We don’t need an excuse to scoop up ice cream, but if you’re looking for one July 18th is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Ice_Cream_Month">National Ice Cream Day</a>.
For those who can’t indulge on that day, it’s OK because the whole month of July is designated as National ice Cream Month. With those extra days and 23andMe’s Ice Cream Flavor Preference trait report, you do a little experiment of your own into you’re more likely to ask for vanilla or chocolate on top of your ice cream cone.
Several studies have shown that our<a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.nutr.17.1.237?rfr_dat=cr_pub%3Dpubmed&#038;url_ver=Z39.88-2003&#038;rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org&#038;journalCode=nutr"> taste preferences are in part explained by genetics.</a> We wanted to know if we could find a genetic signal associated with ice cream flavor preference. It turns out we can.

 <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/ice-cream-image-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-26782" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/ice-cream-image-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/ice-cream-image-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/ice-cream-image-768x512.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/ice-cream-image-880x587.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/ice-cream-image-1180x787.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>
 
<h6>You Scream, I Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream</h6>
By using a statistical model and data from more than 980,000 23andMe research participants, our scientists were able to identify 739 genetic markers associated with preferring vanilla ice cream to chocolate. Pulling those genetic markers together with non-genetic factors — such as age and sex — we developed a model to estimate the likelihood of preferring vanilla ice cream to chocolate.
Obviously your ice cream flavor preference is influenced by far more than genetics — culture and environment for instance — but as with other types of food preferences, your genetics is the cherry on top. A person’s preference may be related to their sense of smell. Indeed many of the genetic variants we found associated with ice cream preference are in or near olfactory receptor genes, like OR10A6 and OR5M8. Those genes contain instructions for proteins that help detect odors. While you’re eating, your brain combines information from odors and your taste buds to perceive flavor.
<h6>23andMe Trait Reports</h6>
Our Ice Cream Flavor Preference trait report is among more than 30 fun and interesting (and not so vanilla!) trait reports available to<a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-health-ancestry/"> 23andMe Health + Ancestry Service</a> customers. Among those reports are three others that specifically look at food traits, like a person’s preference for <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/health-traits/traits-never-looked-better/">Salty v. Sweet</a> snacks, or their aversion to<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/health-traits/traits-never-looked-better/"> Bitter Taste</a>, or<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/health-traits/23andme-adds-four-new-trait-reports/"> Cilantro</a>. Your traits are determined by a complex interaction between your DNA, your environment, and your lifestyle. Sometimes just a handful of genetic variants play a role, but more often hundreds or thousands of variants influence a trait.
Check out your Ice Cream Flavor Preference trait report<a href="https://you.23andme.com/reports/trait.ice_cream/"> here</a>.
Not yet a customer? Find out all that 23andMe has to offer<a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-reports-list/"> here</a>.

23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

23andMe’s New Trait Report Puts a Cherry on Top of Your Ice Cream Preference

Mission-driven, innovative, and able to inspire employees, 23andMe&#8217;s CEO and Co-Founder Anne Wojcicki, has always been central to what makes this a great place to work.
This week <a href="https://www.comparably.com/news/best-ceos-for-women-2021/">Comparably</a> released its list of the Best CEOs for Women in 2021, and Anne was prominently listed. 

 <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="859" height="1024" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Anne-headshot_2018-e1532470981667-859x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-26375" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Anne-headshot_2018-e1532470981667-859x1024.jpeg 859w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Anne-headshot_2018-e1532470981667-990x1180.jpeg 990w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Anne-headshot_2018-e1532470981667-252x300.jpeg 252w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Anne-headshot_2018-e1532470981667-768x915.jpeg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Anne-headshot_2018-e1532470981667-739x880.jpeg 739w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 859px) 100vw, 859px" /></figure>
 
The list was compiled through ratings from female employees on Comparably.com over the last year. The award highlights leaders whose female employees consistently rated them at the top. The awards were categorized by company size. 23andMe was in the large size category with 500 or more employees. 

This isn&#8217;t the first time that Anne has been singled out over the years for her leadership and her ability to inspire employees. The recognition now affirmed her leadership during the challenges of the pandemic faced by workers over the last year. Anne did it all while also guiding the business through its transition to a publicly-traded company. 

