplogroup results.

Ancestry Service — Page 14