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

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

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

23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

23andMe Adds More Diversity to Ancestry Features

Guillaume’s dad once referred to him in a poem as “my son of three fathers,” but he should have written: “My son of three fathers and three mothers.”
<div id="attachment_26997" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26997" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-Bordier-300x214.png" alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-26997" width="300" height="214" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-Bordier-300x214.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-Bordier.png 512w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Guillaume Bordier</div>
His parents adopted him during the final years of the war in Vietnam. After they divorced, he added a stepdad and stepmom to his family. But Guillaume also had an unknown third father and mother. All he knew was that his birth father was likely an African American serviceman, and his birth mom was Vietnamese.
Raised in France, Guillaume was the only dark-skinned boy in his school. He went on to become a virtuoso ballet dancer and choreographer but always wrestled with his identity and a desire to know more about his origins.
“Because of my physical characteristics, I knew that I was part Vietnamese and part African-American,” Guillaume said. “But I knew nothing else.”
<h6>Searching</h6>
Although Guillaume’s father once said, his son’s “eyes reflect the light of every corner of the world,” Guillaume did not feel connected in that way.
“I always wondered who I was, and what my real origins were,” he said. “And as an adopted child, no matter what we say, we are always looking for our roots.”
Opening up his 23andMe Ancestry Composition results for the first time, with it’s mosaic of colors representing the global regions from which his DNA originated, gave Guillaume another tangible representation of who he was and where he was from. And it opened up a door into the mysteries of his origins.
His arresting story of discovery, documented in a film directed by Jésus Castro-Ortega called &#8220;<a href="http://www.andanafilms.com/catalogueFiche.php?idFiche=1254&#038;rub=Nouveaut%C3%A9">In Balance</a>,&#8221; was first shown last summer on French National television. An English-subtitled version, distributed by Andana Films in the US, is now streaming on Amazon Prime and<a href="https://link.tubi.tv/0oiLXvgRMV"> Tubi</a>.
The opening scenes of the film include Guillaume seeing his 23andMe results for the first time.
“It changed the course of my life,” he said.
<h6>The Wolf Cub</h6>
The French couple who’d adopted Guillaume Bordier worried that he might not survive.
<div id="attachment_26998" style="width: 232px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26998" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-at-Orphanage-222x300.png" alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-26998" width="222" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-at-Orphanage-222x300.png 222w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-at-Orphanage.png 379w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 222px) 100vw, 222px" />Photo of Guillaume at a Vietnamese orphanage before his adoption.</div>
Malnourished, the 14-month-old weighed just 14 pounds and was in wretched physical condition. Sickly and slight for his age, his mother nursed him back to health. The young Guillaume was like an “abandoned wolf cub,” she once said.
At first, Guillaume, who would go on to become a powerful, and graceful ballet dancer, struggled just to walk. He didn’t take his first steps until he was two-and-a-half. Beyond those physical obstacles, Guillaume had to overcome the challenges put in front of him due to the color of his skin.
“Ballet dancing was, in France at that time, a solely white universe,” he said.
Yet dance was everything to him.
“I could have been someone who is violent,” Guillaume said. “But dance saved me. It was my therapy for every situation.”
His father at one point forbade him from dancing saying ballet is “not for boys.” So Guillaume would draw elaborate storyboards of the dances he had already memorized, complete with the positioning of every dancer, their names, and, of course, his role in the production.
That early obsession became his profession as Guillaume went on to dance in New York and Paris. Over time he added choreographer to his job title. But in the last few years, as Guillaume neared 50, the questions around his origins became more persistent. He often thought of where he’d come from, about the war, and what it must have been like for his birth mother to give him up.
<div id="attachment_26999" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26999" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-and-His-Mother-300x300.png" alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-26999" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-and-His-Mother-300x300.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-and-His-Mother-150x150.png 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-and-His-Mother-271x271.png 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-and-His-Mother-372x372.png 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-and-His-Mother.png 449w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Guillaume and his mother in France.</div>
In dreams he imagined that moment and what she might have said as she left her baby:
“’You will grow up not knowing your mother and father,’” he imagined her saying to him. “’You will keep wondering if we’re dead or alive. My son I won’t be there but here is your life.’”
<h6>My Brother?</h6>
Both nervous and excited Guillaume and his partner, Francois, sat down one night in 2016 to look at his 23andMe results for the first time. Anxious he didn’t know what to expect.
“Ever since I learned you could use DNA testing to find your origins I’ve wanted to do it,” Guillaume said.
His first reaction to the results was awe. 
“Incredible,” he said when he saw the colorful wheel representing the regions to which his DNA connected him.
<div id="attachment_27000" style="width: 302px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-27000" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaumes-AC-292x300.png" alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-27000" width="292" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaumes-AC-292x300.png 292w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaumes-AC.png 394w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 292px) 100vw, 292px" />Guillaume&#8217;s Ancestry Composition includes the rich mix of his African American and Vietnamese roots.</div>
Guillaume saw the large chunk of West Africa ancestry he inherited from his African American birth father, who also passed on to him a small but significant amount of European ancestry. He was surprised to learn that along with his Vietnamese ancestry from his birth mother he inherited a large amount of Chinese and Chinese Dai ancestry. The African and European half of his ancestry came from his father, and the Vietnamese and Chinese came from his mother.
“So I’m half American,” he said at one point after absorbing it all.
But it was when he looked at his <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/">DNA Relatives</a> that he stopped short. At the top was a connection to a man he’d never met but with whom he shares about a quarter of his DNA.
“My brother,” he said and then corrected himself. “My half brother. This is so intense…Can you imagine?”
<h6>Back Into the Matrix</h6>
Guillaume marveled at the odds of finding his brother, Joe.
<div style="float: right; text-align: justified; width: 300px; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;">
What&#8217;s Your Story?

