This interview is part of an occasional series of profiles introducing you to <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-22357" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/KasiaB-1-200x300.jpg" alt="KasiaB 1" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/KasiaB-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/KasiaB-1.jpg 576w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />some of 23andMe’s scientists behind 23andMe’s research. Senior Scientist and Population Geneticist Kasia Bryc is originally from Lublin, Poland, but grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. As an undergraduate Kasia studied mathematics and computational science at Stanford and went on to Cornell for her PhD, where she studied with Carolos Bustamante. 
Her research there focused on the ancestry of African Americans and Latinos. For her post-doctoral studies Kasia worked in David Reich’s lab at Harvard Medical School. At 23andMe she has been involved in several ancestry related projects and research. <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/history-written-in-our-dna/">Her paper</a> on the genetic ancestry of African Americans, Latinos and European Americans across the United States offered the first of its kind genetic portrait of the U.S.
Tell us about your education:
As an undergraduate at Stanford I studied mathematical and computational Science, and then went to graduate school at Cornell. My PhD is technically in Biometry, which is a broad field applying statistics to questions in biology, but I basically studied population genetics because I was so enamored with it.
What&#8217;s your job title and role here at 23andMe?
As a population geneticist, I work on the methods that drive 23andMe&#8217;s ancestry-related reports and tools in the consumer product. 
<div style="float: right; text-align: justified; width: 200px; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;">Name: Kasia BrycTitle: Senior Scientist, Population Genetics.
Originally From: Lublin, Poland but grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio
Degree and Institution: B.A. from Stanford, PhD from Cornell
Post Doc: Harvard Medical School
Fun Fact: I make a mean cherry pie.
</div>
What were you researching before you came to 23andMe?
I was a National Institutes of Health Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School before coming to 23andMe. While at Harvard I researched methods for understanding genetic diversity, and looking at admixture. Admixture is the population genetic term for when two previously separate populations start mixing together, which turns out to have happened a lot in human history.
What are you working on now at 23andMe?
I&#8217;m part of the team innovating new tools for the ancestry product. We are always looking to improve our Ancestry Composition and DNA Relatives features! I&#8217;ve also given a lot of talks to genealogists, which is always fun. I&#8217;ve found that they often are quite enthusiastic about genetic testing since it&#8217;s such a revolutionary tool, and completely different from traditional paper trail and record searches.
Why are you excited about genetics? 
I&#8217;ve always loved thinking about evolution, and, in a broad sense, understanding how people came to be just how they are now. Indeed, each one of us is the result of millions of years of successful experiments – each of your genealogical ancestors passed down their genes, and their successes contributed to you becoming you. Genetics is a window not just into your genealogical ancestors who contributed DNA to you, but also into this evolutionary process, and how you are, well&#8230; you. It&#8217;s how I have <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/health-traits/no-im-not-irish/">red hair</a> or bits of Ashkenazi ancestry.
Tell us about one of your interesting findings at 23andMe, or in your previous scientific life.  
Population geneticists often study populations or groups of individuals living around the world to understand genetic patterns and get insights into human history. Joanna Mountain, Senior Director of Research at 23andMe and a fellow population geneticist, and I saw an opportunity to try to begin to understand the patterns of genetic variation that you see in individuals living in the United States today. We looked at how people self-identify compared to the genetic ancestry they carry. We were fascinated to see history of the US, with its complex historical migration patterns, reflected in the DNA of individuals living across different states. We also saw that appreciable numbers of individuals who identified as European Americans, or white, carried segments of Native American and African ancestry.
Tell us about a recent breakthrough in genetics research that you think will have a big impact on the industry.  
There are so many breakthroughs. It’s an exciting time to be a geneticist! Every day there are new associations of genetic markers with disease, or new findings give us a better understanding of the etiology or landscape of genetics. Each of these papers are moving us one step forward to understanding the pathways and the biology, which will eventually help drive development of better treatments.
One interesting fact people don&#8217;t usually guess about me is:
I&#8217;m actually very good with power tools. Even though my husband is just as good, I think I enjoy it more, so I&#8217;m the handyman around the house whenever anything needs fixing.
What&#8217;s one thing the average consumer should know about genetics?
I think 23andMe&#8217;s slogan &#8220;Welcome to You&#8221; is right on. This IS you! It&#8217;s like being able to peek inside yourself, to check out your own DNA. And that DNA has so much information about <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/">your own history</a> (including your ancestors, your relatives, and your ancestry), as well as traits, and health related results. It is very cool to have access to this kind of information, something that was in the realm of science fiction up until ten years ago!

