What does getting this marketing authorization mean for existing and <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-6586" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog-300x300.jpg" alt="23andMe_Logo_blog" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog.jpg 350w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />future customers?

As the first direct to consumer genetic test to complete the regulatory pathway, 23andMe’s Bloom Syndrome Carrier Status test was given marketing authorization through the de novo pathway. This is the first direct-to-consumer genetic test granted marketing authority by the agency.
Because this process was successful, we may be able to submit some future submissions through the standard 510(k) pathway.
In addition to the authorization to market the Bloom Syndrome Carrier Status test report, the FDA is also classifying autosomal recessive carrier screening tests as class II with the intention to exempt such carrier tests from FDA premarket review.
According to the FDA’s press release, the “agency plans to issue a notice that announces the intent to exempt these tests and that provides a 30-day period for public comment. This action creates the least burdensome regulatory path for<a href="http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/illustrations/autorecessive"> autosomal recessive</a> carrier screening tests with similar uses to enter the market.”


This is the first step in our commitment to returning health information to our customers.   We will continue to keep our community informed of our progress, but will not return results on individually cleared reports until we complete the regulatory process on additional health reports and have a more comprehensive product offering.

<h6>
What is Bloom syndrome?</h6>

Bloom syndrome is a rare disorder that is more common in people of Central and Eastern European, or Ashkenazi, Jewish background. One in 107 people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent are carriers for <a href="https://www.nature.com/gim/journal/v10/n6/full/gim200872a.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloom syndrome</a>. The disorder is characterized by among other things short stature, sun-sensitive skin changes and an increased risk of cancer. According to the National Institute of Health, this condition is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern, which means both copies of the gene in each cell have mutations.

<h6>
Does this mean 23andMe will again provide health reports to new customers in the US?</h6>

This is the first step in our commitment to returning health information to our customers.   We will continue to keep our community informed of our progress, but will not return health results on individually cleared reports until we have a more comprehensive product offering.

<h6>
Can I have access to my report for Bloom syndrome?</h6>

23andMe will not be making any health reports, including the report for Bloom syndrome Carrier Status test available to customers until we have a more comprehensive health product offering.

<h6>
What does it mean to be granted a de novo authorization?</h6>

23andMe submitted a 510(k) application for its direct-to-consumer Bloom syndrome Carrier Status Test.  A 510(k) is a premarketing submission made to FDA to demonstrate that the device to be marketed is substantially equivalent to a legally marketed device. The submission was converted to a de novo request.
The Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 (FDAMA) added the de novo classification option, which provides an alternate pathway to classify novel devices of low to moderate risk. The de novo process is used by the FDA to grant marketing authorization for a device when there is no substantially equivalent product with which to compare it.
De novo marketing authorization means that 23andMe met the FDA’s premarket requirements to demonstrate the following: accuracy, validity and user comprehension.
Devices that are classified through the de novo process may be marketed and used as predicates for future 510(k) submissions.

<h6>
What happened to the original 510(k) submission?</h6>

The original 510(k) submission was converted to a de novo request.  23andMe submitted a 510(k) application for its direct-to-consumer Bloom syndrome Carrier Status Test.  A 510(k) is a premarketing submission made to FDA to demonstrate that the device to be marketed is substantially equivalent to a legally marketed device. The Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 (FDAMA) added the de novo classification option, which provides an alternate pathway to classify novel devices. The de novo process is used by the FDA to grant marketing authorization for a device when there is no substantially equivalent product with which to compare it.

<h6>
When will you be getting clearance for the other health reports?</h6>

This submission was for one health report, and is part of the FDA’s regulatory review of our health product.   Although the submission focuses on a single rare but serious inherited condition we report to customers, Bloom syndrome, it is an important step in our work with the FDA in the coming months.
We believe there is a regulatory path forward for direct-to-consumer genetic testing. Working in close collaboration with the FDA, we believe we have begun to establish the parameters for future submissions.
More importantly, for our customers, it marks a baseline on the accuracy and validity of the Bloom syndrome Carrier Test information we will report back to them. The submission includes robust validation data covering major components of our product such as the genotyping chip, software and saliva kit.