Like our DNA, our stories connect us. They can also inspire, entertain and empower us. Thousands of 23andMe customers have already shared their stories with us. We hope you will choose to share yours.
Whether it’s about finding a long-lost relative, gaining insights into your health, or simply recounting the fun you’ve had while exploring your DNA, we want to hear your story. We may even want to feature it on our website or in a television commercial.
You can see some of our favorite customer stories <a href="https://www.23andme.com/stories/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.
<a href="https://www.23andme.com/stories/#form" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tell us your story!</a>
</div>
Joe was also born in Vietnam, but almost four years after Guillaume. He’d also been given up after birth, but in his case, he’d been raised by an elderly woman in his village. When he turned 18, he was able to come to the United States.
Guillaume and Joe finally connected via email and then talked on the phone. Joe, who now lives in Tennessee with his family, was able to tell Guillaume that he has at least seven siblings who are all from the same mother. 
Most striking of all for Guillaume was that their mother was still alive, and had fled Vietnam to live in the United States. Joe could in turn introduce Guillaume to their mother, as well as a half-sister who both live in New Orleans.
Not long after that, he connected with her for the first time in an emotional video chat. At one point he broke down crying trying to explain to her what he is feeling.
“Mom, mom,” he said. “I’ve been searching for you all my life mom.”
A few months later, Guillaume comes to the US for a visit and drives with Joe to visit with their mother. In the days leading up the meeting, Guillaume felt he was living in an altered reality. He couldn’t sleep; he couldn’t help but go back over his life, thinking about everything, almost reviewing his existence in rewind.
“I’m starting over, going back into the matrix,” he said.
<h6>Like a Hurricane</h6>
Nothing is completely clear — the sequence of events, the names, and places — but sitting with his birth mother after their first emotional meeting Guillaume begins to get the first sketchy details of his origins. She spoke in broken English and sometimes in Vietnamese that was translated by her daughter, and Guillaume’s half-sister, Phung.
Their mother worked in the laundry near Camp Tien Sha, a Naval base in Danang that housed a battalion of Marines. Guillaume’s father was a young Marine.
<div id="attachment_27001" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-27001" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-Birth-Mom-300x284.png" alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-27001" width="300" height="284" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-Birth-Mom-300x284.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-Birth-Mom-768x726.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-Birth-Mom-1024x968.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-Birth-Mom-880x832.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-Birth-Mom-1180x1116.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-Birth-Mom.png 1438w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Guillaume and his birth mother after meeting for the first time.</div>
They had started as friends but soon turned into something more. They were together for a few months in 1968 and 1969, she said.
“He looked like you,” she told Guillaume, adding that his skin was lighter like his, and that, “everybody loved him.”
Sometimes he would stay with her, she told him. Sometimes he’d be gone on missions for many days or weeks, and she would not see him. Then one day she was told he died in combat. She was devastated. She soon discovered she was pregnant.
Some of those details were comforting to hear, but Guillaume also had so many more questions.
What was his name? She wasn’t sure, John or James perhaps. She didn’t know his rank or his age. She wasn’t sure the date of his death or where.
She told Guillaume that after she’d heard the news, she became distraught and later became ill. When Guillaume was born both she and the new baby were sick, and they both began losing weight, she told him. At some point, she left him with a family that she trusted to care for him so that she could work in Saigon. When she returned they were gone, and unbeknownst to her had taken Guillaume to an orphanage.
That detail was important for Guillaume because he believed it meant she’d never abandoned him. She’d told him that she’d gone back and searched for him. She’d bike the countryside looking. His sister, Phung said that their mother never stopped thinking about him.
“You have to understand that Vietnamese people cherish boys,” she said.
Their mother had never stopped praying that she’d find him, and then like a miracle, he finds her.
It’s all a bit overwhelming and unbelievable. Guillaume didn&#8217;t just find his mother, but seven siblings.
“It’s like a hurricane in the brain,” he said. “An emotional (hurricane) Katrina. I didn’t expect that.”
<h6>I Think I Am Your Son</h6>
You can’t answer five decades of questions in one week, Guillaume said.
When he returned to France Guillaume shared photos of his trip with his adopted mother.
His mom immediately felt sympathy toward the woman who gave him up so long ago.
“This must have reminded her of a lot of things she wanted to forget,” Guillaume’s mother told him. “She must have thought you were dead. Can you imagine? She is very strong.”
But as the weeks and months went on after his visit, more questions emerged. Was his father really dead?
<div id="attachment_27004" style="width: 224px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-27004" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-3-214x300.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-27004 size-medium" width="214" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-3-214x300.jpg 214w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-3-768x1076.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-3-731x1024.jpg 731w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-3-628x880.jpg 628w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-3-843x1180.jpg 843w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Guillaume-3-scaled.jpg 1828w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 214px) 100vw, 214px" />Guillaume is still search, trying to find the identity of his birth father.</div>
“I can’t be certain,” he said. 
Months after his visit he found another half-sister living in Texas, but closer to him in age. They met in person in the summer of 2018.
Guillaume found a few second and third cousins on his birth father’s side, but so far no insights into his birth father’s name or whether he died in Vietnam or not. He found the name of a young African American Marine, James Albert Sanders, who’d been killed in combat in May of 1969, and left a note on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund “Wall of Faces.”
“Maybe you are my father,” Guillaume wrote. “If you are my father, I want you to know that I always looked for you. If you are my father, let me tell you that I am very, very proud to be your son … I became not a soldier but a soloist ballet dancer &#8230; If you are my father, let me tell you that I miss you so much and I love you with all my heart.”
&nbsp;