23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

A Conversation with 23andMe’s Kasia Bryc

The National Institutes of Health has funded a promising new study by scientists here at 23andMe that could help alleviate some of the existing disparities in genetics research between people of European and non-European ancestry.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-21956 size-medium" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Kasia1-197x300.jpg" alt="" width="197" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Kasia1-197x300.jpg 197w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Kasia1.jpg 369w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px" />
Some estimates show that <a href="https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v475/n7355/full/475163a.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more than 90 percent</a> of the research into the genetics underlying disease is on individuals of European descent alone. There are several reasons for this  – historical, cultural, economic, and social. The lack of diversity has meant that non-Europeans have not benefited from the huge advances in genetic research. Still, by leveraging 23andMe’s large and ethnically mixed customer base, researchers here think they can change that.
“This could help reduce the genetics research disparities among groups in the United States and elsewhere,” said Kasia Bryc, the senior scientist and population geneticist at 23andMe who will lead the research. “The scientific impact of findings from this research may be significant.”

Instead of using traditional genome-wide association studies to identify genetic variants associated with disease, this approach, called mapping by admixture linkage disequilibrium, or admixture mapping, takes advantage of the history of population mixing in the United States. Although admixture mapping was first suggested decades ago, leveraging 23andMe’s database would take it to a larger scale. 23andMe has more than 1.2 million customers, 80 percent of whom have consented to participate in research.
Although most of our customers are of European ancestry, our customer base includes large numbers of African Americans and Latinos. 23andMe has also gotten very good at estimating ancestry along the genome, which is crucial for detecting associations with disease via admixture mapping.
Mapping by admixture linkage disequilibrium works by tapping into variants or sets of variants found more frequently <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-23763" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Pattern-of-Ancestry.jpg" alt="Pattern of Ancestry" width="188" height="449" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Pattern-of-Ancestry.jpg 188w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Pattern-of-Ancestry-126x300.jpg 126w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 188px) 100vw, 188px" />within one ancestral group. In admixed populations – such as African Americans and Latinos who have mixed European, African, and Native American ancestry – using this method may be a way to more easily identify disease-causing variants.
Looking at individuals with specific diseases and where there is “enrichment” for one ancestry should highlight genetic regions associated with that disease, or so researchers hope. This is because the disease-causing variants occur more frequently in segments inherited from ancestral populations with a higher frequency of disease-associated variants.
23andMe’s research will determine whether admixture mapping could become a powerful tool complementary to large-scale genome-wide association studies.
Our researchers believe this work could help uncover genetic variants associated with disease in both people of European and non-European ancestry. However, because much of the genetic variation in Europeans has already been discovered, we expect this study to be most valuable in providing insights into biological variation for non-Europeans.
Beyond what the study could do to alleviate some of the huge disparities in health research among non-Europeans, the work could also help point the way in other areas, including guiding the development of drug targets.

23andMe Scientists Improving Diversity in Genetic Research

While 23andMe can inform you about your ancestry, that information doesn’t define you, as has been so eloquently written about by Jesmyn Ward <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/innovation-cracking-the-dna-code" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">in the New Yorker</a>, and by Simone Kitchens in <a href="http://www.glamour.com/inspired/2015/02/what-are-you-how-to-answer-identity-questions" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">her story</a> that first <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-22626 size-large" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/0315-GL-AABY06-01-copy-e1435353553605-452x768.jpg" alt="At Home in the WorldIn my apartment, with a favorite photo of me and my mom.Rachel Comey dress. See GLAMOUR Shopper for more information." width="452" height="768" />appeared in Glamour. Both Jesmyn and Simone write about being multiracial and the difficulty of navigating not just how their mixed race influences how others perceive them, but how they perceive themselves. In his new book <a href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/219260/loving-day-by-mat-johnson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Loving Day</a>, the writer <a href="http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/interviews/a35341/mat-johnson-interview-mixed-race-in-america/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mat Johnson</a> covers some of the same territory. How people think about race, and the commonly accepted notions about what it means, are changing. Probably at the forefront of that transformation are people like these three writers who are of mixed ancestry. More and more people are walking this path. In the United States nearly 7 percent of adult Americans have a multiracial background, according to a <a href="http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/06/11/multiracial-in-america/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">new report</a> by the Pew Research Center. Many other people simply do not know of their own mixed ancestry. Reconciling what it means to be mixed is complicated, and that process is elegantly captured in Simone’s piece, which we’re republishing here. Take a look. 