As one employee said about Anne in the anonymous rating:
&#8220;I love that she values work-life balance and treats us as human beings rather than cogs in a machine. I also love her readiness to innovate&#8211;even in things like rethinking the workplace of the future.&#8221;
You can find out more about work-life at 23andMe, and careers by going <a href="https://www.23andme.com/careers/">here</a>.

23andMe’s Anne Wojcicki Among the Best CEOs for Women

It’s summertime, you’ve got the beach chair, a trashy novel, and sunscreen, but do you have your 23andMe results? 
 
As we enter into the height of summer, we thought it might be worth revisiting a few of 23andMe’s trait reports that seem particularly relevant to the season.
 
So if you’re warding off mosquitoes at your next BBQ or catching a few rays at the beach, you might be curious what role your genetics might play in those moments. Here are a few insights you can glean from 23andMe’s trait reports.

 <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="600" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/sun.png" alt="" class="wp-image-25177" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/sun.png 600w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/sun-150x150.png 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/sun-300x300.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/sun-271x271.png 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/sun-372x372.png 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/sun-574x574.png 574w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></figure>
 
<h6>Mosquito Bite Frequency</h6>
You’re not the only one getting out more during the summer, so are those pesky mosquitoes. And it turns out that, at least to mosquitos, we’re not equally enticing, and genetics may play a role. Mosquitoes are attracted to specific molecules in body odor and breath, and depending on the proportions of these molecules. Some of us are just <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/are-you-a-mosquito-magnetauto-draft">more tasty to mosquitos than others</a>.
 
<a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/traits/mosquito-bite-frequency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> 23andMe’s Mosquito Bite Frequency report</a> can tell whether you’re more or less likely to get bitten by mosquitoes. We do this by creating a statistical model that includes 285 genetic variants we’ve identified that are associated with mosquito bite frequency and sensitivity. These associations were identified using data from more than 380,000 23andMe research participants. Then, using those genetic associations and other non-genetic factors, we estimate the likelihood of whether you get bitten by mosquitoes more or less often than others. 

 <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img decoding="async" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/story_mosquito.svg" alt="" class="wp-image-29033"/></figure>
 
<h6>Hair Photobleaching</h6>
Summertime often means a lot more time outdoors in the sun. For some, that added exposure tends to lighten their hair without going to their favorite hairstylist. 
 
<a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/traits/hair-photobleaching/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">23andMe Hair Photobleaching</a> report looks at dozens of genetic variants that influence whether the sun will lighten your hair. About 86 percent of people of European ancestry reported that their hair lightens when exposed to the sun. The bleaching effect happens when high-energy ultraviolet rays from the sun break down the hair’s pigment molecules, altering its color. 
 
23andMe’s Hair Photobleaching report can tell you whether your hair is more or less likely to lighten due to sun exposure due to your genetics. Again, we can create a statistical model that includes 48 genetic variants associated with hair photobleaching. These associations were found by looking at data from more than 340,000 23andMe research participants of European descent. Using these associations and non-genetic factors, we estimate the likelihood of your hair lightening when exposed to the sun.

 <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img decoding="async" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/story_sunbleaching.svg" alt="" class="wp-image-29034"/></figure>
 
<h6>Freckling</h6>
It is an oddity of nature that the sun lightens your hair but darkens some people’s skin. 
 
We’re not just talking about tanning. Sun exposure results in freckling in some people. This happens when the pigmentation in skin cells is produced unevenly across a person’s skin. If more pigmentation is produced in some areas than in others, you get freckles. Your genetics plays a role in your likelihood of getting freckles from sun exposure.
 
<a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/traits/freckles/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">23andMe’s Freckles report</a> looks at 34 genetic variants and other factors to tell you if you are more or less likely to get freckles. Those genetic associations were identified by looking at data from more than 150,000 23andMe research participants of European descent. We then created a statistical model that considered both genetic and non-genetic factors to estimate the likelihood of developing freckles.