Guillaume’s Search

Caroline Wallis, 23andMe Content Writer, Ancestry Product Team 
<div id="attachment_26919" style="width: 235px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26919" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/image2-225x300.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-26919 size-medium" width="225" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/image2-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/image2-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/image2-660x880.jpeg 660w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/image2-885x1180.jpeg 885w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/image2.jpeg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" />A photo of Mike in front of Bunratty Castle in County Clare, near the Shannon Airport. </div>
Messaging a distant cousin through <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/#dnarelatives">23andMe’s DNA Relatives </a>can feel like a leap of faith, a shot in the dark. You hope a message doesn’t fall on uninterested eyes. You hope it is read by someone like Mike Farragher, an offbeat writer from New Jersey. You hope for someone like <a href="https://www.irishcentral.com/opinion/cahirodoherty/mike-farragher-brings-ireland-and-irish-america-together-in-his-latest-story-collection">Mike</a>, particularly when you are looking for your ancestral connections to Ireland. 
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For Mike, opening one of these messages also holds its own unknowns. Indeed he could never have predicted the profound impact one message from a cousin (and its many consecutive ones) would have on his life, which has always included ties to his roots in Ireland. 
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A second-generation Irish American, Mike grew up listening to his father’s thick Irish brogue and visiting the Emerald Isle every other year to see his grandparents. Mike’s father was one of 10 siblings. As a result, Mike had strong family connections both here and in Ireland, and he wasn’t searching for any more. His first story collection, <a href="http://www.thisisyourbrainonshamrocks.com/">This is Your Brain on Shamrocks</a>, tapped into his Irish American upbringing. Mike, who works as a vice president for sales at a laboratory company when he’s not writing, thought he knew all about his big Irish family.
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Then, he got his first message from a DNA Relative on 23andMe. A cousin, Bethany*, found Mike in the process of doing her own advanced genealogical research. She had discovered evidence that they were related through his paternal side. Mike later connected with Bethany’s four sisters and other cousins, and soon learned that he was everyone’s closest living connection to Ireland. 
<div id="attachment_26818" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26818" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ireland-300x178.png" alt="" class="wp-image-26818 size-medium" width="300" height="178" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ireland-300x178.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ireland-768x456.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ireland-880x523.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ireland.png 993w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Using 23andMe&#8217;s Ancestry Composition tool, you can dig deeper and find where you have DNA in common with more people who report ancestry from those regions.</div>
“These ‘new’ cousins have been robbed of a few decades of that connection and are now making up for lost time,” Mike said. 
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Eager to share that connection with newfound family, Mike connected these cousins with other Irish family members, leading to a mini-reunion in Ireland for Mike’s father’s 80th birthday. 
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Laughing, Mike recalls his dad saying, “Don’t you think they’re after your money?[&#8230;]You better watch out for all these charlatans hiding in all the corners of the dark web!” 
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On the contrary, several of these cousins (many of whom are elderly) started crying upon hearing a brogue made familiar to them by their parents. Hungry to learn more about their ancestral birthplace, Mike’s new relatives would ask questions he had never thought to ask, helping Mike rediscover his own roots in a new way. 
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“I always knew who my family was but it is a lot of fun to watch others discover my family in this way,” Mike said. “Like discovering your life through your children’s eyes, I would liken this experience to much the same thing.”
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A natural storyteller, Mike has explored his Irish roots through his writing, and he even met a cousin while on a book tour. Mike likes to think that he carries on the legacies of Ireland’s famous writers, to keep the memory of his Irish ancestors alive, as well as to capture the contemporary stories of the Irish diaspora. And it all began with meeting a few cousins through 23andMe. 
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As Mike works on his next book — a novel inspired in part by his experience meeting his cousins — we marvel at the watershed power of one tentative message sent on the DNA Relatives platform. Mike is a cousin, a steward, and a storyteller, but also a historian keeping alive the stories of his family. 
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Follow along on Mike’s  entertaining adventures on his <a href="http://mikefarragher.blogspot.com/">blog</a>.
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*The names of Mike’s cousins have been changed to protect their privacy.