<h6>
What will the future submissions be based upon?</h6>

Future submissions will be based on the learnings we gained during the Bloom syndrome review process. Because this process was successful, we may be allowed to provide some reports without premarket review and to submit some future submissions through the standard 510(k) pathway.

<h6>
What is the timing for those submissions?</h6>

We don’t have any specific timing for additional report submissions.

23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

What The FDA Decision Means For 23andMe Customers

On Thursday and Friday, 23andMe will be participating in two online events hosted by the <a href="https://www.michaeljfox.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Michael J. Fox Foundation</a> focused on Parkinson’s disease and some of the latest research into its genetic underpinning.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-12404" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/pd_fist_300px.png" alt="Parkinson's disease fight arm" width="289" height="300" />
On Thursday February 19th, at 12 pm EST, the Michael J. Fox Foundation will host a webinar titled <a href="https://www.michaeljfox.org/page.html?hot-topics-webinar-series" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">&#8220;How Much of Parkinson&#8217;s Disease Is Genetic?&#8221;</a>
Veteran Bay Area public television journalist <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/01/29/DI2009012902360.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dave Iverson</a>, who is also a Parkinson’s patient, will moderate the discussion. You can log in and listen live as well as submit your own questions. If you can’t watch the live event, which will include discussion on the latest science from leading researchers, the foundation plans to record it so it can be viewed at a later time.
On Friday February 20th, the foundation will host a Twitter chat – beginning at 12 pm EST – that is also focused on the genetics behind Parkinson’s disease. Among the topics discussed, the chat will explore the different genes identified to contribute to Parkinson’s disease, how different genetic variants influence the development of the condition and highlight some of the new research on the disease.
You can follow the Twitter chat or comment by using <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-22220" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/fox-pd-chat-636-300x160.jpg" alt="fox pd chat 636" width="300" height="160" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/fox-pd-chat-636-300x160.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/fox-pd-chat-636.jpg 636w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
23andMe’s <a href="https://www.23andme.com/pd/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Parkinson’s Research Community</a> is now the largest cohort of genotyped Parkinson’s patients in the world. For several years now, 23andMe has had a close working relationship with the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and 23andMe co-founder Anne Wojcicki has been a longtime supporter of the foundation. Since it formed more than a decade ago, the Michael J. Fox Foundation has funded more than $450 million to speed a cure for Parkinson’s disease.

Let’s Talk About Parkinson’s

A skull found in a previously undisturbed cave in Israel may hold important new evidence about human migration and intermixing with Neanderthals.
The paper <a href="https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature14134.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> published last month</a> by scientists from Tel Aviv University, offers new evidence about the timing of human migration out of Africa, and when those modern humans mixed with Neanderthals. not 
<div id="attachment_22187" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-22187" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/skull580-300x171.jpg" alt="Photo: Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority" class="size-medium wp-image-22187" width="300" height="171" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/skull580-300x171.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/skull580-574x330.jpg 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/skull580.jpg 580w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Photo: Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority</div>
&nbsp;

