Last year, on the sixtieth anniversary of Crick and Watson’s discovery of the double helix structure of DNA, the Smithsonian opened an exhibit at the <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/unlocking-the-code-logo-300x248.jpg" alt="unlocking the code logo" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-18448" width="300" height="248" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/unlocking-the-code-logo-300x248.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/unlocking-the-code-logo.jpg 326w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />National Museum of Natural History called <a href="http://unlockinglifescode.org/explore" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Genome: Unlocking Life&#8217;s Code</a>.
The popular exhibit is now hitting the road, showing first in San Diego, at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center through January 4th 2015 and then moving on to other cities across the United States and Canada for the next four years.
The exhibit has already attracted more than three million people with its use of interactive technology and more traditional methods of storytelling to educate people about how genetic science is transforming everything from medicine to our understanding of human evolution. 
&#8220;Over the past year, I have enjoyed speaking with children and adults from far and wide at the exhibition, and during the educational workshops, public lectures and celebrations in Washington,” said Eric D. Green, the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute. “Now it is time for the <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Unlocking-Lifes-Code-300x119.jpg" alt="Unlocking Life's Code" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-21867" width="300" height="119" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Unlocking-Lifes-Code-300x119.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Unlocking-Lifes-Code-768x305.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Unlocking-Lifes-Code.jpg 798w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> 
exhibition to travel so that others in North America can see it.&#8221;
Officials from the National Human Genome Research Institute, which is part of the Health and Human Services agency, worked with curators from the Smithsonian to put together the exhibit. They were helped by contributions from others, including private businesses like 23andMe. The exhibit traces the rapid advancement in the science of genetics, exploring how those discoveries have contributed to our understanding of the causes and treatment of disease as well as more insight into the human story and how our ancestors migrated out of Africa and populated the world.
After its stint in San Diego, the exhibit will travel to San Jose; St Louis; Portland; Milwaukee; Wichita; Peoria; and Sudbury, Ontario.
To see if the traveling exhibit is coming your way see the schedule <a href="http://unlockinglifescode.org/traveling-exhibit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.

23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

The Traveling Genome

If you’re feeling particularly creative, you still have a few more days to submit entries in 23andMe’s first “Genetics Image Contest.”<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/23andMeStudents_GenesJeans_Submission-2.jpg" alt="23andMeStudents_GenesJeans_Submission-2" class="alignright size-full wp-image-21844" width="300" height="290" />


Get your entries in before Monday night and get a chance to have your image showcased in the Genetics Gallery at <a href="http://www.thetech.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Tech Museum of Innovation</a> in San Jose, California.
We recently expanded who is eligible to enter allowing all US residents who are 18 or older to enter. The contest isn’t just for students anymore. We’re looking for unique images that capture the meaning of a few genetic terms – DNA, chromosome, gene, allele, heredity, and inheritance pattern.
To enter, submit up to three original images, which capture the meaning of at least one of those terms. These images can either be photographs or images you’ve drawn, painted or created with computer software.
Images will be evaluated based on originality, visual impact, and the written description.
The contest is already shaping up with some fantastic entries. Check out a few of the more recent submissions and get inspired.

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				<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="150" height="150" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Brooke_F-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" aria-describedby="gallery-1-21849" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Brooke_F-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Brooke_F-271x271.jpg 271w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />
			</dt>
				<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-21849'>
				Submission by Brooke F.
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			<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>
				<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="150" height="150" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sara_L-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" aria-describedby="gallery-1-21854" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sara_L-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sara_L-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sara_L-372x372.jpg 372w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />
			</dt>
				<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-21854'>
				Submission by Sara L.
				</dd></dl><dl class='gallery-item'>
			<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>
				<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="150" height="150" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Ashleigh_S-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" aria-describedby="gallery-1-21851" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Ashleigh_S-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Ashleigh_S-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Ashleigh_S-372x372.jpg 372w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />
			</dt>
				<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-21851'>
				One of the winning images. This one &#8220;Human Karyotype&#8221; by Drury University student Ashleigh Spalding
				</dd></dl> <dl class='gallery-item'>
			<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>
				<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="150" height="150" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Roger_Y-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" aria-describedby="gallery-1-21852" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Roger_Y-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Roger_Y-271x271.jpg 271w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />
			</dt>
				<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-21852'>
				Submission by Roger Y.
				</dd></dl><dl class='gallery-item'>
			<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>
				<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="150" height="150" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sarah_D-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" aria-describedby="gallery-1-21853" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sarah_D-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sarah_D-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sarah_D-372x372.jpg 372w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />
			</dt>
				<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-21853'>
				Submission by Sarah D.
				</dd></dl><dl class='gallery-item'>
			<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>
				<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="150" height="150" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sharlene_N-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" aria-describedby="gallery-1-21850" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sharlene_N-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sharlene_N-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Sharlene_N-372x372.jpg 372w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />
			</dt>
				<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-21850'>
				Submission by Sharlene N.
				</dd></dl> 
		</div>