The Irish Connection

It’s February, which means the largest family discovery conference of the year is almost upon us. This year, 23andMe will be returning to Salt <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/2019-02-20-e1550710822368-283x300.jpg" alt="" class="alignright wp-image-26896 size-medium" width="283" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/2019-02-20-e1550710822368-283x300.jpg 283w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/2019-02-20-e1550710822368-768x814.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/2019-02-20-e1550710822368-830x880.jpg 830w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/2019-02-20-e1550710822368.jpg 900w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 283px) 100vw, 283px" />Lake City, Utah for <a href="https://www.rootstech.org/">RootsTech 2019. The visit offers</a> us a chance to showcase some of the new improvements to our ancestry service, as well as highlight 23andMe’s privacy protections, and the science around the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and their impact on risks for certain types of cancer
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The event will host keynote speakers daily and hundreds of classes centered on discovering family connections through the latest technology, DNA, people, and sources. 23andMe will be hosting several speaking sessions on topics ranging from genetic data privacy, an introduction to our BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) report, to a deep dive on our Ancestry Composition report. 
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We’ll be joining 15,000 in-person attendees from all over the world, thousands of online viewers, and 300 vendors in the Expo Hall to celebrate family discovery, consumer empowerment and genetics. Come see us at Booth 1105 to speak with 23andMe product experts, purchase 23andMe kits, check out our new Ancestry book, or to just hang out! 
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For those who can’t make it to the conference, our session at 1:30pm MT on Saturday, March 2, “Leading with Science at 23andMe” presented by Sarah Laskey, Health R&amp;D Scientist, will be livestreamed <a href="https://www.rootstech.org/salt-lake">here</a>. During this session, Sarah will walk through how research works at 23andMe and how you can contribute to scientific discoveries. 
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Hope to see the rest of you in Salt Lake City. 
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<h6>23andMe Agenda</h6>
<h6><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Speak-BRCA-262x300.jpg" alt="" class="alignright wp-image-26897 size-medium" width="262" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Speak-BRCA-262x300.jpg 262w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Speak-BRCA.jpg 376w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 262px) 100vw, 262px" />Wednesday, February 27 </h6>
Time: 3:00pm  
Room: 355 F
Title: Do You Speak BRCA?
Speaker: Ruth Tennen
Description: BRCA1 and BRCA2 are genes that can impact a person&#8217;s chances of developing certain cancers, including breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer. In this session, we&#8217;ll discuss the science behind these genes, how they&#8217;re passed down through families, and 23andMe&#8217;s Personal Genetic Service.
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<h6>Thursday, February 28 </h6>
Time: 4:30pm 
Room: 355 C
Title: Protecting Your Privacy at 23andMe<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/privacy-300x300.png" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-25170" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/privacy-300x300.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/privacy-150x150.png 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/privacy-271x271.png 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/privacy-372x372.png 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/privacy-574x574.png 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/privacy.png 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Speaker: Adriana Beach  
Description: 23andMe gives you control over your genetic information. We want you to decide how your information is used and with whom it is shared, and we take great care to design our product with privacy in mind. In this session, we&#8217;ll discuss how you can control your information and how we protect your privacy.
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<h6>Friday, March 1 </h6>
Details: (3) 15-min talks followed by 15-min Q&amp;A
Time: 8am 
Room: Ballroom G
Title: Power Hour on New Reports and Updates from 23andMe!
Speakers: Hilary Vance, Alison Kung, and Danielle Hayes
Description: Discover what you can learn about your health through 23andMe. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ancestry-Overview-Square-300x297.png" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-26832" width="300" height="297" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ancestry-Overview-Square-300x297.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ancestry-Overview-Square-150x150.png 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ancestry-Overview-Square-768x759.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ancestry-Overview-Square-1024x1012.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ancestry-Overview-Square-880x870.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ancestry-Overview-Square-1180x1166.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ancestry-Overview-Square.png 1212w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
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<h6>Saturday, March 2 </h6>
Time: 11am (3-5 mins presentation time)
Room: Main stage
Speaker(s): Shirley Wu
Description: At 23andMe, we believe that DNA can change lives. Our mission is to help people access, understand, and benefit from the human genome. One way we tackle this mission is by providing information on health risks, health risks that could affect your family, and wellness information directly to consumers. During this session, 23andMe&#8217;s Director of Health Product Shirley Wu will discuss how genetics can impact one&#8217;s health, and how consumer participation in research has fueled hundreds of genetic discoveries. 
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Time: 12pm (45 mins, followed by Q&amp;A) 
Room: Lunch 2  
Title: 23 Reasons to Connect with Friends and Relatives at 23andMe
Speaker: Samantha Esselmann
Description: From learning more about what ancestry your inherited from your parents, to comparing your Neanderthal-ness with friends, 23andMe offers a variety of ways for customers to connect, share, and compare their results. In this lunch session we&#8217;ll explore the various reports and tools 23andMe offers and show examples of how they can be used to to answer a variety of questions. 
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Time: 1:30pm (45-50 min preso followed by 10-15 min Q+A)
Room: Ballroom G
Title: Leading with Science at 23andMe<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Microscope-Icon-192x300.jpg" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-24284" width="192" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Microscope-Icon-192x300.jpg 192w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Microscope-Icon.jpg 456w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 192px) 100vw, 192px" />
Speak: Sarah Laskey 
Description: 23andMe customers who participate in research are helping to advance scientific knowledge in revolutionary new ways. Each discovery helps pave the way for advances in medicine. Since 2010, 23andMe has published over 110 papers in peer reviewed journals. In this session, we&#8217;ll walk through how research works at 23andMe and how you can contribute to scientific discoveries. 
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<h6>Family Discovery Day </h6>
Details: This is a day when portions of the conference will be free to the public, and families with children aged 8 and older are welcome to join. There will be a special Family Discovery Day (FDD) general session, specific class sessions geared towards children and families, and fun activities in the Expo Hall and around the convention center.
Type of activity: Craft and build your own DNA souvenir to take home! 
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23andMe Returns to Salt Lake City for RootsTech 2019