By Simone Kitchens
This is what I look like to you:
I&#8217;m brown.
Various shades of brown. Dark brown curly hair, darker brown eyes, skin a tan sort of brown. You might think I&#8217;m black or part black, but most people have trouble pinpointing my race. I do too.
I&#8217;ve gotten the &#8220;What are you?&#8221; question about once a week for the past 20 years, ever since I heard it for the first time in the girls&#8217; bathroom in sixth grade. I was looking in the mirror when a girl at the sink yelled over, &#8220;Are you mixed?&#8221; She was black. She came closer to get a better look. &#8220;What are you?&#8221; she asked. A group of girls, her friends, studied me as well.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; I said.
The girl went back to drying off her hands and said, &#8220;You&#8217;re half-black.&#8221; She was matter-of-fact, as if she were filling me in on something I wasn&#8217;t aware of. From that moment on, I&#8217;ve known myself as a half-black person.
But &#8220;half-black&#8221; has never felt like the whole story.
I grew up with my mom, who was adopted and didn&#8217;t know her background. I look like her; she&#8217;s brownish too. I always had my mom for reference, and while I didn&#8217;t know my dad, I didn&#8217;t think a lot about why I look the way I do. Still, as a brown girl in Oklahoma, there were times when I noticed I was the only nonwhite person at a roller-skating rink or food court.
Some mixed people feel they&#8217;ve lived a black experience in America. President Obama, who is mixed-race, once said:
&#8220;I self-identify as African American–that&#8217;s how I&#8217;m treated and that&#8217;s how I&#8217;m viewed. I&#8217;m proud of it.&#8221;

In many ways, I identify. At times I&#8217;ve also gotten the feeling that people are assuming something about me, trying to place me. I get it–skin tone isn&#8217;t an easy thing to sort out. (And if anyone should understand skin tone, it&#8217;s me: I&#8217;m a beauty editor. I&#8217;ve worked on stories about how hard it is for women of color to find their true foundation shade, a frustration I&#8217;ve experienced firsthand.)
When it comes to people&#8217;s curiosity, this awareness of my skin tone, I&#8217;ve heard it all. The conversation usually goes like this:


&#8220;Where are you from?&#8221;


&#8220;Oklahoma.&#8221;
&#8220;No, but where are your parents from?&#8221; People seem unsatisfied when I say my parents are also from Oklahoma; perhaps they&#8217;re expecting something more &#8220;exotic.&#8221;
By the time I was in my twenties, my response to the question took on a &#8220;Sorry, can&#8217;t help you&#8221; tone. A friend joked that when a group of people looked at me for a little too long, they were playing Guess Her Race. What I never admitted was that I was playing the same game. My biggest insecurity was that I didn&#8217;t have the answer.

<h6>
Checking the Box–or Not</h6>

When I applied for college in 2002, I had to state my race. On the application there were six options, and I was instructed to choose one: Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian, or Other. I identified with a few of these, but not fully enough that I felt I could legitimately tick only one, so I checked &#8220;Other,&#8221; then wrote &#8220;See essay&#8221; next to it. I wrote honestly about how it felt not to know, and then to have to choose an option as faceless as &#8220;Other.&#8221; For better or for worse, my identity could not be contained in a box.
I finally met my dad and his side of the family a few years later. In them I found a loving group of people–siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins–who embraced me. I also found out more about my ancestry. It turns out his side of the family is part German and part Native American, though if you saw my dad walking down the street, you&#8217;d probably think, White guy. I was so happy to connect and learn more about myself and my family, but I still couldn&#8217;t relate it to the tone of my skin.
Then I moved to New York City, a place where everyone on the subway looks like they&#8217;re from somewhere else. I still got the question, but now people took the liberty of telling me what they thought I was: &#8220;You look Egyptian&#8230; Brazilian&#8230; Dominican&#8230;.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m not sure,&#8221; I&#8217;d say with a smile. This was the way I lived my life–I&#8217;d become seemingly comfortable with the unknown.
And then the impossible happened. A year ago, after a lifetime of near misses, my mother met her birth mother. Here, I thought, was the missing link to what I was, and maybe, finally, an answer. My maternal grandmother, I discovered, is Irish and part Native American. But, frustratingly, there were few clues about my mom&#8217;s birth father, my grandfather–a man who doesn&#8217;t look that brown in the one black-and-white photo I&#8217;ve seen. I still didn&#8217;t feel any closer to understanding why I&#8217;m this color.

<h5>
Time to Turn to Science</h5>

Then, last spring, I learned that Henry Louis Gates Jr., Ph.D., would be speaking in New York, and I knew I had to hear him. With his PBS show, Finding Your Roots, this pioneer in ancestry research has helped many celebrities trace their backgrounds. He&#8217;s also a proponent of genetic testing kits like 23andMe, now easily available online.
At the end of the lecture, I introduced myself to Gates and mentioned that I was from Oklahoma. His response:
&#8220;I was going to say you look Native American.&#8221;
My heart sank.
Here I was in this room, with a lot of other black people, and didn&#8217;t look black to Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of our nation&#8217;s foremost experts on race. I ordered a 23andMe kit the next day. I had to know.
The kit costs $99 and is simple to use. You spit (a good amount) into a plastic vial, close it up, and send it off. It takes about three weeks to get your ancestry reports. The wait felt like an eternity.
When the email arrived, I was with two of my best friends, Rightor and Elizabeth. I held up my phone, pointing to the message that would reveal my race, my identity, my everything.
They went silent.