<div style="float: right; text-align: justified; width: 300px; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;">Summary of Contest Rules 
&#8211; Participants must be 18 years or older and legal residents of the United States. 
&#8211; Images can be drawn by hand, photographed, or generated by computer software and must be in digital format (JPG, PNG, GIF or BMP). 
&#8211; Each image must have a title and a short (50 words or less) written description of how it conveys the genetic term(s) selected. 
&#8211; Works previously published will not be considered. 
&#8211; Images containing defamatory, obscene or inappropriate content will be automatically disqualified. 
&#8211; Contest concludes November 3, 2014 at 11:59PM. Go <a href="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Genetics-Image-Contest-Official-Rules.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a> for a complete description of the rules. Email questions about the contest to: geneticsimage2014contest@23andme.com</div>
Each of the three winners will receive a $100 Amazon gift card. Finalists will receive 23andMe T-shirts. The three student groups, classes, or schools with the highest number of participants will receive a $300 prize to raise awareness of personal genomics through a journal club, a lecture or other learning events on campus, including the option to organize a Google Hangout or host an in-person event with a 23andMe scientist, depending on the location. Winners will be announced in a 23andMe blog post on the week of November 16th.

Last Call

Svante Paabo and his team in Leipzig are up to it again, <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Svante-Paabo-and-Nikolay-Peristov-200x200.jpg" alt="Svante PÃ¤Ã¤bo and Nikolay Peristov discuss the Ust'-Ishim discovery" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-21817" width="200" height="200" />and revealing more detail about interbreeding between modern humans and our early human cousins, the Neanderthals.
No stranger to extracting ancient DNA, Paabo, the director of evolutionary genetics 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, was the first to decode the Neanderthal genome.

<h6>Neanderthals and Modern Humans</h6>
That was when researchers first learned that Neanderthal and humans mated, and that all human with Asian or European ancestry, who are living today carry remnants of that Neanderthal DNA.
Beyond the marvel of actually extracting DNA from the femur of the ancient human known as the “Ust’-Ishim man,” and sequencing that DNA to the same accuracy as that achieved from sequences for living people, is what this sequence is telling scientists about human evolution and migration.
“The population to which the individual belonged may have split from the ancestors of present-day West Eurasian and East Eurasian populations before, or at about the same time, when these two first split from each other,” Paabo in an <a href="http://www.mpg.de/8710423/genome-earliest-modern-human?filter_order=L&#038;research_topic=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announcement</a> regarding the paper. 
<h6>Interbreeding</h6>
Although some of the <a href="https://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/10/22/358047524/a-45-000-year-old-leg-bone-reveals-the-oldest-human-genome-yet" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">coverage</a> this week, has focused on the fact that humans and Neanderthals were interbreeding, that really is old news. What’s more significant is what that DNA is telling us about <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> and hinted at when and where humans first migrated out of Africa and then into Asia and Europe.
The sequence indicated that this early human also had about the same percentage of Neanderthal DNA as we do today, but that the segments of that DNA were much longer. Because of how DNA recombines with each generation, this is what researchers thought they would see. It also helped them more precisely pinpoint when interbreeding between humans and Neanderthals occurred to sometime between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago.
<h6>Migration Timeline</h6>
Previous estimates ranged much wider saying that it occurred between 30,000 and 80,000 years ago. Pinpointing the time is significant because that period also corresponds with when humans were first migrating out of Africa and through the Middle East, according to Janet Kelso, who did the computer based analyses of the sequence. Humans likely migrated out of Africa about 100,000 years ago, and perhaps came into contact with Neanderthals in the Middle East, mixing with them there before migrating into Europe and Asia.
There is much more value in this ancient genome for researchers as they compare it to the genomes of modern humans. For instance, it allowed researchers to estimate that between one and two mutations per year accumulated in human populations in Europe and Asia since the Ust’-Ishim walked the earth.
Not much is known about this one man, however. There were no artifacts found with him. But looking at his DNA, researcher learned that he has more in common with modern Asians than with modern day Europeans. In their paper the researchers suggested that this lends weight to a theory that there were waves of migration into Europe, but that modern humans descend from a population who “did not participate in the initial dispersal of modern humans into Europe and Asia.”
<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>!