 <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img decoding="async" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/freckles.a5b205b6fc8a.svg" alt="" class="wp-image-29032"/></figure>
 
Curious about your summer traits, check them out <a href="https://you.23andme.com/health/trait/">here</a>.
Not yet a customer? Find out more about you can learn about yourself <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-health-ancestry/">here</a>.

23andMe’s Traits of Summer

My Risk of Developing the “Disease of Kings.”

This is part two of our introduction of 23andMe’s new class of summer interns. You can see the <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/introducing-23andmes-2021-summer-interns-part-i/">first batch of interns here</a>. This second group of interns will also be working across the company in roles with engineering, computational biology, statistical genetics, design, and IT.
Read on to learn more about this next group of interns. 
If you want to learn more about our intern program, check out the <a href="https://www.23andme.com/careers/">23andMe Careers page.</a> We’ll be posting more details about the program in the fall when we begin recruiting for the next class of interns.  If you still have questions email <a href="mailto:internships@23andme.com">internships@23andme.com.</a> 

<h3>Ludovico Verniani<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-29000" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Ludovico-V-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Ludovico-V-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Ludovico-V-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Ludovico-V-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Ludovico-V-574x574.jpg 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Ludovico-V-980x980.jpg 980w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /></h3>
<h6>iOS Engineering Intern</h6>
Ludovico loves solving real world problems with software and finds much pleasure in learning new technologies to solve them. He is thrilled to bring his creativity to the iOS team this summer to further improve the public&#8217;s discovery of their genome.

<h3>Taylor Cavazos<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-29009" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Taylor-Cavazos_Headshot-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Taylor-Cavazos_Headshot-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Taylor-Cavazos_Headshot-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Taylor-Cavazos_Headshot-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Taylor-Cavazos_Headshot-574x574.jpg 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Taylor-Cavazos_Headshot-980x980.jpg 980w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /></h3>
<h6>Computational Biologist Intern</h6>
Taylor is passionate about understanding the genetic architecture of complex traits and developing genetic models that are accurate in diverse populations. She is looking forward to incorporating functional genomics data to explore these questions as a Computational Biologist Intern on the Therapeutics team.

<h3>Bhairavi Swaminathan<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-29008" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/bhairavi-S-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/bhairavi-S-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/bhairavi-S-271x271.jpg 271w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /></h3>
<h6>Statistical Genetics Intern</h6>
Decoding the genome has always excited Bhairavi. She spent over 10 years of her career exploring her interest in identifying susceptibility markers and disease mechanisms. She is enthralled by the opportunity to work with the Statistical Genetics team to fine-map susceptibility genes  to identify causal variants.

<h3>Tiffany Lee<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-29007" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Tiffany-Lee-e1624647683639-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Tiffany-Lee-e1624647683639-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Tiffany-Lee-e1624647683639-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Tiffany-Lee-e1624647683639-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Tiffany-Lee-e1624647683639-574x574.jpg 574w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /></h3>
<h6>Engineering Intern</h6>
Tiffany is interested in encouraging individual health ownership through easy and accessible health management. She has worked in biotech, pharmacy, and is now working on a post-baccalaureate in computer science. Tiffany is really excited to be joining as an Engineering Intern and being a part of making health information approachable.

<h3>Jason Chan<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-29006" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Jason-Chan-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Jason-Chan-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Jason-Chan-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Jason-Chan-372x372.jpg 372w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /></h3>
<h6>UX Design Intern</h6>
Jason is a self-taught UX Designer passionate about developing creative solutions in the healthcare space. He is excited to be joining the Product Design team and contributing to the mission to help customers learn about their genetics in a user-friendly way!

<h3>Kunling Huang<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-29005" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Kunling-H-150x150.png" alt="" width="150" height="150" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Kunling-H-150x150.png 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Kunling-H-271x271.png 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Kunling-H-372x372.png 372w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /></h3>
<h6>Computational Biologist Intern</h6>
Kunling is enthusiastic about designing statistical methods to discover the role of genetic variants. She is really excited to work with the Computational Biology Group in Therapeutics to discover novel disease genes.