When I&#8217;d dispatched my kit, it had never occurred to me that I might not be ready to receive this information. Now I realized: I didn&#8217;t want to open the email–not yet. Suddenly, certainty didn&#8217;t seem so exciting.
Rightor whispered, &#8220;I do still hope you&#8217;re part black. You&#8217;re our half-black friend.&#8221;
We all laughed. I&#8217;d gotten used to being the brown friend among white friends. Now this message had the power to change my idea of myself.
I had taken the test last June, in a time we could call pre-Ferguson, pre-Eric Garner, two tragedies that drastically shifted the conversation around race in our country. Now, as the email waited in my inbox, I watched what felt like injustice on repeat. I kept asking myself, Where do I fit in?
When I went to the Millions March NYC protest in December, I stood shoulder to shoulder with blacks, whites, Asians, Hispanics. Still, I wondered: What am I, here in this crowd? One of the oppressed? An empathizer? An outsider?
I realized that while I&#8217;d been searching for the answer to what I was, I&#8217;d also been looking for affirmation of the black part of me. I wanted to belong to that group because I did identify myself in that way. But what if technically, genetically, I didn&#8217;t belong? I was scared to find out.
The test results sat in my inbox for months. Then, one day, it hit me: I could know or not know. Live my life being safe, like I&#8217;ve always done, or take this leap. I was searching for answers, but did I actually want to hear them? I hadn&#8217;t been ready before; now all of a sudden, for some reason, I was.
My hands shaking, I opened the message. A map of the world popped up, indicating I had roots all over. Almost every continent was highlighted in a bright color.
The cold, hard science, the letter told me, was this: I was 67.8 percent European and just 2.9 percent West African; about a third of my DNA was labeled &#8220;unassigned.&#8221;
I had a moment of feeling, What the f&#8211;k? I&#8217;d waited 30 years only to find out that a good chunk of me was still a mystery, even to a genetic-testing company?
I read further. As it happens, DNA that traces from multiple continents is labeled &#8220;unassigned.&#8221; I also learned that Native American DNA is hard to test for, since there are few reference populations available to provide samples. (The Native American sample pool used for my analysis is smaller than the European samples.) With a good portion of my genetic makeup still unknown (mostly the not-white portion, it seemed), I went to bed feeling hollow.
When I started this process, my initial excitement had been clouded by a thought: More actual facts about my history might close off the possibility that I could be black, Brazilian, Dominican, fill in the blank.
All my life there&#8217;s been a chance that I could be a lot of things, and I&#8217;ve embraced that. Feeling unattached to groups and hard to categorize had become the most defining part of me. Not having a fixed identity had become my identity.
The day after I opened the email, I went through my morning, still feeling disappointed. As I crossed the street, a black man passed me on the left. At the same time a white woman came toward me on my right. For the first time in my life, it flipped for me: Before, I wasn&#8217;t sure which one would have thought I was part of their culture, what they would have called me. But in that moment, I saw parts of myself in both of them–I could identify with each one and, for that matter, whomever I wanted.


I flashed back to the Millions March, to all the faces on the New York City subway, to that sixth-grade girl looking in the bathroom mirror. What I had been seeing were just skin tones. I&#8217;d spent so much time trying to understand my own color, but as it turned out, there was something empowering about the fact that I didn&#8217;t have to take ownership of any particular race. I realized: I could be what I was by being who I was. My search led me to my father&#8217;s family, whom I adore, and to my mother&#8217;s family, whom I&#8217;m getting to know–and, most important, to myself. The daughter I am, the sister I am, the friend I am.
This is who I am. No email could ever change that.
The next time someone asks what I am, my response will be ready:
&#8220;I&#8217;m Simone. What are you?&#8221;


Simone Kitchens, Glamour&#8217;s deputy beauty editor, lives in Brooklyn.

Simone Kitchens

I’m Simone

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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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

Geneticists from all over the world have converged in San Diego this week as part of the American Society of Human Genetics annual meeting.
<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" />
A team of scientists from 23andMe joined the thousands of geneticists in attendances to present some of our own research. Below are links to some of the posters presented.
In addition, 23andMe also gave previews of our new &#8220;Research Portal,&#8221; which will allow qualified researchers to access aggregated, anonymized 23andMe data from our 600,000 genotyped individuals who have given consent for research under an Independent Review Board approved protocol.
By offering access to 23andMe&#8217;s unique research model, we believe we can help accelerate research and fuel discoveries. 
Below are the list of some of the 23andMe posters presented at ASHG with links to PDFs versions of the posters. 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-21788" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Posters-Jpg.001-300x225.jpg" alt="Posters Jpg.001" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Posters-Jpg.001-300x225.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Posters-Jpg.001-768x576.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Posters-Jpg.001-880x660.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Posters-Jpg.001.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />


&#8211; <a href="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ASHG_pierson_kleinman_eriksson_hinds_8-12.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Like Mother, Like Daughter: Analysis of Parent-Child Phenotypic Correlations for Hundreds of Medical and Behavioral Traits</a> 
Author(s): E. Pierson, D. Hinds, A. Kleinman, N. Eriksson
&#8211; <a href="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ASHG2014_Chao_CryEasily-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Genes Involved in Brain Development Influence Crying Habits -A Genome Wide Association Study</a> 
Author(s): C. Tian, C. Y. McLean, E. Y. Durand, N. Eriksson, J. Y. Tung, D. A. Hinds


&#8211; <a href="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Bryc_ASHG2014_textboxes.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The genetic ancestry of African, Latino, and European Americans across the United States</a> 
Author(s): K. Bryc, E. Durand, D. Reich, J. Mountain


&#8211;<a href="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Bell_ASHG2014_varicose.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> A Large Scale Genome Wide Association Study of Varicose Veins in the 23andMe Cohort</a> 
Author(s): R. K. Bell, E. Y. Durand, C. Y. McLean, N. Eriksson, J. Y. Tung, D. A. Hinds
&#8211; <a href="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Morning_person_poster.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">GWAS of 89,283 individuals identifies genetic variants associated with being a morning person</a> 
Author(s): Y. Hu, A. Shmygelska, D. Tran, N. Eriksson, J. Tung, D. Hinds
&#8211; <a href="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ASHG_D23_poster_v3.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Accelerating Drug Development with 23andMe Phenome-Wide Association Studies</a> 
Author(s): F. Sathirapongsasuti, B. T. Naughton, J. L. Mountain, D. A. Hinds, J. Y. Tung, C. Y. McLean
&#8211; <a href="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/nfurlotte_ASHG_2014_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Risk prediction and Type II Diabetes</a> 
Author(s): N. Furlotte, S. Dandekar, R. Smith, N. Eriksson, D. Hinds


&#8211; <a href="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/DH_ASHG_2014.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Genetic discovery in the 23andMe participant cohort</a> 
Author(s): D. A. Hinds, C. A. M. Northover, M. H. McIntyre, C. Wilson, K. E. Huber, A. Kleinman, F. Sathirapongsasuti, R. K. Bell, E. Pierson, K. Bryc, A. S. Shmygelska, N. A. Furlotte, Y. Hu, C. Tian, E. Y. Durand, C. Y. McLean, B. Naughton, J. L. Mountain, N. Eriksson, J. Y. Tung

23andMe’s Research At ASHG 2014

In honor of both Easter and Passover, we want to share Debra&#8217;s 23andMe story.
A Christian, Debra didn’t just read the Bible, she began to immerse herself in the Torah, the first five books of Hebrew Scriptures that are also part of the Old Testament. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20783" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Debra-Moore-Photo-200x300.jpg" alt="Debra Moore Photo" width="200" height="300" />In looking into her own family history she didn’t have her parents around anymore to ask about her ancestry so went to the DNA and tested with 23andMe.
What she didn’t know was that those two paths would cross in a most unexpected way.
A teacher by profession, Debra has always had an innate desire for knowledge. After going through a very difficult divorce she sought solace in the scripture.
“As a Christian, I wanted to understand and appreciate the Jewish roots of Christianity. So I began researching the Torah,” she said.
A three-year spiritual journey ensued. Debra delighted in the learning, immersing herself in the customs and celebrating the holidays.
“I remembered a preacher once saying, ‘If you want to be blessed, bless Israel.’” She said. “And here was this treasure of traditions that were unknown to me.”
Friends and colleagues would invite Debra for Passover and to break the fast on Yom Kippur. She celebrated Purim and Sukkot, joining in on the readings and embracing the customs.
“When my kids come home they know if it’s Friday we are going to have Sabbath prayers and they look forward to it,” she said.
As she continued on this spiritual journey, Debra took a personal journey as well when a few months ago her daughter suggested they both join 23andMe. Ever eager for discovery, Debra agreed. Waiting for the results was the hardest part.
“My daughter and I submitted our samples without acknowledging any family connection,” she said. “23andme recognized that we were close relatives and labeled her as my daughter. Wow!”
But the biggest revelation came when they both reviewed their ancestry results. They had tried other genealogy services in the past and were left with more questions than answers. This was not the case with 23andMe.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve known all my life I was African American – all I had to do was look in the mirror but this – this was so exciting. My most unexpected, but highly prized revelation was that we have Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry,” she said.
Debra was surprised and elated. After three years of immersing herself in the Jewish faith she now could say that was REALLY part of her. She immediately shared the news with the rest of her family, friends and colleagues.
“One of the secretaries who works with me is Jewish and we were always talking about the holidays and such. When I got my 23andMe results I ran down the stairs and I said “Look! We’re cousins!”
&#8220;It was such an honor to be in the room,&#8221; she said. &#8220;For four years, I had observed Passover at home alone, but this year, I stepped out and made contacts within the Jewish community. I am so thankful and grateful for 23andme.&#8221;
Through all of this Debra only has one regret, that her mother has passed and she was not able to share this news.
“Years ago, my mother worked with a man who was Jewish. She spoke highly of this man who worked along side her in a factory in St. Louis, MO and was not bothered that she was Black. She remembered that this man and his family were so kind to her.”
23andMe provides genetic testing services for informational purposes; your results may or may not help you to search for or identify relatives or family members.