Many African Americans can relate to the years of frustration Paul Mosley had trying to track back his family history.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Paul-Mosley-e1549909372876-300x245.jpg" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-26653" width="300" height="245" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Paul-Mosley-e1549909372876-300x245.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Paul-Mosley-e1549909372876-768x628.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Paul-Mosley-e1549909372876-1024x838.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Paul-Mosley-e1549909372876-880x720.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Paul-Mosley-e1549909372876-1180x965.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Paul-Mosley-e1549909372876.jpg 1809w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />

For Paul, there was always a certain point where the trail ended. Like many African Americans, Paul’s search came up empty.

The U.S.&#8217;s history of slavery severed his connections to the past. Instead of being able to find ancestors’ names in old birth and death records, or Census records, many African Americans must resort to combing through slaveholder property records, or slave auction logs. Even rarer, are those records or even oral histories to give people like Paul a way to trace their family ties back to Africa.

“I became angry every time I would see someone saying their family tree traced back to Ireland, Italy or some other country, and I couldn’t find my family because of slavery,” he said.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Pauls-AC-300x263.png" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-26881" width="300" height="263" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Pauls-AC-300x263.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Pauls-AC-768x673.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Pauls-AC-1024x897.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Pauls-AC-880x771.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Pauls-AC.png 1032w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />

Using paper records, Paul had been able to trace his ancestry to about 1870, but he couldn’t go back any further. So after he received 23andMe as a gift, he eagerly awaited for what he might learn through DNA. While he knows his ancestors were forcibly brought here from Africa because of slavery, he’s always wanted to know more about his family’s origins.

That first step in learning more came when he opened up his <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/#toc-ancestry-composition">23andMe Ancestry Composition</a> report.

<h6>West Africa</h6>
“I logged in, and the tears started to well up in my eyes because my results showed that almost 90 percent of my ancestors traced to West Africa and the shores of the Transatlantic Slave Trade,” Paul said.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Pauls-Breakdown-300x205.png" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-26884" width="300" height="205" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Pauls-Breakdown-300x205.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Pauls-Breakdown.png 539w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
His results showed that he was 91 percent Sub-Saharan African, and his DNA connected him to 15 populations in West Africa – with the largest percentages coming from Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The emotional reaction surprised him, he said. He hadn’t expected the profound impact it had on him.

“These results placed my family on those slave ships,” he said. “For the first time in my 55 years of life … I now have confirmation that I have a direct connection to the Motherland. I feel like an orphan who has reconnected with his biological family.”

23andMe Helps Customer Connect to West Africa

When it comes to calculating 23andMe customers’ Ancestry Composition results, details are invariably what matter most: more specificity, more interactivity, more <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ancestry-Overview-Square-300x297.png" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-26832" width="300" height="297" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ancestry-Overview-Square-300x297.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ancestry-Overview-Square-150x150.png 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ancestry-Overview-Square-768x759.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ancestry-Overview-Square-1024x1012.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ancestry-Overview-Square-880x870.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ancestry-Overview-Square-1180x1166.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ancestry-Overview-Square.png 1212w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />opportunities to draw meaning about how we are all genetically connected to people around the globe. 
In service to this idea, 23andMe has added a trove of content-rich new pages called Ancestry Detail Reports, which offer a more granular view of your ancestry, snapshots of the places and people to which your DNA connects you, and more. This update comes in tandem with an array of improvements and new features to the <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry">Ancestry experience</a>, including a new interactive map of your <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/">DNA Relatives</a> and enhanced look and feel on mobile and desktop.
We are now offering more than 30 new population-specific pages called Ancestry Detail Reports, as well as evaluating each customer’s ancestry based on more than 1,000 specific regions. 
Ancestry Detail Reports provide a closer look at each of the global populations currently included in our Ancestry Composition feature, enabling customers to explore their own genetic heritage while also learning about other populations included in Ancestry Composition. The creation of this additional layer of detail comes in direct response to requests from our customers for more granularity and additional content in Ancestry Composition.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ac_pop@3x-992x1024.png" alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-26813 size-large" title="Ancestry Composition and Ancestry in Detail Pages" width="992" height="1024" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ac_pop@3x-992x1024.png 992w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ac_pop@3x-291x300.png 291w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ac_pop@3x-768x793.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ac_pop@3x-852x880.png 852w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ac_pop@3x-1143x1180.png 1143w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 992px) 100vw, 992px" />

<div style="float: right; text-align: justified; width: 350px; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;">
<h6 style="text-align: center;"> Improvements to 23andMe’s Ancestry Experience</h6>
<ul>
<li>30+ new Ancestry Detail Reports with regional maps for our most refined view of your ancestry.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>1000+ regions now included in Ancestry Composition.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://you.23andme.com/tools/relatives/map/">Interactive map</a> of where your DNA Relatives call home.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://you.23andme.com/ancestry/">Ancestry Overview</a> on desktop and mobile functions like a homepage for all your Ancestry reports, enabling exploration and discovery. </li>
</ul>
<ul></ul>