<h6>A New Timeline?</h6>
The first anatomically modern humans emerged in Africa about 200,000 years ago. This latest finding appears to support several theories about the timing of the human migration <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/2011/110809/full/476136a/box/1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">out of Africa</a> as well as the timing of intermixing between humans and Neanderthals.
All non-African people today carry traces of Neanderthal DNA. Based on DNA tests scientists have suggested that the interbreeding likely happened between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago.
A study last year, that used new techniques to more accurately date Neanderthal remains, suggested that Neanderthals and humans may have lived side-by-side for <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28693371" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">up to 5,000 years</a>. But when and where the Neanderthals and modern humans mixed has been harder to pinpoint.
That’s what makes this study so interesting.
<h6>How Old?</h6>
Uranium-thorium dating of the skull shows that the remains are about 60,000-to-70,000 years old. Known as the Manot cave, the site is near the town of Haifa and within miles of several other archeological sites where Neanderthal remains dating from that same period have also been found. This suggests that at the very least the two species, homo sapiens and homo neanderthalensis, lived side-by-side in the Middle East during that time.
But the researchers involved in this study believe that the bones show more than that.
<h6>New Insights</h6>
According to the author of the study, <a href="http://english.tau.ac.il/news/discovery_ancient_skull" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tel Aviv University Professor Israel Hershkovitz</a>, the shape of the skull bears characteristics found in early modern humans. They are similar to remains found both in Africa and Europe. The skull also shares some characteristics found in Neanderthals. But whether the skull was of a human who had interbred with Neanderthals cannot be determined without recovering DNA from the skull.
Unfortunately, extracting DNA from this skull could prove very difficult. Unlike the remains of other ancient humans that were found in much colder climates where DNA can be preserved longer, these remains have been exposed to much higher temperatures. DNA begins to break down as it&#8217;s exposed to microbes, water and oxygen. Ancient DNA tends to be found in very small quantities and is often fragmentary or damaged.
So far the <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/343/6178/1417.summary" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">oldest human DNA</a> was extracted from a bone found along a Siberian riverbank of a man who lived 45,000 years ago.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-14049" title="neanderthal icon" alt="" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/neanderthal-icon-96x150.jpg" width="50" height="77" />
Got Neanderthal DNA?
23andMe customers can <a href="https://www.23andme.com/you/labs/neanderthal/">find their inner Neanderthal</a> or at least how much Neanderthal DNA they have. Not yet a customer? <a href="https://www.23andme.com/store">Visit our store</a>!

Meeting At the Crossroads

By Anne Wojcicki


I’m excited about 2015! We are starting the New Year with new customers around the world, new research collaborations and many employees working diligently on our FDA submission.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-22084" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Anne_Color_-Seated-250x300.jpg" alt="Anne_Color_ Seated" width="250" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Anne_Color_-Seated-250x300.jpg 250w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Anne_Color_-Seated-768x923.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Anne_Color_-Seated-852x1024.jpg 852w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Anne_Color_-Seated-732x880.jpg 732w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Anne_Color_-Seated-982x1180.jpg 982w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px" />


As CEOs do, I look into the future to make sure we are working towards our mission: to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome. I also want to make sure we remain committed to our vision of accelerating the pace of significant genetic discoveries. As we head into 2015, I will continue to be focused on 23andMe initiatives that fulfill our mission and vision.
Our focus on research will grow as we partner with academics and scientists, non-profit organizations and for-profit companies globally, to use genetic data for good. Our research team will collaborate with new partners to find better drug therapies, opportunities for disease prevention, disease treatments and ultimately, genetic paths to cures. This is an important part of why I started the company – to make sure we empower ourselves and empower others. Both are equally important.
 


I’m excited about the possibility of new discoveries coming out of our collective data for research, and yet I also believe it’s important you are in control of your data. If you do not want to participate in research, you can always opt-out. You own your data.
It’s been an exciting eight years since we launched 23andMe. I have heard from thousands of you about how 23andMe has impacted your life. As we approach our millionth customer, we are planning a celebration that demonstrates the power and potential of individuals owning   their DNA.
Do you have a story to share? We would love to hear from you and make you part of our celebration. Send your story to <a href="https://23me.wufoo.com/forms/z1ngt56e18lv5ed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tellannemystory@23andme.com.</a>
 
I wish you the best for 2015.