We’re Cousins!

This interview is part of an occasional series of profiles introducing you to the people behind 23andMe’s compelling research. Meghan Mullins, a research assistant, previously did work on obesity and diabetes among the Pima Indians in Arizona. Here at 23andMe, Meghan works with our cancer and Parkinson’s research initiatives. She also ensures that the research we do adheres to ethical guidelines. 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20735" alt="Meghan Mullins photo" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Meghan-Mullins-photo-200x300.jpg" width="200" height="300" /> 
“People are excited about the research we’re doing because we’re making it so accessible.”
<h6>What were you researching before you came to 23andMe?</h6>

Before I started working at 23andMe, I spent two years with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, a division of the National Institutes of Health. I worked in the genetics lab studying obesity and diabetes in Pima Indians.
<h6>What’s your job at 23andMe?</h6>

I’m a Research Assistant at 23andMe, so I work on our research initiatives for Parkinson’s and cancer where we study the associations between genetics and disease. I also create protocols for our studies and work with our Institutional Review Board to protect the rights of research participants. And I helped spearhead the recruiting efforts for our <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/23andmes-african-ancestry-project/">African Ancestry project</a>.
<div style="float: right; text-align: justified; width: 200px; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;">Meghan Mullins, Research Assistant 
Originally from: Norman, OK 
Education: 
BA: Human Biology from Stanford</div>
<h6>Why are you excited about genetics?</h6>

I accidentally ended up in genetics, but I really enjoy it. Because it’s a relatively new field in biology, the pace of research is very fast.
For example, the most comprehensive genetic research to date has been on people of European descent. We don’t really know how that applies to people with other ethnic backgrounds because the research hasn’t been repeated to include them. That’s why I’m excited about what 23andMe did with our <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/news/announcements/roots-into-the-future/">Roots Into the Future project</a>, a research initiative addressing the African American community. We’re closing the gap to include more people with African descent in genetic research, and we’re generating knowledge that will help people with more diverse backgrounds in the future.
<h6>Tell us about a recent breakthrough in genetics research that you think will have a big impact on the industry. 
</h6>
I’m interested in a recent <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2961939-X/fulltext">European study</a> about gene therapy for Parkinson’s Disease. They’re testing a new gene therapy and while very preliminary, results have shown that patients were able to come off of dopamine replacement medications without the temporal flux of other Parkinson’s drugs.
<h6>What&#8217;s one thing the average consumer should know about genetics?<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20711" alt="SocialPosts_Spotlight" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/SocialPosts_Spotlight-300x300.jpg" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/SocialPosts_Spotlight-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/SocialPosts_Spotlight-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/SocialPosts_Spotlight-768x768.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/SocialPosts_Spotlight-880x880.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/SocialPosts_Spotlight-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/SocialPosts_Spotlight-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/SocialPosts_Spotlight-574x574.jpg 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/SocialPosts_Spotlight.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> 
</h6>
It’s something that most people know, but have a hard time applying: who you are is a function of your genetics and your environment. When people see the results of genetic tests, they often forget about the environmental factors like where and how you live. It’s really all these elements coming together that make you who you are.
<h6>What interesting thing have you learned about yourself from being genotyped? 
</h6>
I have a tiny percentage of sub-Saharan African DNA, which could be from my Cherokee background. I also learned that I carry the “redhead gene” &#8211; and while I currently live my life with red hair, it’s naturally brown.
In general, my 23andMe results inspired me to commit to more regular exercise given how much risk that contributes to any given condition. In fact, I have been running regularly and was able to lower my cholesterol by about 30 percent.