<ul>
<li>
More African and East Asian populations now available for all customers (first released in September 2018).</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h6></h6>
If you are a 23andMe customer, you can find your specific Ancestry Detail Reports (and explore all possible Ancestry Detail Reports) in a few ways. 
<ul>
<li>The easiest path is navigating to your <a href="https://you.23andme.com/ancestry/">Ancestry Overview</a> and clicking on each featured population under your Ancestry Composition summary. </li>
<li>You can also find these pages by clicking on the <a href="https://you.23andme.com/ancestry/all-reports/">All Reports</a> tab in your Ancestry Overview and looking under Ancestry Composition. There, you can easily view all of the more than 30 new reports and learn more about the diverse populations included in Ancestry Composition. </li>
</ul>
On the 23andMe Mobile Apps, you should see a list of featured populations under your Ancestry Composition results in the Ancestry tab. 
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<h6>A Deeper Dive</h6>
Let’s take a deeper dive into the Ancestry Detail Reports, and learn more about what you’ll discover when you view them. 
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If you’ve been assigned one or more “Recent Ancestor Locations” — these are indicated by the country and territory names you may see listed in your Ancestry Composition summary — you will also likely receive a more detailed map of your results on the associated Ancestry Detail Report. These maps may include the specific states or even counties where we have found evidence of your family’s recent ancestry. The stronger the evidence of a given ancestry, the  higher ranking on the adjacent list and darker the shading is for that region. This new “live” map with specific regional breakdowns will continuously update over time to reflect the growing number of individuals from around the world in 23andMe’s database. 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/maps@3x-1024x473.png" alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-26822 size-large" title="Ancestry in Detail, India and China" width="1024" height="473" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/maps@3x-1024x473.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/maps@3x-300x139.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/maps@3x-768x355.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/maps@3x-880x407.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/maps@3x-1180x545.png 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
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A number of the Ancestry Detail Reports contain immersive educational materials that provide further context around each population’s genetics, demographics, history, and more. Curated and written by 23andMe’s scientists, these materials aim to help customers learn important information about their genetic ancestry. These reports can also be used to learn about diverse populations with which you are not genetically connected, but may be curious about.
<h6><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/genetics@3x-1024x630.png" alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-26817 size-large" title="Hunter Gathers and Ashkenazi" width="1024" height="630" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/genetics@3x-1024x630.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/genetics@3x-300x184.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/genetics@3x-768x472.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/genetics@3x-880x541.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/genetics@3x-1180x726.png 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Snapshots</h6>
Another layer to the Ancestry Detail Reports are Snapshots — a handful of researched and reported stories that provide glimpses into the many nuances that make each ancestral population unique. Snapshot topics include: Talk the Talk (words and phrases unique to one of the languages spoken by each population), Ancestry Eats (traditional foods and beverages), Sights to See (off-the-beaten-path travel tips and important landmarks), Natural Wonders, Celebrations, Crafts &amp; Traditions, and more. We encourage customers to contribute ideas for future Snapshots by clicking on the Customer Feedback bar located at the bottom of each Ancestry Detail Report. 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/snapshots@3x-1014x1024.png" alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-26830 size-large" title="Snapshots, Sudan and Southeast Asia" width="1014" height="1024" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/snapshots@3x-1014x1024.png 1014w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/snapshots@3x-150x150.png 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/snapshots@3x-297x300.png 297w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/snapshots@3x-768x775.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/snapshots@3x-872x880.png 872w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/snapshots@3x-1169x1180.png 1169w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1014px) 100vw, 1014px" />Lastly, at the bottom of each Ancestry Detail Report, customers who have chosen to participate in the DNA Relatives tool can view their relatives who share ancestry from that particular population. For example, a customer with 20 percent Italian ancestry or 55 percent Vietnamese ancestry would see the profile names and profile images of some of their relatives connected to those populations. The content on each Ancestry Detail Report may provide inspiration for starting a conversation with those relatives about your genetic heritage. 
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This new paradigm for exploring Ancestry results on a deeper, more actionable level will set the standard for future updates to the Ancestry Composition experience. Since Ancestry Composition is truly a “living analysis” of your DNA that reflects our growing database, 23andMe will continue to update the  Ancestry Detail Reports at a county and state-level to provide an ever-closer view of your ancestry. Though country and territory maps may not yet be available for every customer, our intent is that this will change as our database continues to expand and diversify.
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23andMe customers can go to their <a href="https://you.23andme.com/ancestry/">Ancestry Overview</a> to start exploring. Not yet a customer? Find out more about 23andMe’s Ancestry service <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/">here</a>.