<h3>Christina Li<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-29004" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Christina_Li_headshot-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Christina_Li_headshot-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Christina_Li_headshot-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Christina_Li_headshot-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Christina_Li_headshot-574x574.jpg 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Christina_Li_headshot-980x980.jpg 980w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /></h3>
<h6>Office of the CEO, Archive Intern</h6>
Christina is deeply interested in the subjects of public health, policy, data science, and the ways in which various mediums of storytelling can communicate the most critical issues of healthcare today. She is thrilled to be joining the Office of the CEO as an Archive Intern and telling the story of the company&#8217;s history through its archives.

<h3>Marcos Sandoval<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-29003" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Marcos-Sandoval-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Marcos-Sandoval-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Marcos-Sandoval-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Marcos-Sandoval-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Marcos-Sandoval-574x574.jpg 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Marcos-Sandoval-980x980.jpg 980w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /></h3>
<h6>IT Help Desk Intern</h6>
Marcos is an enterprising future IT professional eager to grow and learn as a professional at 23andMe. He can&#8217;t wait to meet everyone and to work with the IT Team to provide IT Solutions for the 23andMe family.

<h3>Cindy Mui<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-29002" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Cindy-Mui-150x150.jpeg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></h3>
<h6>Engineering Intern</h6>
Cindy is a newly minted Software Engineer who is interested in the application of machine learning in healthcare. She&#8217;s really excited to be joining the Engineering team as an Intern to help create the best user experiences for 23andMe&#8217;s customers.

<h3>Kenneth Nguyen<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-29001" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Headshot-Kenneth-Nguyen-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Headshot-Kenneth-Nguyen-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Headshot-Kenneth-Nguyen-271x271.jpg 271w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /></h3>
<h6>Engineering Intern</h6>
Kenneth is excited to be joining 23andMe as a software engineer intern and working on developing customer-facing features, learning new technologies, and utilizing accessibility tools to impact a broader audience.

