<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-12933" title="Jennie Cole" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Jennie-Cole-169x300.jpg" alt="" width="169" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Jennie-Cole-169x300.jpg 169w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Jennie-Cole.jpg 270w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 169px) 100vw, 169px" />Jennie Cole, c.1895
As the series <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wnet/finding-your-roots/">Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.</a> begins its 10-week run on PBS, The Blog will feature posts from 23andMe’s Ancestry Ambassadors featuring their own stories about using DNA to dig into ancestry.
By CeCe Moore
I have always felt a special affinity for Jewish people and their heritage. Throughout my life I have had many Jewish friends.
I have even been mistaken for a Jewish person despite having no known Jewish ancestors.
As a result, I was especially intrigued when, after 23andMe&#8217;s Ancestry Finder launched in 2010, I found that a number of people with segments of DNA that matched mine were self-identified as <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/detail-for-ashkenazi-ancestry">Ashkenazi Jews</a>. The Ancestry Finder lab seeks to graphically illustrate the country of origin for specific segments of your DNA by locating stretches that match those of people from specific geographic regions. Ancestry Finder also identifies matching segments for <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/ashkenazi-ancestry-and-health">Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry</a>.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-13008 size-full" title="CeCe's Uncle's matches with one gparent" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/CeCes-Uncles-matches-with-one-gparent.jpg" alt="" width="419" height="227" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/CeCes-Uncles-matches-with-one-gparent.jpg 419w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/CeCes-Uncles-matches-with-one-gparent-300x163.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 419px) 100vw, 419px" />My Ancestry Finder chart shows matches with people who have three Ashkenazi grandparents
In particular, in my Ancestry Finder results I noticed a cluster on my seventh chromosome that appeared to contain many matches with self-declared Ashkenazi ancestry. When I examined the downloaded spreadsheet of Ancestry Finder matches, I discovered that on Chromosome 7, between the positions 51,500,000 and 146,700,000, I had no less than 47 matches with people who self-identify as at least partially Jewish. These matches all appeared to be rather small and concentrated on that one spot, but it did cause me to ponder the possibility that I could have distant Jewish ancestors.
In further investigation, I found that my mother had no matches associated with Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry in her Ancestry Finder lab. Since my father is deceased, I asked my paternal uncle to test in his place. When I received his results, it was clear as day that the same Ashkenazi cluster on his seventh chromosome!
In fact, his Jewish connection appeared to be even more substantial than mine, with 69 self-described “Ashkenazi” matches on Chromosome 7 between positions 39,400,000 and 103,400,000 found in the Ancestry Finder match download.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-13042 size-full" title="CeCe's Uncle's matches" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/CeCes-Uncles-matches1.jpg" alt="" width="434" height="218" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/CeCes-Uncles-matches1.jpg 434w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/CeCes-Uncles-matches1-300x151.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 434px) 100vw, 434px" />Paternal Uncle&#8217;s matches with people who have three Ashkenazi grandparents.
Notably, my paternal uncle’s results also included several Public Matches in 23andMe’s <a href="https://www.23andme.com/you/relfinder/">Relative Finder</a> who list their ancestry as Jewish. Most of these are predicted as &#8220;Distant Cousins,&#8221; which probably explains why they don&#8217;t appear in my Relative Finder. In this case, testing just one generation further back in time revealed very useful information.
While this Ashkenazi ancestry is fairly distant, it certainly appears to be authentic. With approximately 70% of my uncle’s chromosomes covered in Ancestry Finder, 3.6% &#8211; 7.8% is declared <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/detail-for-ashkenazi-ancestry">Ashkenazi</a>. With this in mind, I would guess that he and my father have a 2nd great-grandparent of primarily Jewish descent or several ancestors with lesser amounts of Jewish ancestry.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-13008 size-full" title="CeCe's Uncle's matches with one gparent" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/CeCes-Uncles-matches-with-one-gparent.jpg" alt="" width="419" height="227" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/CeCes-Uncles-matches-with-one-gparent.jpg 419w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/CeCes-Uncles-matches-with-one-gparent-300x163.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 419px) 100vw, 419px" />Paternal Uncle&#8217;s matches with people who have one Ashkenazi grandparent. 
Since the majority of the matches cluster in the same area, the most likely conclusion is that this DNA is inherited from a single ancestor. My paternal family tree is fairly complete and so far without an obvious suspect, but since my father’s great-grandmother, Jennie Cole’s father, is unknown, this scenario is a viable possibility. To focus in on this prospect, I would need to test more of Jennie’s descendants to isolate her DNA and determine if there is evidence of Jewish ancestry in the portions of the DNA that each of them inherited from Jennie. Since the paternity of Jennie has long been an enigma to me, this is a very intriguing new avenue of exploration for my genealogy research.
Before testing at 23andMe, I never would have imagined that I had Jewish ancestry. Now that I have discovered this tantalizing fact, I am on the hunt to learn more about this elusive ancestor!
23andMe provides genetic testing services for informational purposes; your results may or may not help you find or identify relatives or family members.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-12939" title="CeCephoto" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/CeCephoto.jpg" alt="" width="114" height="162" />
CeCe Moore is a genetic genealogist specializing in the use of autosomal DNA for genealogy. She writes the popular blog <a href="http://www.yourgeneticgenealogist.com/">Your Genetic Genealogist</a> and works as a television producer with StudioINTV.   CeCe is the Southern California Regional Coordinator of the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG), serves on the Advisory Board of the Mixed Roots Foundation, and is a member of Mensa.  Her favorite genetic experiment is her seven-year-old son, Nicolas.