More Regions for Most Refined View of Ancestry To-Date

<div id="attachment_26720" style="width: 304px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26720" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Yadira-2-294x300.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-26720 size-medium" width="294" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Yadira-2-294x300.jpg 294w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Yadira-2.jpg 618w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 294px) 100vw, 294px" />Yadira Riveria in an undated photo.</div>
Yadira Rivera, a strong independent woman, always told her three young children about the daughter she gave up before they were born.
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Her children — Daniel, Marcos, and Raquel — never forgot that they had another sister out there. They remembered, even after the trauma of losing their mom. Yadira died after being struck by a police car chasing a suspect on the street in front of their home in San Francisco. They were young — 8,9 and 11 — but they remembered their mother’s reflective tone as she told them about having to give up her infant daughter.
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“Whenever she talked about it she got very somber,” said Daniel.
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They learned that Yadira had gotten pregnant at 17, and was forced to give up her baby. Daniel, Marcos, and Raquel always knew their sister was out there somewhere, they just had no idea how to find her.
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“We said ‘we could meet her one day and not even know it was her,’” Daniel said.
<div id="attachment_26727" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26727" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Lucianna-Her-Siblings-300x300.png" alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-26727" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Lucianna-Her-Siblings-300x300.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Lucianna-Her-Siblings-150x150.png 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Lucianna-Her-Siblings-271x271.png 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Lucianna-Her-Siblings-372x372.png 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Lucianna-Her-Siblings-574x574.png 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Lucianna-Her-Siblings.png 640w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />On the left, Lucianna, as a young girl, on the right Yadira with her children, Daniel, Raquel, and Marcos.</div>
<h6>The Search</h6>
They always hoped that somehow they might find her. Little did they know that their older sister was looking and wondering too.  

But Lucianna didn’t know she had a sister and two brothers. She was trying to find her mother.
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Adopted by the daughter of the nurse who delivered her as a baby, Lucianna spent years wondering about her birth mother. She didn’t start looking in earnest until about eight years ago. At that time, she found names scribbled on the back of an her adoptive grandfather’s old business card. On it were the names of her birth parents and the the aunt her birth mother lived with in San Francisco.   Lucianna hired a private investigator who found an old address, and Lucianna sent a letter there but never heard back. 

“After I sent the letter I just stopped looking,” she said.

But last year with her daughter Bianca asking more and more questions, and finally asking if they could use 23andMe to find out more about her mother’s ancestry, the search was reignited. Lucianna bought her daughter a kit as well as one for herself. Using other resources, Bianca was able to find Lucianna’s mother’s citizenship papers, divorce records and then her record of death. That last bit of information was a huge blow to Lucianna. She thought that was the end of her search.

“I had to emotionally let go,” she said, realizing that she would never get to meet her birth mom. 

<h6>Finding A Connection</h6>
<div id="attachment_26724" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26724" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ms-9VJNpZ-225x300.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-26724" width="300" height="400" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ms-9VJNpZ-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ms-9VJNpZ-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ms-9VJNpZ-660x880.jpeg 660w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ms-9VJNpZ.jpeg 800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />In the foreground Raquel, with, Marcos, left, Lucianna and on the right Daniel soon after all meeting in person for the first time.</div>
But just a couple of weeks later, Bianca’s <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/">23andMe</a> results came in. Bianca saw that she matched with a man named Daniel, who at first was predicted to be a close cousin. He had also posted on 23andMe that he was looking for more information about his mother’s family who had come to the United States from Nicaragua, but had since passed away. 
Lucianna, who had not initially opted into the DNA Relatives portion of 23andMe, opted in and immediately matched with Daniel, who was identified as a half brother. It was a surprise for both of them.
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Daniel said he hadn’t expected to find any close family when he first tested. He wanted to know more about his mother’s ancestral origins. 

“My twin girls … decided to purchase 23andMe for me as a Christmas present,” Daniel said. “I wanted more information about my Nicaraguan heritage. I had many unanswered questions, and I couldn’t go straight to the source.”
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Daniel said he hadn’t expected to find any close family when he first tested. He wanted to know more about his mother’s ancestral origins. 

“My twin girls … decided to purchase 23andMe for me as a Christmas present,” Daniel said. “I wanted more information about my Nicaraguan heritage. I had many unanswered questions, and I couldn’t go straight to the source.”

“She read my story and commented on how (the information about my mom) resembled her mother&#8217;s mother,” Daniel said.

Although the percentage of shared DNA indicated that Bianca might be a first cousin, Daniel noted her age, the amount of shared DNA and her Nicaraguan ancestry, and deduced that it could only mean one thing. 

“After a few more messages I told Bianca that her mother might be my sister,” he said, still a little stunned by finding his long lost sister.

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<h6>Meeting for the First Time</h6>
Luciana and Daniel were soon on the phone. 

“The first thing he said was ‘I’ve always known you were out there,’” Lucianna said.

Just that idea alone was affirming for Lucianna, knowing that her birth mother loved her and passed that love for her to her children.

Daniel, who was already driving to California with his wife for their 20th anniversary, decided to take a detour to Davis to meet Lucianna and her family. When they first hugged, Daniel said it felt like he was holding onto a piece of his mother.

A month later, a few days from the 40th anniversary of their mother’s death, <a href="https://www.dayton.com/lifestyles/alone-more-centerville-woman-and-family-unite-with-sister-they-always-knew-was-out-there-somewhere/hy2LK54pJtGu2z8NLjQpII/">Lucianna was in Ohio</a> with her children, visiting with Daniel, Marcos, Raquel, and all her new nieces and nephews.

“It’s been beyond belief,” said Daniel.

Lucianna looks so much like their mother that when they first hugged he didn’t want to let go. For Lucianna seeing the photos of her mother for the first time, seeing her eyes instantly connected her. Meeting and getting to know her siblings has transformed her.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Note-to-their-mom-300x169.png" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-26728" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Note-to-their-mom-300x169.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Note-to-their-mom.png 640w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />

”This has completely changed my life,” Lucianna said. “I am 53 years old. I feel so different. I feel rooted.”

As they gathered together one evening talking back and forth, Lucianna felt almost like they were all children again.