Summer Interns 2021, Part II

Recently we chatted with Bill Vick, founder of <a href="https://pfwarriors.com/">PF Warriors</a>, a non-profit group for people living with pulmonary fibrosis, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
<h2>A Rare Disease</h2>
Being diagnosed with IPF, as with many other rare diseases, can feel both overwhelming and bewildering. For many, the first time they&#8217;ve heard about the condition is when they get a diagnosis. IPF results in irreparable scarring of the lungs, which progressively worsens lung function. It&#8217;s terminal, and there is no cure. But there is some promising research underway, and last year, <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-health-ancestry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">23andMe</a> launched a genetic study of <a href="https://www.23andme.com/idiopathic-pulmonary-fibrosis/">idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis</a>. We connected with Bill and PF Warriors through that work.
Bill&#8217;s journey might explain the use of the word &#8220;warrior&#8221; in naming the group. Before a career as a serial entrepreneur — heading up large sales divisions, launching computer software companies, and creating his own executive recruiting firm — Bill was a Force Recon Marine. After he retired from business, he became a competitive masters division athlete and brought that same kind of intensity first tapped into as a Marine and then cultivated working in the corporate world. To prepare for competition he included daily runs, swims, weight lifting, or workouts in the gym. It was while training for a competition that he noticed his swim times dropping. He also noticed that he sometimes had difficulty catching his breath.
It took a while to get a diagnosis, and when he did, it was jarring. He had never heard of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis before, and he didn&#8217;t know how he got it. (Idiopathic means no known cause.) And he was told there was no treatment. So after coming home from the doctor that day, he and his wife Patti decided that he should get his affairs in order, and then the two of them could knock off their &#8220;bucket list&#8221; of things to do while Bill still could. So they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Bill was 72 at the time. He thought he only had two or three years to live.
But that was ten years ago.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-28929" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Bill_Vick_Running.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="600" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Bill_Vick_Running.jpg 800w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Bill_Vick_Running-300x225.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Bill_Vick_Running-768x576.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" />
<h2>What are some of the common themes you&#8217;ve heard from people about first getting diagnosed?</h2>
I, like many, was diagnosed by chance as I had a cough, weight loss, and shortness of breath that my family doctor could not explain. And you know, if I hadn&#8217;t been training so hard and been so in tune with minor changes in my body, I might not have noticed.
I was 72, but I was an active triathlete, and I&#8217;d been a competitive jock all my life. I was training for a short course race here in Texas and started noticing my swim times dropping. So I went to my doctor, and he thought it might be athletic asthma or bronchitis or COPD, and gave me an inhaler, and then a nebulizer. But that didn&#8217;t help much. I think that went on for about a year before I went to a pulmonologist. They did a high-resolution CT scan and a biopsy.
When the results were in, they called and told me to come in and bring my wife, Patti. So we were ushered into a small waiting room, and the doctor comes in and says:
“You&#8217;ve got a rare disease, IPF. It&#8217;s a lung disease with no cure and nothing to stop it. You should go home and get your affairs in order.&#8221;
<h2>Why are so few people, including doctors, aware of IPF? </h2>
Well, it&#8217;s a rare disease. I think my doctor had seen maybe one or two other people with it in his whole career. So when I got my diagnosis, there just weren&#8217;t many resources out there to find out more. And that&#8217;s one of the reasons we started PF Warriors. As I talk to other patients and groups, the same kinds of questions come up. That&#8217;s why it helps to hear from others who are going through the same thing. We now have 2,400 members worldwide and are located in 19 countries.
It took me a couple of years, but I got to this point that I wasn&#8217;t saying that I&#8217;m dying from this disease, but that I&#8217;m living with it.
<h2>Typically, the survival rate after diagnosis is two to three years. You got your diagnosis a decade ago. How have you been able to do so well for so long?</h2>
My advantage was that I was a competitive athlete attuned to my body. So not only was I in great shape but I got diagnosed perhaps earlier because I very quickly noticed the changes in my body.
But we don&#8217;t really know a lot about this disease. There&#8217;s still a lot of ignorance out there, and that&#8217;s why we need more research. I&#8217;ve also benefited by being one of the first people prescribed Esbriet® (pirfenidone). I started taking that when I was 75, and it can help slow the scarring of your lungs or progression of pulmonary fibrosis.
A few years ago I talked to a woman who was a fellow IPF patient named Peggy and I asked her about how long I had to live. She said something about hearing the diagnosis of dying in two or three years and she smiled and said:
&#8220;When you can find the expiration date that God tattooed on your bottom, believe it, but until you do, take each day as it comes and live it fully.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_28931" style="width: 890px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28931" class="size-larger wp-image-28931" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/onemoretime-880x668.jpg" alt="" width="880" height="668" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/onemoretime-880x668.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/onemoretime-300x228.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/onemoretime-768x583.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/onemoretime.jpg 949w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 880px) 100vw, 880px" />Bill Vic</div>
<h2>What do you think is the biggest value of having an organization like PF Warriors? </h2>
It&#8217;s meeting people like Peggy in Florida with something to say, but it&#8217;s also crowdsourcing information with others, having a place where you can go for information or questions or support. You know, if you have a doctor who you talk to, that&#8217;s a certain channel for information but talking to someone like you who has it, it&#8217;s a different kind of conversation.
<h2>Recently you invited 23andMe&#8217;s John Matthews to speak to your group. He is the Senior Clinical Development Leader for Therapeutics at 23andMe. He is also a physician who trained in pulmonary medicine. Why did you ask him to speak, and what did he share with you? </h2>
John discussed 23andMe&#8217;s work in drug discovery and 23andMe&#8217;s ongoing effort to recruit 1,000 people for a <a href="https://www.23andme.com/idiopathic-pulmonary-fibrosis/">genetic study on IPF</a>. As a result, we&#8217;ve had other researchers and leading scientists in the field to talk. It&#8217;s a way for us to stay informed and keep ahead of the curve. John walked through the role genetics plays in disease and how 23andMe uses genetic information and other information to find potential drug targets. He also answered a lot of questions from our members who participated in the discussion.
<h2>What are your thoughts about the potential for finding new treatments?</h2>
I think studies like this, using genetics, are critical. But it isn&#8217;t easy to get enough people (with IPF) to participate. This is a similar problem with clinical trials, simply finding people willing to participate, but you need people if you want to see significant breakthroughs. I&#8217;m hoping we can help 23andMe with that. I&#8217;m optimistic that we will find a cure and treatment, maybe I won&#8217;t be around to see it, but I want to do whatever I can to help.
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Living with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Eczema is a chronic skin condition with itchy, dry, and/or discolored skin. Many people have it. Atopic dermatitis is the most common type of eczema; the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably.