Dem Bones

In her wonderful book, “The Invisible History of the Human Race,” writer and <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Invisible-History-of-the-Human-Race.jpg" alt="Invisible History of the Human Race" class="alignright size-full wp-image-21767" width="230" height="346" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Invisible-History-of-the-Human-Race.jpg 230w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Invisible-History-of-the-Human-Race-199x300.jpg 199w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 230px) 100vw, 230px" />journalist <a href="http://www.christinekenneally.com/http://" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christine Kenneally</a> conveys how your life is part of a thread of life that extends both backward and forward in time.
“We live in a temporal envelope,” Kenneally writes. “For most of us the horizon extends forward maybe two generations and back just two or three… It isn&#8217;t until you populate the family tree that it becomes clear how brief a human life is, how soon it is over, and how you only play a bit part in a story line that expands out and contracts back and goes off in directions that no one can predict or control.”


And it’s DNA – which is both the recipe for life and a record of it – that offers the thread linking the past, present and future.
It’s a beautiful idea and one that might change some people’s perspective about the importance of knowing a bit about where you come from.
This is just one of many delightful insights in her book that looks at how DNA, history and environment shape us. Using some of her own personal history, as well as fascinating stories from others, Kenneally conveys how the complicated interplay of biology, the past and the present makes us who we are. We are not fated by our biology, yet we are not free from it either. Understanding it can help us understand much about ourselves and where we’re going.
A few reviews – in the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/books/review/christine-kenneallys-invisible-history-of-the-human-race.html?action=click&#038;pgtype=Homepage&#038;version=Moth-Visible&#038;module=inside-nyt-region&#038;region=inside-nyt-region&#038;WT.nav=inside-nyt-region&#038;_r=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Times</a>, and <a href="http://www.salon.com/2014/10/12/is_race_genetic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Salon</a> – have already noted that her book marks a nice counterpoint to Nicholas Wade’s <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2014/08/11/reviews-of-nicholas-wades-a-troublesome-inheritance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“A Troublesome Inheritance.”</a>
Kenneally didn’t write her book to be played off Wade’s, but her story illustrates that human behavior and culture isn’t just about biology. It’s all much more complicated than that. But your DNA gives you insight that you wouldn’t be able to know otherwise. Indeed for many, using genetics is the only way to dig into a past that was erased by the Holocaust or slavery or simply not knowing ones parents.
The book isn’t just about looking back and self-exploration, Kenneally also tackles the science and gives us a quick tour of the uncomfortable history of eugenics, both in the United States and in Nazi, Germany. But she also quotes from Wendy Roth, a professor at the University of British Columbia, who notes that DNA testing might do more toward bringing people together by showing us how much we have in common.


“This kind of testing seems to make people more aware of how much racial mixing has gone on historically,” Roth said.
Kenneally is at her most interesting when she explores the stories revealed by delving into our DNA. She marvels at how genetics can confirm or alter what we know about our identity and ourselves. It’s also can reveal more about the human story.


“If everyone had his DNA analyzed, and that information were linked to everyone’s historical information, it would be the nearest thing to the book of humanity,” Kenneally writes.
Give it a read.

Invisible History

There are grand visions about what genetic discoveries will be made in the distant future, but what about in the next five years.
That was the question Dr. Eric Green, the director of the National Genome Research Institute, asked of 23andMe&#8217;s CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki. Anne recently participated in a discussions with Green and Yale University genetics professor, Dr. Richard Lifton, as part of a symposium at the Smithsonian&#8217;s National Museum of Natural History. The talk revolved around the future of genomics, medicine and the impact genetic research will have globally on health care.
For Anne, what is happening right now is most interesting.
&#8220;It&#8217;s the most exciting time in science,&#8221; she said.
Check out their conversation. 
<iframe loading="lazy" width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/tVB81rjA3Vw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