CeCe Moore

Discovering Unknown Jewish Ancestry with 23andMe

Today’s post explains what “Sharing Genomes” means at 23andMe, describes several points to consider when sharing, and introduces some exciting new developments in sharing at 23andMe.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-7846 size-medium" title="snp-people" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/snp-people-300x226.png" alt="" width="300" height="226" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/snp-people-300x226.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/snp-people.png 608w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
23andMe has revolutionized how people think about DNA. What used to be hidden inside heavy textbooks can now be the subject of cocktail conversation. It’s not just because our unique <a href="https://www.23andme.com">Personal Genome Service</a> ® gives people a chance to explore their own DNA — it’s also because 23andMe represents the first genetics-based social network.
<h6>By “sharing” your genome with other 23andMe customers, you can trace shared ancestry, get a glimpse of the diversity in different people’s genetics, or simply brag about how you’re more Neanderthal than your friends. Through 23andMe you can share a little bit or a lot, or not at all &#8212; it’s up to you. 
 
What can I share at 23andMe?</h6>
<div style="width: 280px; background-color: #eee; border: 1px solid #ccc; margin-left: 15px; padding: 10px; float: right;">Currently, the option without Health reports is called “Basic” sharing on the site, and the option with Health reports is called “Extended” sharing. Within the next two weeks, we plan to relabel these options as follows:
<ul>
<li>&#8220;Basic Sharing&#8221; will be &#8220;Sharing, without health reports&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;Extended Sharing&#8221; will be &#8220;Sharing, with health reports&#8221;</li>
</ul>
We want everyone to understand how sharing works at 23andMe and these new labels more clearly describe the distinction between the two options.
</div>
At 23andMe, all customers have the option to share genetic results with others by “<a href="https://www.23andme.com/user/profile/sharing/">Sharing Genomes</a>.”
Sharing genomes always allows you to see each other’s results for ancestry features including Maternal and Paternal Lines, Ancestry Painting, and Global Similarity. You can also use the Compare Genes feature to see how genetically similar you are, and the Family Inheritance feature to see which segments of DNA you might share.
Optionally, you may also choose to see each other’s results for most Health reports.
Currently there is no way to directly view or download each other’s raw genetic data or results for Health reports that require an opt-in. These include BRCA Cancer Mutations (Selected), Parkinson’s Disease, and Alzheimer’s Disease.
<h6>What should I consider before sharing at 23andMe? 
</h6>
The vast majority of things we learn by sharing with others at 23andMe are interesting and positive experiences. For many customers, the ability to compare DNA with friends, close family, and distant cousins is one of the most useful and rewarding aspects of this service. 
However, there are some aspects of sharing that you should be aware of. Within two weeks, we plan to expand our descriptions of sharing throughout the site to address these aspects more fully.
First, some of the information that you directly share can be sensitive, including ancestral origins, family relationships, and health risks. Some people are very comfortable sharing this kind of information, some are not &#8212; it’s a personal choice, and the system allows you to be flexible.
Second, some features, like Compare Genes and Family Inheritance: Advanced, allow you to compare DNA between two people you’re sharing with. Similarly, your shares may compare your DNA with that of people they’re sharing with. This aspect of sharing allows customers to compare people to each other and opens up new genealogical vistas by allowing customers to find evidence of family relationships. These new-found family relationships can be unexpected and sometimes upsetting, but more often they are exciting pieces of a genealogical puzzle.
Third, there is some chance that someone you’re sharing with could learn something about you that you didn’t directly share. For example, if you and someone you’re sharing with have a matching segment of DNA that overlaps a health-associated gene, you might infer something about their genotype on the basis of your own, or vice versa. The one way to be absolutely sure that health information about you is not learned in this way is to abstain from sharing entirely. However, it takes substantial effort to learn things like this.
If you’re unsure, we recommend sharing with people you’re comfortable with. Sharing allows you to use more of the features on the website and adds a new dimension to what you can learn about yourself and your family. Many customers share openly with each other and have only benefited from the experience. As you learn more about genetics and develop a finer sense of the issues involved, you might begin to share more openly yourself.
<h6>New developments in sharing at 23andMe 
</h6>
Today we&#8217;d like to announce a few exciting sharing-related changes coming to some popular 23andMe Labs. Previously in <a href="https://www.23andme.com/you/labs/multi_ibd/">Family Inheritance: Advanced</a>, you could only run comparisons between your shares and close family members. Now, you’ll be able to compare any two of your shares. In Ancestry Finder, you&#8217;ll now be able to view the results for any of your shares.
These changes are expected to go into effect within the next two weeks. We are adding this time period to allow customers to absorb and adjust preferences in advance of the changes. If you’re not comfortable with these capabilities, sharing might not be for you. For others, we hope that these changes enhance your experience at 23andMe and speed genealogical research. Sharing and comparing makes your genetics that much more interesting, and we encourage everyone to share at whatever level they wish.
If you have questions or concerns you’d prefer not to post, please send them to sharing-feedback@23andme.com.

23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

Understanding Sharing at 23andMe

As the series <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wnet/finding-your-roots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.</a> begins its 10-week run on PBS, The Blog will feature posts from 23andMe’s Ancestry Ambassadors featuring their own stories about using DNA to dig into ancestry.
By Andrea Badger
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-12315" title="Andrea's Tree" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Andreas-Tree-226x300.jpg" alt="" width="226" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Andreas-Tree-226x300.jpg 226w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Andreas-Tree.jpg 442w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 226px) 100vw, 226px" />
There has been a legend in my family, passed down from generation to generation, about my third great-grandfather Nathaniel Lewis. According to family folklore, his name wasn’t originally Nathaniel Lewis, but rather, Nathaniel Levi. As the story goes, our Lewis ancestors were Jewish people who converted to Christianity and changed their name from Levi to Lewis.
I had always wondered if this family story was really true. Everyone in our family has been told this legend but no one really had any conclusive evidence — just small clues. My grandmother and her siblings remember their mother singing Jewish songs to them as children. We also have an old newspaper article about our ancestor that states in passing ‘Nathaniel Lewis has lived in Scotland for many years but has no Scot’s blood’. Many of my relatives have speculated that this statement reveals that although Nathaniel was of Scottish nationality, he had a different ancestral background — Ashkenazi Jewish. However, conclusive evidence about this hypothesis was lacking until I joined 23andMe.