Anne Wojcicki

A Note To Our Customers About The New Year

The pace of discovery in genetics is such that every few months a new finding has the potential to change something fundamental about our understanding of the science. To keep up, we here at 23andMe take a moment to look back and list the top genetic findings of the year.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog-300x300.jpg" alt="23andMe_Logo_blog" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-6586" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog.jpg 350w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
&#8211; Ebola DNA 
As health workers heroically raced to try and stop the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/27/ebola-wars" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a core group of scientists</a> at Broad Institute began sequencing the virus in real time. They wanted to understand how it mutates, whether there are strains that are more deadly than others and why some individuals may be more resistant to the virus than others. In one of the team’s first studies, they were able to <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/345/6202/1369" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">trace the start of the outbreak</a> in Sierra Leone to a funeral in May of 2014. But as a testament to the dangers many of these health workers face, five of the co-authors on the study – who worked in Sierra Leone – contracted Ebola and died.
&#8211; Noninvasive Prenatal DNA Testing 
A new kind of DNA test allows for the screening of prenatal abnormalities without the kind of invasive procedures needed in the past. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/iStock_000014838144XSmall-300x199.jpg" alt="new born baby" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-11065" width="300" height="199" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/iStock_000014838144XSmall-300x199.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/iStock_000014838144XSmall.jpg 425w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />. The test allows doctors to <a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/26/new-dna-test-better-at-predicting-some-disorders-in-babies-study-finds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">obtain fetal DNA</a> by taking a small blood sample from the mother and then screening for chromosomal disorders.
&#8211; $1,000 Genome? 
Much has been made about the quest for the <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/is-the-1-000-genome-for-real-1.14530" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$1,000 genome</a> and its potential for revolutionizing medicine and research. <a href="http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/dec/01/san-diego-innovation-scientist-edico-illumina/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Illumina announced</a> that they have developed a machine – the HiSeq X ten – that, at volume, can reach that price point. Since the first human genome was sequenced a little more than a decade ago, the cost of sequencing has plummeted to less than one-one hundred-thousandth of its original price. But as the price of sequencing has dropped, the utility of that information has risen. Cost soon will no longer be a barrier for getting tested.
&#8211; Emergency Sequencing 
A boy is rushed to the hospital critically ill, but no one can quite figure out what is wrong with him. His case published in the <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1401268" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">New England Journal of Medicine</a> and reported on in the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/05/health/in-first-quick-dna-test-diagnoses-a-boys-illness.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times</a>, illustrates the power of next-generation sequencing to quickly identify a pathogen and help direct treatment. Suffering from a fever, headache, stomach pain and swelling of the brain, the 14 year-old’s condition got so bad that he was put into a medically induced coma. After weeks of trying treat and diagnose him, doctors finally decided to sequence the boy’s cerebrospinal fluid and compare it to a sequencing data from the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">National Center for Biotechnology Information</a>. Within a few hours using doctors were able to pinpoint a likely cause of the infection, the bacteria Leptospira, that brought him close to death.This allowed doctors to identify proper treatment and bring him back from the brink.
&#8211; King Richard’s Bones<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/richardiiiportrait.jpg" alt="richardiiiportrait" class="alignright size-full wp-image-21981" width="200" height="269" /> 