Typically, it begins during infancy or childhood, but a person can develop it at any time. For some people, symptoms resolve before adulthood. For others, symptoms continue to come and go. When they occur, the symptoms are called “flares.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-large-numbers">Large Numbers</h2>



An eczema flare can be uncomfortable. People with eczema are more likely to get skin infections and have trouble sleeping. In addition, depression and anxiety are more common in people with this condition, especially those with more severe forms of this common skin disorder.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="858" height="288" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Eczema.jpg" alt="An illustration of symptoms of eczema on a person's hands" class="wp-image-28936" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Eczema.jpg 858w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Eczema-300x101.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Eczema-768x258.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 858px) 100vw, 858px" /></figure>



It’s estimated that about 10 percent of the adult population in the United States has eczema.<a id="f1" href="#a1">[1]</a> Unfortunately, eczema is another example of disparities in healthcare. African American and Asian American children are more likely to develop more severe forms of eczema. Unfortunately, this may be due to delayed diagnosis because eczema can sometimes be missed in people with darker skin.



Although there is no cure for eczema, there are recommendations for reducing the frequency and severity of symptoms. The National Institutes of Health in the United States is also <a href="https://www.niaid.nih.gov/diseases-conditions/eczema-atopic-dermatitis?researchers=true">funding basic research</a> into the condition.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shared-genetics">Shared Genetics</h2>



Over the last decade, researchers—including scientists at 23andMe—have discovered some of the underlying genetics of the condition. Many people with eczema also have food allergies, asthma, or hay fever, for example. These are all allergic conditions, and they also <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/researchers-identify-new-genetic-associations-for-allergies-asthma-and-eczema/">share genetic associations</a>. But they each impact different parts of the body. By learning more about the shared genetics of these conditions, scientists are learning more about potential ways to treat them.



Beyond reading about 23andMe’s research on eczema (here are <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/tag/eczema/">some other posts</a> about the research), we also offer customers an opportunity to go deeper and learn about their chances of developing eczema.



This week, 23andMe released a new Eczema (Atopic Dermatitis) report powered by 23andMe research as part of our <a href="https://www.23andme.com/membership?ada=on">23andMe+</a> Membership. This is one of more than 10 reports and features added annually and available to our 23andMe+ members.‡



The eczema report is powered by a polygenic score. The score is calculated using more than 2,100 genetic variants and a customer’s ethnicity and sex to estimate the likelihood of having eczema. We use aggregated data from consented 23andMe research participants to calculate this estimate. The report does not diagnose eczema. If you are concerned about your likelihood of developing eczema, consult with a healthcare professional.



To learn more about 23andMe+ membership, go <a href="https://www.23andme.com/membership?fdpt=true">here</a>. Also, you can read about the most recent 23andMe eczema research collaboration <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1008725">here</a>.



<code> 
</code><a id="f1" href="#a1">[1]</a> Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, ISSN: 0091-6749, Vol: 132, Issue: 5, Page: 1132-1138: 2013<a href=" https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(13)01366-3/fulltext"> https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(13)01366-3/fulltext</a>



‡10+ reports and features will be added annually from January to December.