23andMe Researcher Meghan Mullins

Editor&#8217;s note 3/17: Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates wrote about Kasia&#8217;s research and &#8220;hidden African ancestry&#8221; in the The Root. Check it out.
Scientists have long used DNA to inform our understanding of big epochs of<a href="http://admixturemap.paintmychromosomes.com/"> human change and migration</a>. But what about the smaller changes, can DNA tell us something about recent human history?
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-4565" alt="diversity photo" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/iStock_000004751590XSmall.jpg" width="300" height="199" />
23andMe researcher Katarzyna &#8220;Kasia&#8221; Bryc, who is also a postdoctoral research fellow in<a href="http://genetics.med.harvard.edu/reich/Reich_Lab/Welcome.html"> David Reich’s lab</a> at Harvard Medical School, gathered anonymous aggregated data from our customers to look at the mix of African, European and Native American ancestry in the United States. What she discovered was an illuminating genetic portrait of the U.S. that both confirms some of what we know about America’s social history but also other things that are surprising and new.
“Perhaps one of the greatest discoveries stemming from recent advancements in genetic genealogy is that previously held assumptions about race and identity are being brought into question,” Harvard Professor Henry Louis “Skip” Gates Jr. wrote<a href="https://www.theroot.com/do-most-whites-have-traces-of-african-dna-as-i-do-1790874465"> recently</a>. “It was always known throughout American history that there was at least some intermixing of races, but only now, through DNA testing, can we see the extent to which this actually occurred.”
Gates was writing about something we’ve reported on in the past, the “<a href="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ASHG2011poster-Mountain-1.pdf">hidden” African ancestry</a> among white Americans.  Because of the ugly history of slavery, most African Americans have at least some European ancestry. But what is less known is how many individuals who identify as being of solely European ancestry – or white – also have African ancestry.  
Note that we use the term “hidden,” because these individuals self-identify as white and because of their very small percentage of African ancestry, may be unaware. But some of these individuals may indeed know about that African ancestry.
Kasia’s research confirmed in more detail 23andMe’s earlier findings, and she looked at how that mix of ancestry for self-identified whites, African Americans and Latinos differed from state-to-state.
Taken together Kasia’s research helps fill in more detail of how migration, as well as social and racial divisions shaped America.
<h6>Hidden African Ancestry Redux</h6>
A few years ago, Joanna Mountain, 23andMe Senior Director of Research, presented<a href="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ASHG2011poster-Mountain-1.pdf"> preliminary findings</a> at an American Society of Human Genetics conference looking at the numbers of individuals who identified as white, but who had what was likely “hidden African ancestry.”<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20364" alt="African Ancestry for Self-Identified Whites" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/African-Ancestry-for-Self-Identified-Whites-300x174.jpg" width="300" height="174" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/African-Ancestry-for-Self-Identified-Whites-300x174.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/African-Ancestry-for-Self-Identified-Whites-768x446.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/African-Ancestry-for-Self-Identified-Whites-880x511.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/African-Ancestry-for-Self-Identified-Whites.jpg 1012w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
In an update to that work, our researcher Kasia Bryc found that about about 4 percent of whites have at least 1 percent or more African ancestry.
Although it is a relatively small percentage, the percentage indicates that an individual with at least 1 percent African ancestry had an African ancestor within the last six generations, or in the last 200 years. This data also suggests that individuals with mixed parentage at some point were absorbed into the white population.
Looking a little more deeply into the data, Kasia also found that the percentage of whites with hidden African ancestry differed significantly from state-to-state. Southern states with the highest African American populations, tended to have the highest percentages of hidden African ancestry.
In South Carolina  at least 13 percent of self-identified whites have 1 percent or more African ancestry, while in Louisiana the number is a little more than 12 percent. In Georgia and Alabama the number is about 9 percent. The differences perhaps point to different social and cultural histories within the south.
<h6>The DNA of African Americans</h6>
Most African Americans know they have some European ancestry. It’s a vestige of slavery. But what can be surprising is what that mix of ancestry can say about social history in America.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20365" alt="African Ancestry in African Americans" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/African-Ancestry-in-African-Americans-300x186.jpg" width="300" height="186" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/African-Ancestry-in-African-Americans-300x186.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/African-Ancestry-in-African-Americans-768x477.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/African-Ancestry-in-African-Americans-880x547.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/African-Ancestry-in-African-Americans.jpg 882w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Previous published studies estimate that on average African Americans had about 82 percent African ancestry and about 18 percent European ancestry. But in self-identified African Americans in 23andMe’s database, Kasia found the average amount of African ancestry was closer to 73 percent.
Kasia found significant differences in state-to-state comparisons. African Americans in the northern and western states have more mixed ancestry than those in the southern states. African Americans living in South Carolina have the highest proportion of African ancestry, about 84 percent, compared to those living in any other state.
A significant percentage of African Americans, more than 5 percent, had at least 2 percent Native American ancestry. This is much higher than previous estimates or data from the US Census.
<h6>Latinos in the USA</h6>
Looking at the mix of European, African and Native American ancestry, self-identified Latinos in the 23andMe database had the most diversity in their ancestry. But again, just as the mix of ancestry among African Americans and whites differed from state-to state, so too did Latinos, which again sheds more light on their social history.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20369" alt="Native American Ancestry in Latinos" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Native-American-Ancestry-in-Latinos1-300x173.jpg" width="300" height="173" />
On average Latinos had about 70 percent European ancestry, 14 percent Native American ancestry and 6 percent African ancestry.
The remaining ancestry is difficult to assign because the DNA is either shared by a number of different populations around the world, or because it’s from understudied populations, such as Native Americans. Obviously that large “unassigned” percentage means that those “averages” could be higher. As with African Americans, looking at the regional and state-to-state numbers for self-identified Latinos, the differences are striking.
Recent studies have shown that countries across South America, the Caribbean, and Mexico have different profiles of genetic ancestry molded by each populations&#8217; unique history.
According to 23andMe’s data, the United States has its own set of unique regional histories.
For example, some Latinos have no discernible  Native American ancestry, while others have as much as 50 percent of the ancestry being Native American. Latinos in states in the Southwest, bordering Mexico – New Mexico, Texas, California and Arizona – have the greatest percentage of Native American ancestry. Latinos in states with the largest proportion of African Americans in their population – South Carolina, Louisiana and Alabama – have the highest percentage of African Ancestry.
<h6>Every Picture Tells A Story</h6>
America is a crossroads of cultures and our DNA reflects this. Kasia’s research sketches a picture of a few of those cultures but is far from offering the full genetic portrait of the people of the United States. Still her work illustrates the power of DNA – and the 23andMe database – to tell us about ourselves and our history.
*Apologies to Bryan Sykes for our appropriation of the title of his 2012 book, <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/recommended-reading/dna-usa/">“DNA USA: A Genetic Portrait of America.”</a>  A great read, the book is both a travelogue and a series of short profiles of people with different ancestral backgrounds, who have had their DNA tested.