The story around the identification of <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/news/king-richards-bones/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">King Richard III’s bones</a> found under a municipal parking lot in Leicester, England offers a rare opportunity to look at what we know about a historical figure, <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/141202/ncomms6631/full/ncomms6631.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">use DNA</a> from that individual, and then compare it with the DNA from living relatives –as well as what’s in the history books and even classic literature – to piece together a more complete version of history.
&#8211; Genetic Diversity 
Three studies over the past year have expanded what we know about people with ancestry from <a href="https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature13997.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Africa</a>, <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0102645" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">south Asia</a> and <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/344/6189/1280" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mexico</a>, and remind us that more needs to be done to improve the diversity of genetic studies, which in turn is critical for improving medical research for everyone.
&#8211; Eurogenes 
Studies early this year by scientists at Harvard and at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, added more to what we know about human evolution by tracing modern Europeans to <a href="https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v513/n7518/full/nature13673.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">three distinct ancient populations</a>. Led by geneticist David Reich, the study used DNA extracted from ancient bones and compared the sequences to sequences from modern humans.
&#8211; More Ancient DNA<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Image12-300x209.jpg" alt="Max Planck Forscher Prof. Dr.Svante PÃ¤Ã¤bo entschlÃ¼sselt Neandertaler-Genom" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20651" width="300" height="209" /> 
Svante PÃ¤Ã¤bo and his team at the <a href="http://www.mpg.de/eva-en?section=eb-evb-g" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology</a> in Leipzig, Germany went back farther than anyone before in sequencing a <a href="https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v514/n7523/full/nature13810.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">45,000 year-old leg bone</a> found on a riverbank in Siberia. PÃ¤Ã¤bo and his team were the first to decode the Neanderthal genome a few years back, and they have left us all to marvel as the ability to obtain a quality DNA sequence from ancient bones. But beyond that achievement, the sequence also gives us more detail about how modern humans evolved and interbred with their early human cousins, such as Neanderthals and <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/08/the-other-neanderthal/375916/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Denisovans</a>. From previous work, we knew that humans and Neanderthals interbred, but this sequence allowed scientists to pinpoint <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/science/research-humans-interbred-with-neanderthals.html?ref=science&#038;_r=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">when the interbreeding occurred</a>.
&#8211; Protective Flaw 
Researchers lead by a team from Massachusetts General Hospital and the Broad Institute, found that a genetic variant in the gene NPC1L1 that not only lowers the levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol but also significantly <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2014/11/12/flawed-gene-protects-against-heart-disease/itUCUgFWJEPdHR3fRqTReJ/story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cuts the risk for heart disease</a>. The finding published in the <a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1405386" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">New England Journal of Medicine</a>, is interesting for another reason. By pooling large sets of genetic data, researchers can find people with rare genetic variations that are protective against certain conditions. This in turn can help researchers more effectively identify the biological underpinnings for those conditions as well as target more effective treatments.
&#8211; Written in Our DNA 
Not wanting to toot our own horn, we didn’t single out all the papers 23andMe researchers published. It’s an impressive