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-12316" title="Andrea's Community Response" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Andreas-Community-Response-300x249.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="249" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Andreas-Community-Response-300x249.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Andreas-Community-Response.jpg 368w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
When I first joined 23andMe in 2009, Relative Finder was just being introduced and the Ancestry Finder feature did not yet exist. As I corresponded with my Relative Finder matches, I noticed that many of my potential relatives said that they were of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. I wondered if this high number of Jewish Relative Finder matches was typical for someone with Northern European ancestry, so I turned to the 23andMe community for help and posted my questions on the community forums. I communicated with fellow 23andMe users and quickly realized that my genetic profile wasn’t typical for someone without any Jewish background. Instead, my DNA confirmed the old family story and indicated that it was highly likely that I do have Jewish ancestry.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-12318" title="Andrea's GAunt and Uncle Ancestry Finder" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Andreas-GAunt-and-Uncle-Ancestry-Finder-300x164.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="164" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Andreas-GAunt-and-Uncle-Ancestry-Finder-300x164.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Andreas-GAunt-and-Uncle-Ancestry-Finder-271x149.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Andreas-GAunt-and-Uncle-Ancestry-Finder-372x204.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Andreas-GAunt-and-Uncle-Ancestry-Finder.jpg 469w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Here is my Ancestry Finder, with the settings focusing on the Ashkenazi Jewish segments. The blue spots are regions where a 23andMe customer shares a segment of DNA with me AND has stated that he or she has Jewish ancestors.
I decided to get my great-aunt &amp; great-uncle from that side of the family tested to see if they also had <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/ashkenazi-ancestry-and-health">evidence of Ashkenazi Jewish</a> admixture. Around this time, Ancestry Finder, which has a specific section dedicated to Jewish ancestry, was introduced. This feature was also beneficial in my quest.
As I expected, my great-aunt &amp; great-uncle also showed significant Jewish ancestry — more than I have, because they are two generations closer to our Jewish ancestor than I am.
Thanks to DNA testing, we have clear evidence of a Jewish ancestor in our past for the first time. Without 23andMe, I might never have known if there was any truth to this family legend. Why did the Lewis family feel the need to convert from Judaism to Christianity and change their name? I am actively searching to uncover this information, but much of Nathaniel Lewis’s life story has likely been lost to history. However, his DNA lives on in his descendants and provides clues about his background. Often, when traditional genealogy methods fail, you can turn to DNA to uncover more about your ancestral heritage. You never know what sort of surprises can be uncovered!
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-12325" title="andrea 23andMe pic" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/andrea-23andMe-pic-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/andrea-23andMe-pic-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/andrea-23andMe-pic-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/andrea-23andMe-pic-372x372.jpg 372w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />
When she is not performing genetic comparisons on Family Inheritance Advanced or answering questions on the 23andMe community forums, Andrea Badger attends college at the University of Washington and will be receiving two bachelor’s degrees in June of this year. She writes the genetic genealogy blog at www.andreasancestors.com.