The Most Exciting Time in Science

At 23andMe our mission is to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome. <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" />
A big part of doing so is to help people make better decisions about their health, but also the health of our own employees. As a company we strive to carry out this mission with our own employees, encouraging them to make healthier choices. Whether it’s giving people time to exercise at work, or offering healthy food options, 23andMe is investing in the well-being of its most important asset, its employees.
<h6>Healthiest Employers</h6>
That’s why we were thrilled to be honored for living that mission, as recognized by the San Francisco Business Times and the Silicon Valley Business Journal as a <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2014/09/10-quirky-motivators-bay-area-healthiest-employers.html?page=all" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2014 Bay Area Healthiest Employer</a>.
The award recognizes organizations that proactively shape the health of their employees. More than 80 companies were selected for evaluation, divided into four groups based on size and judged across six categories: Wellness Program, Culture and Leadership, Strategic Planning, Communication and Marketing, Foundational Components and Programming and Interventions.
23andMe was recognized as a top 10 healthiest employer in the midsized company category for our commitment to employee health and for exceptional corporate wellness programming.
<h6>Exercise and Diet</h6>
Much of our wellness efforts focus on a healthy diet and exercise, including a gym at our Mountain View headquarters, daily exercise classes ranging from Yoga to CrossFit, and a massage therapist. All of these offerings are onsite and at no cost to our employees. 23andMe also facilitates a non-sedentary working environment, with 75 percent of our team using standing desks, ergonomic chairs or medicine balls, and optional treadmill workstations for endorphin-fueled productivity.
To keep our employees well fed we provide fresh fruit, a healthy lunch and snacks that contain only locally sourced, organic ingredients.
We’re proud to be honored for our commitment to facilitating one of the Bay Area’s healthiest work environments — but we’re even more proud of our team at 23andMe and their dedication to helping us live our mission every day.
Here’s to health!

23andMe Among Healthiest Employers

Another school year begins and 23andMe has your first assignment.<div id="attachment_21498" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-21498" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Chromosomes-200x200.jpg" alt=" Photo by Quinn Walker" class="size-thumbnail wp-image-21498" width="200" height="200" />Photo by Quinn Walker</div><div id="attachment_21499" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-21499" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Double_Helix_SFO-200x200.jpg" alt="Photo by Carmen Avram " class="size-thumbnail wp-image-21499" width="200" height="200" />Photo by Carmen Avram </div>
A picture is worth a thousand words, and we think that’s plenty enough to explain key terms in genetics.
So as part of our back-to-school, ah…celebration, 23andMe is having its first “Genetics Image Contest,” which is open to students 18 or older. The finalists will be showcased in the Genetics Gallery at <a href="http://www.thetech.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Tech Museum of Innovation</a> in San Jose, California.
If that’s not enough to make you interested, may we appeal to your thirst for knowledge?
Our Academic and Students Programs are all about advocating for improved genetic literacy. We know from research that imagery itself plays a huge role in science education, so this contest offers a great opportunity to not just learn a little something about genetics, but to pass on that knowledge to others.

<div style="float: right; text-align: justified; width: 300px; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;">Summary of Contest Rules 
&#8211; Participants must be 18 years or older and enrolled in a school within the territorial United States. 
&#8211; Images can be drawn by hand, photographed, or generated by computer software and must be in digital format (JPG, PNG, GIF or BMP). 
&#8211; Each image must have a title and a short (50 words or less) written description of how it conveys the genetic term(s) selected. 
&#8211; Works previously published will not be considered. 
&#8211; Images containing defamatory, obscene or inappropriate content will be automatically disqualified. 
&#8211; Contest concludes October 6 at 11:59PM. Go <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/?p=21500" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a> for a complete description of the rules. Email questions about the contest to: geneticsimage2014contest@23andme.com
</div>
Interested? Here’s what you need to do: Simply select from our list of genetic vocabulary terms (DNA, chromosome, gene, allele, Heredity/Inheritance Pattern) and submit up to three original images, which capture the meaning of at least one of those terms.
These images can either be photographs or images you&#8217;ve drawn, painted or created with computer software. For inspiration, we have included some photos by a few of us here at 23andMe. You could create images that are literal interpretations, such as the example of the architectural designs of the double helix. You could also try a more metaphorical approach, or use your own artistic license, like the image of the stadium containing 20,000 spectators symbolizes the approximate number of genes in our genome. But whatever you do, be creative. You might be surprised what directions it leads you in. There are no mistakes in art.
The images you submit will be displayed in an album on 23andMe&#8217;s Facebook page, where you can encourage your friends to like and share them, and contribute to the overall evaluation of your image. Images will also be evaluated based on originality, visual impact, and the written description. Each of the three winners will receive a $100 Amazon gift card. Finalists will receive 23andMe T-shirts. The three student groups, classes, or schools with the highest number of participants will receive a $300 prize to raise awareness of personal genomics through a journal club, a lecture or other learning events on campus, including the option to organize a Google Hangout or host an in-person event with a 23andMe scientist, depending on the location. Winners will be announced in the 23andMe blog post on the week of October 20.
You could also try a more metaphorical approach, or use your own artistic license, like the image of the stadium containing 20,000 spectators symbolizes the approximate number of genes in our genome. But whatever you do, be creative. You might be surprised what directions it leads you in. There are no mistakes in art. The images you submit will be displayed in an album on 23andMe&#8217;s Facebook page, where you can encourage your friends to like and share them, and contribute to the overall evaluation of your image. Images will also be evaluated based on originality, visual impact, and the written description.
Each of the three winners will receive a $100 Amazon gift card. Finalists will receive 23andMe T-shirts. The three student groups, classes, or schools with the highest number of participants will receive a $300 prize to raise awareness of personal genomics through a journal club, a lecture or other learning events on campus, including the option to organize a Google Hangout or host an in-person event with a 23andMe scientist, depending on the location. Winners will be announced in the 23andMe blog post on the week of October 20.