New 23andMe+ Eczema Report

Researchers at 23andMe described what is believed to be the largest genomic study of rare diseases ever done in a groundbreaking <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.09.21258643v1">new paper</a>. The study, published in the pre-print server MedRxiv, offers up a potential alternative method for gaining insight into these challenging-to-study conditions.
Using data from more than 1.6 million research participants, including 19,000 who reported a rare disease diagnosis, 23andMe scientists were able to study 33 different rare diseases that included people of European, African, Latino, East Asian, South Asian, Middle Eastern, and other ancestries. 
<h6>Some Firsts</h6>
The researchers were then able to run genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for each of these different rare diseases. They replicated 29 previously identified associations across different rare diseases. For three of these rare conditions — <a href="https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/duane-syndrome/">Duane retraction syndrome</a>, <a href="https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/acoustic-neuroma/">vestibular schwannoma</a>, and <a href="https://rarediseases.org/gard-rare-disease/primary-spontaneous-pneumothorax/">spontaneous pneumothorax</a> — the 23andMe study is the first GWAS ever done. The study identified new genetic associations for each. 
The conventional method for studying rare diseases entails sequencing patients with the condition or their family members. Then to use that data to focus on potentially causal genes, but the challenge is to first simply finding enough patients for a study and then paying for the much higher cost of sequencing them. 
<h6>A New Way </h6>
23andMe’s model is different in that the scale of the data allows researchers to quickly find sufficient numbers of cases, and those individuals, who have consented to participate in research, are already genotyped.
“This is exciting because it offers a viable alternative for studying rare diseases,” said Suyash Shringarpure, Ph.D., a 23andMe senior scientist, and statistical geneticist, who worked on the study. “This approach will enable us to discover new genetic associations across multiple populations much faster than could be done otherwise. And it’s complementary to a sequencing-based approach.”
&nbsp;

 <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="745" height="1024" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/©PITER2017Suyash-Shringarpure2649-745x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-28941" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/©PITER2017Suyash-Shringarpure2649-745x1024.jpg 745w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/©PITER2017Suyash-Shringarpure2649-218x300.jpg 218w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/©PITER2017Suyash-Shringarpure2649-768x1056.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/©PITER2017Suyash-Shringarpure2649-640x880.jpg 640w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/©PITER2017Suyash-Shringarpure2649-858x1180.jpg 858w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/©PITER2017Suyash-Shringarpure2649-scaled.jpg 1862w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 745px) 100vw, 745px" /></figure>
 
It can often feel like being lost in the wilderness for patients living with a rare disease and their families. With so little information about the conditions, simply receiving a diagnosis can often take years. And once diagnosed, treatment options are often limited or even non-existent.
For the scientists trying to help, it can often feel like being asked to lead those patients out of the wilderness without a map.
<h6>Studying IPF and Systemic Sclerosis </h6>
The challenge of studying <a href="https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/">rare diseases</a> is that they are rare. Simply finding enough people with a specific rare disease and then gathering enough data from those individuals to make meaningful insights is extremely difficult. In addition, there is the challenge of finding the money to pay for these studies. Rare diseases are defined as diseases that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. But there are more than 7,000 rare diseases that have been identified. Collectively they impact an estimated <a href="https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/about-ordr/pages/31/frequently-asked-questions">25-30 million people </a>in the United States alone. 
23andMe is currently recruiting to study two rare diseases <a href="https://www.23andme.com/systemic-sclerosis-study/">systemic sclerosis</a>, a form of scleroderma, and <a href="https://www.23andme.com/idiopathic-pulmonary-fibrosis/">idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)</a>, a chronic progressive lung disease. There are no cures for either condition, but the hope is that by gathering enough participants our scientists will be able to gather insights that could lead to new and effective treatments. 
<h6>Surprising Insights</h6>
Beyond working specifically on these two conditions, 23andMe’s unique research model allows scientists to more easily and quickly assemble data to study. This most recent paper illustrated how even looking broadly across all research participants, scientists were able to find enough individuals with certain rare conditions to garner insights. In some cases, these insights surprised researchers. 
For example, many rare diseases are Mendelian diseases, meaning that they are usually inherited and are typically caused by a mutation in a single gene. From this study, the researchers found that <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-health-ancestry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">common genetic variants</a> may also play a role in some of these conditions. Given the variety in the genetic architecture of rare diseases, it surprised the scientists working on this study that they found associations in rare causal genes by conducting genome-wide associations studies on 23andMe’s data. Typically genome-wide association studies are used to study common diseases — those that are affected not just by many different genes often with small impacts. These conditions are also influenced by environmental factors as well as gene-by-gene or gene-by-environment interactions. So it surprised researchers that they were able to look at a dataset of unrelated individuals — albeit a very large one — and find genetic associations. But they were able to do that for conditions such as Huntington’s disease and phenylketonuria, for example.
“The ability of a genome-wide association study to find associations at rare causal genes for monogenic diseases in an outbred population is to some extent unexpected,” Suyash said.

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