Finding a Family’s Jewish Ancestry

As a PBS cameraman recorded the scene, 23andMe scientist Mike Macpherson drew lines connecting photographs of about two dozen celebrities to one another while  Henry Louis Gates Jr. riffed on what those links all mean.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-11613 size-medium" title="skip" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/skip-300x273.jpg" alt="A photo of professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. preparing for filming of the PBS documentary Finding Your Roots at 23andMe headquarters." width="300" height="273" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/skip-300x273.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/skip-768x699.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/skip-1024x932.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/skip-880x801.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/skip-1180x1074.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
The connections were sometimes direct family relations, but more often than not, each celebrity was connected through one, two, or three others—cousins related to each notable person through common ancestors.
Each celebrity will be a guest in the upcoming 10-week PBS series  <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wnet/finding-your-roots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Finding Your Roots</a>, in which Gates delves into the family histories of his guests, tracing their stories back in time. When the paper records run out, he turns to DNA tests.
After Macpherson sketched a seemingly unlikely link between one of the guests with European Jewish ancestry and another, a Muslim of Pakistani descent, Gates remarked:
“It reaffirms that we truly are all the sons of Abraham.”
“Indeed,” Macpherson said.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-11614 size-medium" title="Mike&amp;Skip" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/MikeSkip-300x290.jpg" alt="Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and 23andMe scientists going over their interview before filming of Finding Your Roots at 23andeMe headquarters." width="300" height="290" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/MikeSkip-300x290.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/MikeSkip-768x742.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/MikeSkip-1024x989.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/MikeSkip-880x850.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/MikeSkip-1180x1140.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Mike Macpherson and Henry Louis Gates Jr. with producer Hazel Gurland.
The exchange happened recently at our headquarters in Mountain View, where the Harvard scholar and cultural critic came with a film crew to record some final scenes for his upcoming PBS series, which starts March 25th and runs until the end of May. Gates also interviewed 23andMe’s Senior Director of Research Joanna Mountain.
Both Mountain and Macpherson were consultants for the series and helped research the genetic genealogy of Gates’ guests on the show. Although they were being interviewed on camera to explain some of the complex science, Gates often boiled things down into easy-to-understand concepts. Or as Macpherson said during one break, “He could do this all a cappella.”
Gates wasn’t alone. Producers Hazel Gurland and Caitlin McNally helped direct the shoot and frame some questions while a cameraman filmed the discussion. But it was clear that Gates was in charge, and he has a knack for finding the nugget that will captivate people, such as the idea that we are all interconnected genetically.
It’s not “six degrees of separation” that links any two people, but two or three degrees. And these are not social connections – a friend of a friend of a friend – but links through our DNA.
“Now that’s cool,” Gates said.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-11612 size-full" title="skip&amp;joanna" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/skipjoanna-e1331143851961.jpg" alt="Joanna Mountain, a 23andMe senior scientist, and Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr. prepare for filming of an episode of Finding Your Roots." width="299" height="199" />Joanna Mountain and Henry Louis Gates Jr.
If there’s a theme that links Gates’ body of work—or at least his oeuvre on PBS—which includes Finding Your Roots, African American Lives, Black in Latin America, and Faces of America—it’s this notion that the distinct lines we’ve drawn to distinguish ourselves from others are much fuzzier than they seem.
As Mountain said, the closer two peoples were geographically, the more they share genetically. Or, as Gates mischievously likes to say:
“What it proves is that – no matter what the laws were in that day and time, no matter how societies tried to force sexual segregation – when the lights came down, everybody was sleeping with everybody else.”
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-11611 size-medium" title="FindingRootsSlapRoll" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/FindingRootsSlapRoll-300x226.jpg" alt="A photo of a clapboard that is with the Finding Your Roots episode." width="300" height="226" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/FindingRootsSlapRoll-300x226.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/FindingRootsSlapRoll-768x578.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/FindingRootsSlapRoll-1024x770.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/FindingRootsSlapRoll-880x662.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/FindingRootsSlapRoll-1180x888.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
For Gates, a cultural historian, the author of 14 books, and the director of Harvard’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, the point is that racial and ethnic dividing lines are not as sharp as many assume. This is particularly true in the United States.
“It’s a tribute to the true triumph of American democracy,” Gates said at one point during the shoot with Macpherson and Mountain. &#8220;It&#8217;s about the diversity of our people, which we can measure through genealogy and genetics.”

Behind the Scenes of PBS’s Finding Your Roots

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-7626 size-medium" title="brian-ancfinder-full" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/brian-ancfinder-full1-300x200.png" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/brian-ancfinder-full1-300x200.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/brian-ancfinder-full1-768x513.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/brian-ancfinder-full1-880x588.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/brian-ancfinder-full1.png 912w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
If you&#8217;re just joining us, our scientists are busy this week presenting findings from our research at ICHG/ASHG 2011 in Montreal.
But not all of our scientific contributions are in the realm of genetic associations. As some of our other conference posters have shown, we also spend a lot of time thinking about unique methods for analyzing and evaluating data, not just to investigate pressing scientific questions of relevance to our product, but to provide a comprehensive service that continuously evolves as the science does.
Our final set of posters  focuses on our Ancestry features, which include innovative tools like Relative Finder and Ancestry Finder, and  our Health reports, for which we have designed a framework that fits the unique context of direct-to-consumer, participant-driven genetics research.
(For a list of all of our presentations, click <a href="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ASHG2011posters23andMe.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.)
<h5>Learning more about where people are from with Ancestry Finder</h5>
Nearly two years ago we launched Relative Finder, an innovative tool for analyzing autosomal DNA data to match genetically related individuals. About a year later we followed this up with a feature called Ancestry Finder, which uses the same algorithm as Relative Finder to identify matching DNA segments between individuals but goes an extra step of providing geographic ancestry information corresponding to country of origin for each individual&#8217;s grandparents. More than 35,000 customers have filled out this information, providing a wealth of data to investigate how well self-reported ancestry reflects genetic ancestry.
Research Scientist Dr. J. Mike Macpherson shares findings from an analysis of the data driving Ancestry Finder during the poster session on Friday October 14th from 2-3pm with his poster,
&#8220;Intra-European Ancestry Assignment: Insights from Identity-By-Descent in a Large Database of Self-Reported Ancestry.&#8221; (#445F)
<h5>Keeping customers updated on the latest genetics research</h5>
One of 23andMe&#8217;s missions is to be the world&#8217;s most trusted source of genetic information. While this includes the actual As, Ts, Cs, and Gs, it also includes information about associations between genetic variants and various health conditions and traits. The available knowledge is constantly evolving as researchers conduct and publish studies, and thus we are constantly evaluating new findings as they come out. Ensuring scientific validity is paramount, but with a large customer base holding varied interests, we must also consider the relevance, completeness, and diversity of content when deciding which findings to report.
Science Content Manager Dr. Shirley Wu discusses these considerations and the criteria we&#8217;ve developed to address them during the poster session on Friday October 14th from 2-3pm with her poster.
&#8220;Criteria for evaluating genetic associations for use in direct-to-consumer personal genetic analysis.&#8221; (#1353F)
  
(Also see our white paper describing our criteria for vetting genetic associations reported in the scientific literature.)
Check back later for recaps of the event!