DNA USA* Revisited

Not long before his grandmother died, DeSean Stokes sat with her as she shared stories of her life.
<div id="attachment_20206" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20206" class="size-medium wp-image-20206" alt="DeSean with his grandparents Evelyn and Isham Brown." src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/DeSean_Stokes_Evelyn_Brown_Isham_Brown-300x221.jpg" width="300" height="221" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/DeSean_Stokes_Evelyn_Brown_Isham_Brown-300x221.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/DeSean_Stokes_Evelyn_Brown_Isham_Brown-768x567.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/DeSean_Stokes_Evelyn_Brown_Isham_Brown-880x649.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/DeSean_Stokes_Evelyn_Brown_Isham_Brown.jpg 1000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />DeSean with his grandparents Evelyn and Isham Brown.</div>
One of 15 children brought up in the segregated south, his grandmother, Evelyn, was the first in her family to go to college – Alabama State University, Class of 1954. She became an elementary school teacher, working for 50 years in the classroom. Evelyn was happily married to Isham Brown for 56 years and the couple raised three bright and successful kids.
When she died in early 2013, DeSean said it was the stories she told him that kept running through his mind. He wanted to know more, not just about her but where she came from and the generations that came before.
That’s where 23andMe came in.  It helped him delve into parts of his ancestry that he wouldn’t have been able to find just from the stories his grandmother told him.
“23andMe opened up even more doors to my ancestral story,” he said.
<h6>Stories Become Songs</h6>
An actor and musician, DeSean said much of his work involves telling or even inhabiting the stories of others.
“As a musician and actor, my job is to tell interesting stories,” he said.
But after his grandmother’s death, it was his own family’s story that he wanted to tell.
“There is so much history you can learn about yourself and family just from sitting down and talking with your oldest living relatives,” DeSean said.
Those conversations with his grandmother also inspired him to write a<a href="https://youtu.be/nEW9m5VGHVw"> song for Evelyn</a>.
“Music is in my DNA &#8212; I live it, breath it and feel it in everything I do,” DeSean said.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20207" alt="DeSean_Stokes_Photo_By_Jeffrey_Hornstein" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/DeSean_Stokes_Photo_By_Jeffrey_Hornstein-256x300.jpg" width="256" height="300" />
<h6>Sharing with Evelyn</h6>
He played the music for her just before her death in early 2013. After she died he felt a need to learn more, not just about her but about her ancestors. His grandmother’s stories could only take him back so far.
An African-American, he knows the history of slavery and what that meant – mixed-ancestry and very little information about where in Africa his ancestors came. Looking at family photos he also couldn’t help but notice the different shades of color in his family. It left him wondering. He’d heard from Evelyn and his grandparents about their families, but not much more.
“They only knew the details of a couple generations before and the rest was unknown,” he said.
<h6>DNA Testing</h6>
Using DNA testing, DeSean could peer into the past that was locked away by time.
From his 23andMe results, he learned that his ancestry, was, not surprisingly, mostly from West Africa. But DeSean also learned that about a quarter of his ancestry was from Europe and included connections to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Russia, and Poland. He even found that his ancestry included Jamaican ancestry, Native American ancestry, and Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry.
Using 23andMe, DeSean has connected with newly discovered relatives from around the world.
“I am so thankful for the time I had with my grandmother,” he said. “She will always be a part of me. The freckles on my face remind me of her every time I look in the mirror.  I am thankful for everything she passed down to me.  I am also grateful to 23andMe for opening up even more doors to my ancestral story.  It is the music I&#8217;ve been longing to hear.&#8221;
23andMe provides genetic testing services for informational purposes; your results may or may not help you to search for or identify relatives or family members.

African ancestry — Page 3