During the freewheeling conversation the lights kept dimming and Marcos said, ‘Oh it’s just the motion sensor,’ and Lucianna said, “No it’s mom.” 

All of Yadira’s children were finally together like they should be, like she had always wanted.

23andMe Reunites Yadira’s Family

Food is the secret spice of every culture, and these rich customs find their expression in kitchens of almost every household around the world. Sharing those customs and the experience of cooking a meal with your family helps deepen those cultural and familial bonds, while also being fun and delicious. 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Ludo-in-the-Kitchen-300x200.jpg" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-26623" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Ludo-in-the-Kitchen-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Ludo-in-the-Kitchen.jpg 512w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />That is what is so enticing about cooking based on your ancestry. Whether you’re inspired to try new ingredients from your ancestral origins or want to try to make traditional food from regions you never knew you had ties to, there are many delicious discoveries to be made through your DNA. 
That’s partially why 23andMe partnered with one of the world’s top 50 chefs, <a href="https://www.foodandwine.com/topic/ludo-lefebvre">Chef Ludo Lefebvre</a> for Season 7 of his FoodAndWine.com cooking show. Chef Ludo took a 23andMe test, and found he has more than just French ancestry. In the first episode of his FoodAndWine.com show, ‘Ludo a la Maison,’ Chef Ludo cooked up a chicken a la crème inspired by his newfound Belgian roots. 
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Tune in every week on Wednesdays, to find out what, and from what part of his DNA, Chef Ludo is cooking up! 
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Check out the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOfrOnucF4g" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">preview</a>.
<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mOfrOnucF4g" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
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Ludo Cooking in the Kitchen with 23andMe

You’ve watched the first batch of 23andMe’s new video series, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw4rQoo2TiY&#038;list=PLFvkfbvHpp1nPvSN-Bjg2z2WIvCwDviHO">The DNA Download</a>, and now you want to go a little deeper. In this next collection a few of our scientists and specialists will walk you through the basics of DNA testing for ancestry.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Screen-Shot-2018-09-19-at-4.48.09-PM-300x168.png" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-26584" width="300" height="168" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Screen-Shot-2018-09-19-at-4.48.09-PM-300x168.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Screen-Shot-2018-09-19-at-4.48.09-PM-768x430.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Screen-Shot-2018-09-19-at-4.48.09-PM-1024x573.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Screen-Shot-2018-09-19-at-4.48.09-PM-880x493.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Screen-Shot-2018-09-19-at-4.48.09-PM-1180x661.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Screen-Shot-2018-09-19-at-4.48.09-PM.png 1434w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
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As with the first set of videos, these next four episodes are also hosted by Halleta Alemu, and are meant spark your curiosity about DNA testing and what you can learn. At 23andMe we believe that anyone can understand the fascinating science of genetics.
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What makes this next set of videos so interesting is that they show you how exploring your DNA can inform you not just about your ancestry, but how your story fits into the broader human story.
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<h6><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vnf8uJASI8&#038;list=PLFvkfbvHpp1nPvSN-Bjg2z2WIvCwDviHO&#038;index=2">THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT NEANDERTHALS </a></h6>
In this video Alexandra Langston, a 23andMe Customer Operations Specialist, introduces us to our favorite human cousin, the Neanderthals. Most modern humans still carry Neanderthal DNA, which you can learn through testing.
<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8vnf8uJASI8" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
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<h6><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKCUSMBAI8I&#038;list=PLFvkfbvHpp1nPvSN-Bjg2z2WIvCwDviHO&#038;index=6">WHAT ARE HAPLOGROUPS? </a></h6>
23andMe Ancestry Scientist, Samantha Esselmann, Ph.D., does more than just explain the meaning of the word “haplogroup.” In this video Samantha explains how haplogroups can give you insight into your deep ancestry.
<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eKCUSMBAI8I" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
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<h6><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z25Jt1ukXWI&#038;list=PLFvkfbvHpp1nPvSN-Bjg2z2WIvCwDviHO&#038;index=9">SEEING OUR ANCESTRY THROUGH OUR DNA </a></h6>
Erica Bellman, a 23andMe Ancestry Content Writer, explains how scientists unravel your ancestry composition and recent ancestor locations. Learn where all those ancestry percentages come from.
<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z25Jt1ukXWI" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
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<h6><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HljDiuw6oI&#038;index=7&#038;list=PLFvkfbvHpp1nPvSN-Bjg2z2WIvCwDviHO">MY DNA RELATIVES AND ME </a></h6>
Rounding out this set of videos is Lindsay Grove, a 23andMe Senior Product Specialist, who explains how scientists predict family relationships from our DNA and what it means to be DNA Relatives.
<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0HljDiuw6oI" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
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These four videos just hint at some of what you can learn about ancestry through DNA testing. And it’s not just adoptees or others with little information about their family’s ethnicity, but anyone who is curious about their family tree or deep ancestry can find something interesting. And this self-exploration can teach them about the deeper ancestry that connects them to all humans on this planet.
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In the first set of videos you learned some <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/education/the-dna-download-take-one/">basic genetic concepts</a>. This week you learned a little about 23andMe testing for anestry.  Stay tuned for the last batch of videos in The DNA Download series that cover the new and important insights being gleaned by scientists doing genetic research at 23andMe.

Ancestry Composition — Page 3