What’s Behind 23andMe Health and Ancestry

Not all the discoveries made on 23andMe are quite as profound as <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/stories-from-23andme-neil-schwartzman" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Neil Schwartzman</a> finding his half-sister and mother, but even when 23andMe’s Relative Finder links distant cousins together those connections can still be electric.
Gerald Lopez, a customer who found a fourth or fifth cousin and information about his mixed ancestry, said it was like discovering “history that’s not written in history books.”
23andMe’s <a title="Relative Finder" href="https://www.23andme.com/ancestry/relfinder/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Relative Finder</a> &nbsp;uses genetic data instead of archived records to identify family relationships. Where written paper records fail, genetic information can sometimes fill in the gaps. Pieces of DNA are passed down from generation-to-generation, so that our genetic data is our own repository of information about our ancestry. Comparing any two people’s DNA can also determine whether they are related.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-9549 size-medium" title="RF Results Sample" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/RF-Results-Sample-300x65.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="65" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/RF-Results-Sample-300x65.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/RF-Results-Sample.jpg 569w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Customers have identified more than 700 previously unknown family relationships discovered through Relative Finder. They’ve found fifth and fourth cousins like Gerald and a few, like Neil, have even found parents and siblings.
Among our more than <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/state-of-the-database-2011" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">100,000 customers</a>, Relative Finder has identified 82,000 relationships that are either 4th cousins or closer.
Recently we updated Relative Finder to make it easier to use and search. Now users can show genealogical information &#8212; surnames, family locations, etc. This makes it easier for users to sort through potential matches. We also updated Relative Finder so that users can record notes about their matches, and confirm relationships. And the information available is rapidly increasing.
Even if you don’t consider yourself a genealogist, you might be surprised how fulfilling it can be to discover a common connection. You can remain anonymous if you choose, and only information in your profile that you designate as “visible to all 23andMe members” will be shown to your Relative Finder matches, so you can share as little or as much as you like.
And if you need help tracing a connection, many experienced Relative Finder “sleuths” are available in the community to offer tips and encouragement.
If there’s something that binds all 23andMe users together, it is a healthy curiosity about themselves and their DNA. So let Relative Finder broaden your horizons and let your DNA give you more to relate to!
If you’ve already discovered something interesting about your family through Relative Finder, do tell. We’re interested in hearing your stories &#8212; simply send them along to <a href="mailto:stories@23andme.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">stories@23andme.com</a>.
<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/category/23andme-customer-stories/">Read more 23andMe customer stories &gt;&gt;</a>

Making Connections with Relative Finder

In May, Neil Schwartzman opened an email message from a complete stranger.
“Hey,” it said. “I think you’re my brother.”
Neil is one of now thousands of 23andMe users who’ve discovered family relationships they never knew they had.
In June, we updated <a href="https://www.23andme.com/ancestry/relfinder/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Relative Finder</a> to make it easier to search for family connections. In just a few weeks 23andMe users have told us they’ve discovered more than 500 previously unknown relationships. People have linked up mostly with distant cousins, but a handful, like Neil, have found sisters, brothers, and even parents.
Neil, a 50 year-old Canadian activist who works to stop the spread of junk email, has seen his fair share of fake come-ons. But the email he got in May was different. It was a message from another 23andMe user showing that they were related through DNA.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-9522" title="Neil Schwartzman" alt="" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/neil-s.-200x300.jpg" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/neil-s.-200x300.jpg 200w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/neil-s.-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/neil-s.-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/neil-s.-587x880.jpg 587w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/neil-s.-787x1180.jpg 787w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/neil-s..jpg 900w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />Neil Schwartzman found his sister, Jolie Pearl, on 23andMe
Stunned by the message he began corresponding with the woman. He had always wondered about his background and if he had relatives out there still living, because Neil was adopted when he was just 10 days old. He never knew his biological mother. Although he loved his adoptive parents, he always yearned to know more about his background. He made a few attempts to find his biological mother in the 1990s, but after getting nowhere, he gave up.
“Fast-forward to three years ago when I became a 23andMe member,” said Neil, executive director of the <a href="http://www.cauce.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email</a>. “I’d some hope to find family somewhere, but really I had just turned 50 and I thought it’d be nice to know if I had any medical condition I should be concerned about.”
In early May of 2011 in California Jolie Pearl, a 53 year-old union organizer and mother of a 13 year-old daughter, had begun to play around with 23andMe’s Relative Finder for the first time.
“I hit the button to find your closest relative and this thing popped up, ‘a predicted sibling,’” Jolie said. “I thought maybe it was a mistake or that it was my half-brother.”
The next morning, Jolie went to her mother’s house and before going in she spoke briefly with her mom’s best friend.
“She matter-of-fact said to me, ‘yeah, you’re going to want to know about him,’” Jolie said.
Her mother’s best friend was one of only three other people who’d ever knew that Jolie had another brother who’d been given up for adoption.
At first Jolie felt anger, but then was overwhelmed by the thought that she had another younger brother. She said she instinctively felt protective toward him. When she talked to her mom, Jolie’s mother explained that indeed she’d given birth to a baby boy in 1960 and just 10 days after his birth she handed him over to another couple.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-9530" title="Jolie and Sheila" alt="" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Jolie-and-Sheila-300x225.jpg" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Jolie-and-Sheila-300x225.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Jolie-and-Sheila.jpg 720w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Jolie Pearl with their mother
“It was the most difficult thing she’d done in her life,” Jolie said. “But she felt she didn’t have a choice. She couldn’t raise both of us.”
After talking to her mom Jolie sent the email to Neil.
After the initial exchange of emails, Neil, who had a scheduled business trip to California, arranged to meet his new found sister.
The two had dinner together, talking so long that they closed the restaurant down. The next day they went together to visit Neil and Jolie’s mother. Neil stopped to buy some flowers, asking his sister what kind their mother liked. They settled on a potted orchid because it was more lasting than cut flowers.
For Neil, who had anxiously anticipated the moment, meeting his mother and sister wasn’t what he’d expected. He’d anticipated a “massive emotional event.”
What he got instead was something more “nuanced, subtle, deep.”
It was the start of a relationship, he said.
At the end of the conversation, Neil’s mother grabbed his hand and held it for a long time.
“He told me that physical connection meant so much to him,” Jolie said. “He said it was like electric shocks going through his system.”
Finding her raised so many emotions, and Neil was struck by weighty questions about what makes you who you are. His niece noticed how both he and his sister had similar nervous hand gestures. Both are union activists.
“So this caused me to reflect on what the components of a person are,” Neil said. “There are morals and values imparted on me partially by my circumstances, by my adopted parents, my experience, all the things that life brings us. Then there’s this genetic thing.”
His mother is an artistic person and so is he. They’re both highly intelligent and opinionated.
“It’s fascinating to think that for all the free will we pride ourselves in having so many things may be predetermined,” he said. “It’s something to think about.”
The family has arranged to gather again.
“Obviously I never expected any of this when I signed up,” Jolie said. “It’s been the best thing. I want to thank 23andMe.”
Neil, too, expressed his gratitude, even citing 23andMe as an example of the miracle of modern science and the promise of the internet after receiving an award recently for the work he’s done to curb junk email.
“It’s beyond awesome,” said Neil. “I couldn’t be happier. I mean I’d really given up all hope. I can’t say how absolutely grateful I am to 23andMe for facilitating this.”
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.
What&#8217;s your story? If you&#8217;re willing to share, we want to hear. Drop us a line at <a href="mailto:stories@23andme.com">stories@23andme.com</a>.
&nbsp;