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				<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="150" height="150" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/African-Ancestry-Among-African-Americans-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/African-Ancestry-Among-African-Americans-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/African-Ancestry-Among-African-Americans-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/African-Ancestry-Among-African-Americans-768x768.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/African-Ancestry-Among-African-Americans-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/African-Ancestry-Among-African-Americans-880x880.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/African-Ancestry-Among-African-Americans-1180x1180.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/African-Ancestry-Among-African-Americans-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/African-Ancestry-Among-African-Americans-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/African-Ancestry-Among-African-Americans-574x574.jpg 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/African-Ancestry-Among-African-Americans-980x980.jpg 980w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />
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list, not just for how much work our scientists have done, but for the breadth of our research. We also posted a strong showing at this year’s meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics. And we can’t let the year go by without mentioning a paper published this month in <a href="http://www.cell.com/ajhg/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">American Journal of Human Genetics</a>. 23andMe population geneticist Kasia Bryc created a first-of-its-kind <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/history-written-in-our-dna/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">genetic portrait of the United States</a>. The study offers a detailed look at how the ancestry make-up of self-identified African Americans, Latinos and European Americans differs by region and these differences reflect some of the distinctive socio-political history in different parts of the United States.
&nbsp;

Top Genetic Findings of 2014

Drawing on DNA analysis, genealogy, and archeology, scientists at the University of Leicester unearthed 500-year-old royal bones found under a municipal car park and have definitively identified the remains as King Richard III.
<div id="attachment_21983" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-21983" class="size-medium wp-image-21983" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/UM0A1608-Credit-University-of-Leicester-300x200.jpg" alt="University of Leicester Photo" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/UM0A1608-Credit-University-of-Leicester-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/UM0A1608-Credit-University-of-Leicester-768x512.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/UM0A1608-Credit-University-of-Leicester-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/UM0A1608-Credit-University-of-Leicester-880x587.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/UM0A1608-Credit-University-of-Leicester-1180x787.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />University of Leicester Photo</div>
In their recently <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/141202/ncomms6631/full/ncomms6631.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">published findings</a>, the team determined that the bones are indeed those of the monarch Shakespeare made infamous.
&#8220;The evidence directly indicates that these are the remains of Richard III,&#8221; says geneticist Turi King of the University of Leicester in the U.K., who led the team reporting the results in <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6631" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nature Communications</a>.
<h2>Battle of Bosworth</h2>
Much of the findings conformed to contemporary accounts of Richard III, who died at the <a href="http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_bosworth.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Battle of Bosworth</a> in 1485 – the last English monarch killed in combat. Depicted by Shakespeare as a deformed, paranoid and power-hungry villain, it’s clear that the Bard took some poetic license to characterize the king. For one, while Richard’s spine shows he clearly had scoliosis, he wasn’t a hunchback.
The car park excavation also uncovered the old tiles of the church, the Greyfriars Church, where it was said that Richard had been buried. His bones revealed more details that matched historical accounts, his curved spine, and his combat wounds. The team also looked at genetic markers in hair and <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-21981" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/richardiiiportrait.jpg" alt="richardiiiportrait" width="200" height="269" />
<h2>DNA Analysis</h2>
However, DNA analysis and matching with living relatives fascinated us the most here at 23andMe.
Comparing the mitochondrial DNA from the skeletal remains to DNA from living relatives, researchers were able to make a match on Richard’s maternal line. In a mind-boggling case of finding lost relatives, they determined that one of the relatives was a niece, but 21 generations had passed. The other is a nephew, 19 generations removed. (Richard’s maternal haplogroup is J.)
However, researchers didn’t have the same luck when they compared Richard III’s DNA with living relatives on his paternal line.
<h2>The Paternal Line</h2>
Richard had no male heirs, so researchers had to trace his lineage back in time and look for a common ancestor with living relatives. They found five men who could trace their paternal line to Edward III, Richard’s great-great-grandfather, a connection that goes back 18 generations. But unlike Richard&#8217;s maternal line, the researchers didn’t find a match.
<div id="attachment_21982" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-21982" class="wp-image-21982 size-medium" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/MaleTreeLine-300x243.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="243" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/MaleTreeLine-300x243.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/MaleTreeLine-768x622.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/MaleTreeLine-1024x829.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/MaleTreeLine-880x712.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/MaleTreeLine.jpg 1170w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Tracing Richard III&#8217;s Paternal Line to present-day relatives.</div>
This finding suggests that somewhere on the male line, there was a break or an illegitimate son born (a &#8220;false-paternity&#8221; event). No one knows where that might have happened in that long paternal line. It’s possible that it happened before Richard’s birth, which would cast into question the legitimacy of both Richard and his brother’s claim to the monarchy. (Richard’s paternal haplogroup is listed as G-P287.)
For 23andMe users, that is a subgroup in the G2a haplogroup.) While revelations have also triggered a flurry of stories about the legitimacy of the Tudors – the dynasty that followed Richard III after defeating him in battle – the story of Richard’s bones offers us all a rare chance to take what we know about a historical figure, use DNA and living relatives to piece together new information about the past.