Photogenetics: 23andMe’s Genetics Image Contest

Neanderthals, our ancient cousins whose DNA is still found in traces in modern humans, faded away in Europe about 10,000 years earlier than scientists once <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Neanderthal_model.jpg" alt="Neanderthal_model" class="alignright size-full wp-image-20253" width="260" height="270" />thought, according to a new study by <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2014-08-20-neanderthals-overlapped-modern-humans-5400-years" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">researchers at Oxford</a>.
Using an improved method for radiocarbon dating, the researchers took samples from about 200 artifacts found at 40 Neanderthal cave sites across Europe. The tests determined that Neanderthals likely disappeared around 40,000 years ago, or earlier than previously thought.
The new timeline also indicates that Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans coexisted in neighboring communities throughout Europe for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/science/neanderthals-in-europe-died-out-thousands-of-years-sooner-than-some-thought-study-says.html?_r=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">as long as 5,000 years</a>. That gave them plenty of time to intermix. While there is not yet evidence of Neanderthals and modern humans living in integrated societies, they do appear to have exchanged more than just artifacts. 
<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/OcEzIgMOxTc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
From one percent to four percent of the DNA in modern humans originated from Neanderthals. The timeline shows that Neanderthals and modern humans had ample time to interbreed, and even if this happened rarely, it happened enough to explain the traces of Neanderthal DNA found in modern humans. 
The timeline also indicates that Neanderthals did not suddenly die off, but appear to have slowly faded away and were likely overwhelmed by their modern human neighbors who reproduced at a much faster rate.
<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>!

Neanderthal Fade Away

Last week was a good one for research at 23andMe with two announcements that offer more examples of the power of our research model.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-11373" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/researchrevolution-fist-173x300.jpg" alt="researchrevolution-fist" width="173" height="300" />
First was the publication of a massive <a href="https://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ng.3043.html">Parkinson’s disease study</a> that our scientists worked on with a consortium of 50 other organizations that were lead by researchers at the National Institute on Aging. Among other things the study found five new genetic associations for the disease. Then a few days after the publication of the paper, 23andMe announced that we had received a <a href="https://mediacenter.23andme.com/press-releases/nih_grant_2014/">$1.4 million grant</a> from the National Institutes of Health for a two-year project to refine our online genetic database and the research engine we use for making genetic discoveries.
While these two announcements were not related, they both illustrate the power and potential of our data. In the case of the Parkinson’s study, data from more than 66,000 23andMe customers who’d consented to participate in research helped power that study, which identified six new genetic variants associated with the disease.
The NIH funding was more about embracing the future, and refining some of the online genetic research tools 23andMe pioneered and opening up our database for other researchers.
Here’s how some others wrote about the announcements.
&#8211; <a href="https://venturebeat.com/2014/07/30/23andme-gets-a-1-4m-nih-grant-still-awaits-fda-approval/">Venture Beat</a>
&#8211; Reuters
&#8211; <a href="http://www.bio-itworld.com/2014/7/29/23andme-gets-1.4m-nih-publishes-parkinsons-research.html">Bio-IT World</a>
&#8211; <a href="http://www.fiercebiotechit.com/story/23andme-open-database-external-researchers-after-securing-nih-grant/2014-08-04" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FierceBioTechIT</a>
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News — Page 20