Stories From 23andMe: “Hey, Bro”

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-7604" title="ancfinder_tutorial_mixed_advanced_controls" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/ancfinder_tutorial_mixed_advanced_controls.png" alt="" width="258" height="148">
In our last post, Sheridan* responded to her potential fifth cousin Akina and discovered that she has a potential second cousin through 23andMe’s Relative Finder feature. All of this is exciting, but she’s definitely starting to feel her lack of genealogy experience catching up with her. When she logs into her account next, though, she finds a message from her friend Brian:
<blockquote>Hi Sheridan!
Did you notice that 23andMe predicts us as 4th cousins?? How cool! We should chat about this sometime. Won’t our parents be amused!
Cheers, 
Brian</blockquote>
In fact, Sheridan had been so focused on Akina’s contact request and her exciting second cousin match that she’d totally missed the match a few rows down listing “Brian Killoran” as her potential fourth cousin! She and Brian had grown up together and their parents were still good friends. Sheridan thinks it’s wonderfully ironic given that she’d considered the Killorans as much family as her own. It’s also quite fortuitous because Brian recently developed an interest in genealogy and could show her a bit of what he’s learned. With his help, she might just find out who their shared ancestor was.

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7628" style="margin-top: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px;" title="sheridan-relfinder-brian" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sheridan-relfinder-brian1.png" alt="" width="455" height="108" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sheridan-relfinder-brian1.png 455w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sheridan-relfinder-brian1-300x71.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 455px) 100vw, 455px" />
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 10px; background-color: #ffc;">Jan 2013 &#8211; Editor&#8217;s note: Ancestry Finder is now known as Countries of Ancestry. &nbsp;Ancestry Labs is sometimes known as Ancestry Tools. Family Inheritance is sometimes known as Family Traits. &nbsp;This post has been updated to reflect these changes. Certain images of Relative Finder may be out of date as this story was created prior to Relative Finder&#8217;s Summer 2011 update.</div>
Sheridan calls Brian up and they agree to meet at the coffee shop down the street. Once there, they set up their laptops side by side and log in to their individual accounts. Brian asks if she’s checked out any of the Ancestry Labs, but aside from reading about the Haplogroup Tree Mutation Mapper (see Sheridan’s <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/2010/09/29/ancestry-at-23andme-introducing-sheridan/">introduction to haplogroups</a>), she hasn’t.
“Oh, yeah,” he nods, “Haplogroup Tree Mutation Mapper is a personal favorite of mine. But right now, the buzz is all around Countries of Ancestry.”
He clicks on Ancestry Tools &gt; Countries of Ancestry in his account and shows Sheridan.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7626" title="brian-ancfinder-full" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/brian-ancfinder-full1.png" alt="" width="638" height="426" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/brian-ancfinder-full1.png 912w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/brian-ancfinder-full1-300x200.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/brian-ancfinder-full1-768x513.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/brian-ancfinder-full1-880x588.png 880w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 638px) 100vw, 638px" />
“Each of the grey bars is a chromosome,” he explains, “And these colored bits are parts of your DNA that you have in common with other people because of shared ancestry. The different colors represent countries where people’s grandparents were born, so this tells you potential ancestry for different parts of your DNA.”
“But how does it know where people&#8217;s grandparents were born?” Sheridan asks.
Brian clicks on a link near the top that says “see how this works” and a detailed description appears.
“Ah,” she says, reading the first paragraph, “So Countries of Ancestry matches are actually Relative Finder matches, and the country information comes from people’s responses to the &#8216;Where Are You From?&#8217; survey.” She falls quiet for a moment, eyes lingering wistfully over those words.
Brian gives her a gentle nudge.
&#8220;Shall we take a look at yours?&#8221;
&#8220;Oh &#8211; yes, of course!&#8221;
Eager to see what her own Ancestry Finder shows, Sheridan opens hers up, but to her disappointment, she only sees a handful of colored bars.
“I usually change the settings to show the most matches. Try changing some of yours,” he suggests, pointing to the area under “Advanced Controls”.
She drags down the minimum segment size and chooses a smaller minimum number of grandparents, and her chromosomes immediately light up with a rainbow of colors.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7598" title="sheridan-ancfinder-noUS" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sheridan-ancfinder-noUS.png" alt="" width="602" height="567" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sheridan-ancfinder-noUS.png 781w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sheridan-ancfinder-noUS-300x283.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sheridan-ancfinder-noUS-768x724.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px" />