King Richard’s Bones

It’s that time of year when family photos start arriving on holiday cards from relatives across the country. Why don’t you do something different this year and<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/11132014_familyDNA_01-300x300.jpg" alt="11132014_familyDNA_01" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-21918" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/11132014_familyDNA_01-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/11132014_familyDNA_01-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/11132014_familyDNA_01-768x768.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/11132014_familyDNA_01-880x880.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/11132014_familyDNA_01-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/11132014_familyDNA_01-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/11132014_familyDNA_01-574x574.jpg 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/11132014_familyDNA_01-980x980.jpg 980w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/11132014_familyDNA_01.jpg 1000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> create a new kind of family portrait? Make an image that illustrates the traits and ancestry you share with your family that are revealed in your DNA.
We’re hosting a “new kind of family portrait” photo contest where the prize is four 23andMe kits for you and your family! Entering is simple: create a family portrait this Thanksgiving, tag it #FamilyDNA, and share it with 23andMe on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and get a chance to win. Be sure to tell us why you want to win!
Not sure what kind of photo to share? Take a pic that shows whether you look more like mom or dad. Try to fit the most generations in your photo. Show us where you got that curly hair — from grandma? Bonus points for creativity!
We look forward to seeing your families and to helping you create a new kind of family portrait with DNA!
<div style="float: center; text-align: justified; width: 625px; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;">
1. Must be a legal US resident age 18 or older; residents of Maryland are not eligible to participate. 
2. One winner will be selected by a panel of 23andMe employees, from Facebook, Twitter or Instagram photos tagged #FamilyDNA between November 20th and December 1st. 
3. On Facebook, share your image on our Facebook wall to be eligible: facebook.com/23andMe. 
4. On Instagram and Twitter: follow @23andMe to be eligible. 
5. Your image needs to be publicly viewable in order to win. 
6. We will contact winners via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, so be sure you’re following, and look for a message from us by December 10th. 
7. A full list of rules can be found <a href="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Photo-Contest-Official-Rules_FINAL_111714v2.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here.</a>
</div>

A New Kind of Family Portrait

With so many great entries, it wasn’t easy, but we’ve picked the winners in 23andMe’s first ever “Genetics Image Contest.&#8221;
We had a lot of creative depictions of DNA, chromosomes, genes, and genetic concepts like heredity and inheritance. We narrowed the winners to three. In no particular order here they are:


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				One of the winning images. This one &#8220;Human Karyotype&#8221; by Drury University student Ashleigh Spalding
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				<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="150" height="150" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Like-Mother-Like-Daughter-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" aria-describedby="gallery-2-21909" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Like-Mother-Like-Daughter-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Like-Mother-Like-Daughter-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Like-Mother-Like-Daughter-372x372.jpg 372w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />
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				&#8220;Like Mother, Like Daughter&#8221; by Alyssa Jenkins 
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				<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="150" height="150" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/DNA_Bridge_2-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" aria-describedby="gallery-2-21910" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/DNA_Bridge_2-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/DNA_Bridge_2-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/DNA_Bridge_2-372x372.jpg 372w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />
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				&#8220;DNA Bridge&#8221; by Kadir Akdemir 
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In Ashleigh Spalding’s fun &#8220;Human Karyotype,&#8221; she had her fellow students from Drury University lay out on the ground to represent both the number and the shape of the 23 chromosomes.
We all did a double take looking at Alyssa Jenkins’ wonderful “Like Mother, Like Daughter,” in which the fused image conveys more about inheritance than many a textbook.
Rounding out the winners was Kadir Akdemir’s sublime “DNA Bridge,” where the structure of the span mimics the double helix of DNA.
Each of the three winners will receive a $100 Amazon gift card. In addition to the three individual winners, the three schools with the highest rate of student participation – Drury University, Wartburg College and the College of San Mateo – will receive $300 to raise awareness of personal genomics through a learning event on campus.
On top of getting a 23andMe T-shirt, the finalists will also have their images showcased in the Genetics Gallery at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose.

And Winners Are…

Over the last month, Anne Wojcicki, 23andMe’s CEO and co-founder, has been plenty busy spreading the word about the power of genetics to transform health care and empower people.
Anne has spoken at events as varied as <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FortuneMPW" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women</a> conference to a discussion at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History on the future of genomic medicine and then jetting over to London to talk about innovation at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WiredUK" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wired UK conference</a>.
While the topics have varied Anne has returned to some of the same themes again and again: people have a right to access their genetic information; giving people that information can help them learn more about themselves and it can help them make better choices. Finally, allowing engage consumers to participate in research has the potential to spur discoveries that could not happen any other way.
Here’s her talk in London: 
<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/t_j0RuEnEfk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

News — Page 19