“How about this one?” she asks, checking off a setting that says, “Include matches primarily from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand &amp; South Africa.”
Her chromosomes fill up almost completely with blue colored bars.
“Well, people being born in the U.S. and these other countries doesn’t really say much about ancestry since people moved to these countries from all over,” Brian explains. “But you share a lot of DNA with people whose families have been in America for a while. It’s not always that useful to see.”
For Sheridan, though, even that bit of knowledge is interesting.
After a moment, Sheridan asks, “What about you? We’re supposedly fourth cousins, so does that mean you’re on here somewhere?”
“Hmm.” Brian squints at her screen. “Well, my four grandparents were all born in Ireland, so maybe if we clean this up a little&#8230;”
He moves the minimum number of grandparents back up to four. Almost all of the colored bars vanish. Of the ones that remain, Brian drags the mouse over to a strip of four pinkish-red colored bars on chromosome 10.
“This is probably me,” he says.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7596" title="sheridan-ancfinder-brian" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sheridan-ancfinder-brian.png" alt="" width="631" height="373" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sheridan-ancfinder-brian.png 751w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sheridan-ancfinder-brian-300x177.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 631px) 100vw, 631px" />
“Wait-” Sheridan taps his arm and points to chromosome 20. “What about that over there?”
“Oh, you’re right, that could be me, too.” Brian scratches his head. “I know!”
He goes back to his account and clicks on Family Traits. “This tool compares two people and shows where you share DNA.”
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-7619" title="sheridan-inheritance" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sheridan-inheritance.png" alt="" width="356" height="213" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sheridan-inheritance.png 356w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sheridan-inheritance-300x179.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 356px) 100vw, 356px" />
The screen shows another view of the 23 pairs of chromosomes. Brian selects Sheridan’s name from a drop-down list of his shares and a bright blue strip representing a half-identical region of DNA appears on chromosome 20.
“So I guess that means I’m actually those pink bars on chromosome 20!” he says.
Sheridan is impressed at this level of detail, but still wondering if they can figure out their ancestral connection. For that, Brian says, they’ll need to go hunting the old-fashioned way. Although his own parents weren’t born in the United States, he knows that some of his ancestors immigrated here in the late 1800’s and he’s been collecting whatever historical records he can find. They decide to meet up again in a few days after he’s looked through his files.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7600" title="2ndcuz-contact" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/2ndcuz-contact.png" alt="" width="236" height="82">
In the meantime, Brian suggests that she contact her second cousin match. “Maybe it will give us a clue about our ancestral connection,” he says, “but even if it doesn’t, it’s still a clue about your family tree.”
With this encouragement, Sheridan clicks “make contact” and sends a customized introduction to her predicted second cousin:
<blockquote>Hello,
My name is Sheridan. 23andMe has identified us as potential 2nd cousins. I’m adopted, and hoping to learn more about my biological relatives! Would you be interested in communicating further to see how we might be related?
 Sheridan</blockquote>
She finishes her coffee and bids goodbye to Brian. She can’t wait to see what they can figure out at their next meeting.
<div style="background-color: #ffc; padding: 15px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
Other posts in this series:
<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/2010/09/16/ancestry-at-23andme-what-can-you-learn/">What Can You Learn?</a> &#8211; An overview of 23andMe&#8217;s ancestry features.
<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/2010/09/29/ancestry-at-23andme-introducing-sheridan/">Introducing Sheridan</a> &#8211; We meet Sheridan and she learns about her maternal haplogroups.
<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/2010/10/08/ancestry-at-23andme-sheridans-global-origins/">Sheridan&#8217;s Global Origins</a> &#8211; Sheridan compares herself and her friends to various populations around the world.
<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/2010/10/15/ancestry-at-23andme-sheridans-got-relatives/">Sheridan&#8217;s Got Relatives</a> &#8211; Sheridan responds to a fifth cousin and discovers a predicted second cousin in the 23andMe database.
(next) <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/2010/10/29/ancestry-at-23andme-old-roots-and-new-horizons/">Old Roots and New Horizons</a> &#8211; Sheridan and Brian put together the pieces to sketch out their shared family tree.
</div>
* The people and events described in these posts are fictional.

Ancestry at 23andMe: Finding Connections

<img decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-7533" title="relfinder_matches" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/relfinder_matches.png" alt="" width="335" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/relfinder_matches.png 460w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/relfinder_matches-300x91.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 460px) 100vw, 460px" />
We’ve been following Sheridan’s* journey through the ancestry features at 23andMe over the last few weeks. Because she was adopted with no record of her biological parents, every piece of information has been eye-opening for her. So far, she’s learned that her <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/2010/09/29/ancestry-at-23andme-introducing-sheridan/">maternal haplogroup is H2a</a>, meaning that her biological mother’s ancestors were likely European, and potentially Eastern European. She’s also learned that, overall, <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/2010/10/08/ancestry-at-23andme-sheridans-global-origins/">her genome is most similar to Europeans</a>, followed closely by Northern Africans. Her closest mapping to indigenous populations around the world is with the Mozabites of Northern Africa. But because she may have a mixed background, she knows that this mapping needs to be interpreted as an average of where her biological ancestors were from.
When we last left her, Sheridan had received a request through 23andMe to connect with a potential 5th cousin. What does this actually mean? Well, for one thing, it means that someone has enough DNA in common with Sheridan to be predicted as a 5th cousin using 23andMe’s Relative Finder feature.
Although contacting a potential 5th cousin isn’t quite the same as contacting a biological parent, Sheridan has never contacted any biological relatives before and so is understandably a little bit anxious. Having called it a night after exploring her Global Similarity results, she now takes a deep breath and opens the contact request email.
<blockquote>Hello,
23andMe predicted that we might be 5th cousins! I am African-American and have some genealogical records that I’m willing to share if you’re interested in trying to figure out how we might be related.
Would you be interested in communicating further?
Sincerely, 
Akina</blockquote>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-7534 size-medium" title="5thcousin-videoshot" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/5thcousin-videoshot-300x222.png" alt="" width="300" height="222" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/5thcousin-videoshot-300x222.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/5thcousin-videoshot.png 596w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Sheridan is astounded. Here is what is apparently an African-American woman with genealogical records who could be her 5th cousin! She isn’t sure how to respond right away, especially since she’s new to this whole thing and doesn’t even know what a 5th cousin is. Luckily, 23andMe has an educational video titled “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/23andMe#p/u/0/qG6BFjoXHvY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Just What Is A Fifth Cousin?</a>” which explains very clearly what being 5th cousins means &#8212; that she and Akina might share great-great-great-great grandparents. As Sheridan thinks about this a bit more, she realizes that the ancestor that might connect her and Akina would have to have lived around 140-160 years ago.
She still has no idea how to figure out their connection, but is willing to give it a try, so she accepts Akina&#8217;s request with a quick message:
<blockquote>Akina,
I&#8217;m new to all this, and I don&#8217;t know if I can contribute much to the search because I&#8217;m adopted. But I&#8217;m eager to learn more about my &#8212; our? &#8212; family tree!
Sheridan</blockquote>
And just how can 23andMe tell whether Sheridan and Akina might be 5th cousins? Two major pieces of information go into 23andMe’s Relative Finder predictions: the % of DNA shared and the number of segments shared between people in the 23andMe database.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-7535 size-medium" title="recombination" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/recombination-300x261.png" alt="" width="300" height="261" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/recombination-300x261.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/recombination-768x667.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/recombination-1024x890.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/recombination-880x765.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/recombination-1180x1025.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/recombination.png 1204w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Recall that everyone has two copies of each chromosome (except for the X chromosome in men), one from mom and one from dad. These copies exchange analogous segments of DNA with each other &#8212; a process called recombination &#8212; before being passed on to future generations, such that the set of chromosomes you received from your mother (or father) is a mix of the DNA that she got from her parents. Since each parent contributed 50% of your DNA, that means that the % of DNA shared between you and each grandparent is roughly 25%. Every generation you go back will halve the % of DNA shared, on average.
It also turns out that you share roughly the same % of DNA with your parents as you would with a sibling, so how can we tell what type of relationship it is? The number of DNA segments shared is also important &#8212; you would share about 50% of your DNA with a sibling but distributed over many more segments than with a parent. This is because recombination is somewhat random, so you and your sibling received different mixes of DNA from each parent, resulting in a larger number of smaller segments shared between you and your sibling. (The same principle allows us to distinguish between uncle/aunt and grandparent relationships.)
As you go farther back in a family tree to find a common ancestor, the % of DNA and the number of DNA segments shared decreases. Using data gathered from a set of people with known relationships allows us to develop a model to predict what the most likely relationship might be for a new pair of individuals &#8212; like Sheridan and Akina &#8212; using their % DNA and number of segments shared. Although the resolution drops off as predictions become more distant, and the exact type of relationship may not be accurate (e.g. “double cousins”, cousins x-times removed, and other less straightforward relationships are not included in our lists of possible predictions), the prediction is generally in the ballpark.
<img decoding="async" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-7536" style="margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" title="sheridan-relfinder" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sheridan-relfinder.png" alt="" width="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sheridan-relfinder.png 779w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sheridan-relfinder-274x300.png 274w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sheridan-relfinder-768x840.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 779px) 100vw, 779px" />
Editor&#8217;s note: The image to the left shows the Relative Finder feature prior to the Summer 2011 update. Relative Finder is now also sometimes referred to as <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/">DNA Relatives</a>.
Sheridan checks the rest of her Relative Finder results (click on image on the left to enlarge) but doesn’t see any matches predicted to be her parents or siblings. Darn! That would have been too easy. As she goes down the list of results, though, Sheridan sees something intriguing. A predicted second cousin? Hovering over this result reminds her that she would share a great grandparent with a second cousin.
Once again, Sheridan is amazed &#8212; and a little nervous &#8212; at what her DNA is able to tell her. She definitely wishes she had more experience researching genealogy to navigate the puzzle pieces of her family tree. But help may be closer than she thinks&#8230;
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Other posts in this series:
<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/ancestry-at-23andme-what-can-you-learn">What Can You Learn?</a> &#8211; An overview of 23andMe&#8217;s ancestry features.
<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/ancestry-at-23andme-introducing-sheridan">Introducing Sheridan</a> &#8211; We meet Sheridan and she learns about her maternal haplogroups.
<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/ancestry-at-23andme-sheridans-global-origins">Sheridan&#8217;s Global Origins</a> &#8211; Sheridan compares herself and her friends to various populations around the world.
(next)  <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/ancestry-at-23andme-finding-connections">Finding Connections</a> &#8211; Sheridan and Brian bond over their fourth cousin connection.
<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/ancestry-at-23andme-old-roots-and-new-horizons">Old Roots and New Horizons</a> &#8211; Sheridan and Brian put together the pieces to sketch out their shared family tree.
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<div>* The people and events described in these posts are fictional. 
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DNA Relatives — Page 14