<h5 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fda-now-recommends-genetic-testing-before-prescribing-specific-chemotherapy-medications">FDA Now Recommends Genetic Testing Before Prescribing Specific Chemotherapy Medications</h5>



For years, patient advocates have been calling for stronger safeguards against preventable toxicity from chemotherapy. Last week, the FDA took a major step forward, updating the label for a drug called <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a699003.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">capecitabine</a> to explicitly recommend testing for variants in the DPYD gene before starting treatment. This is more than just a label change—it&#8217;s a long-awaited acknowledgment that genetics matter when it comes to patient safety.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What is DPYD?</h2>



The <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/gene/dpyd/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DPYD gene</a> provides instructions for making an enzyme called DPD (dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase), which helps the body break down certain chemotherapy drugs like capecitabine and <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a682708.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">5-fluorouracil</a>. These medications are commonly used to treat breast, colorectal, and other cancers. People with certain changes in this gene may not process these drugs properly, causing the drugs to build up in the body and, in some cases, leading to severe or even life-threatening <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/dihydropyrimidine-dehydrogenase-deficiency/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reactions</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="508" height="531" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/drug-bottle.png" alt="" class="wp-image-34304" style="width:126px;height:auto" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/drug-bottle.png 508w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/drug-bottle-287x300.png 287w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 508px) 100vw, 508px" /></figure>



These reactions can include painful mouth sores, severe diarrhea, low white blood cell counts, and nerve problems. <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/dihydropyrimidine-dehydrogenase-deficiency/#frequency" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Up to 8%</a> of people have a variant in the DPYD gene that affects how well they process these medications. Sadly, some patients with DPYD variants have died after receiving these drugs. Such experiences have fueled years of advocacy calling for genetic testing before treatment, not after. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-change-in-the-recommendations">A change in the recommendations</h2>



Until now, the FDA advised doctors they could &#8220;consider testing&#8221; patients before giving capecitabine or similar drugs. The <a href="https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2025/020896s052lbl.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new label</a> goes much further, adding a warning that says, &#8220;serious adverse reactions or death may occur in patients with complete DPD deficiency&#8221; and telling doctors to test for DPYD variants before prescribing the medication. (Experts predict a similar change to the 5-fluorouracil drug label soon.) It&#8217;s a major win for patient safety and for the <a href="https://test4dpd.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">advocacy groups</a> who have pushed tirelessly for this change. Organizations that have long advocated for universal DPYD testing hope this update will encourage hospitals and cancer centers across the U.S. to make pretreatment genetic testing standard care.



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="790" height="1024" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/PGt-Home-790x1024.png" alt="23andMe mobile pharmacogenomics" class="wp-image-28527" style="width:256px;height:auto" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/PGt-Home-790x1024.png 790w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/PGt-Home-231x300.png 231w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/PGt-Home-768x996.png 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/PGt-Home-679x880.png 679w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/PGt-Home-910x1180.png 910w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/PGt-Home.png 1583w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 790px) 100vw, 790px" /></figure>



We share the belief that genetic insights can empower individuals and help improve outcomes. The 23andMe® <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/pharmacogenetics/dpyd/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DPYD Drug Metabolism Pharmacogenetics report</a>*, available to <a href="https://www.23andme.com/membership/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andMe+ Premium</a>™ members, provides information about two variants associated with reduced DPD enzyme activity. While this report isn&#8217;t a substitute for clinical testing, it can help people learn whether they carry certain DPYD variants and start a conversation with their healthcare provider. 



The FDA&#8217;s new label is an important step toward safer, more personalized cancer treatment and a long-awaited victory for the patients and advocates who made their voices heard.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



 * 23andMe PGS Pharmacogenetics reports: The 23andMe test uses qualitative genotyping to detect 3 variants in the CYP2C19 gene, 2 variants in the DPYD gene and 1 variant in the SLCO1B1 gene in the genomic DNA of adults from saliva for the purpose of reporting and interpreting information about the processing of certain therapeutics to inform discussions with a healthcare professional. It does not describe if a person will or will not respond to a particular therapeutic. Our CYP2C19 Pharmacogenetics report provides certain information about variants associated with metabolism of some therapeutics and provides interpretive drug information regarding the potential effect of citalopram and clopidogrel therapy. Our SLCO1B1 Pharmacogenetics report provides certain information about variants associated with the processing of some therapeutics and provides interpretive drug information regarding the potential effect of simvastatin therapy. Our DPYD Pharmacogenetics report does not describe the association between detected variants and any specific therapeutic. Results for DPYD and certain CYP2C19 results should be confirmed by an independent genetic test prescribed by your own healthcare provider before taking any medical action. Warning: Test information should not be used to start, stop, or change any course of treatment and does not test for all possible variants that may affect metabolism or protein function. The PGS test is not a substitute for visits to a healthcare professional. Making changes to your current regimen can lead to harmful side effects or reduced intended benefits of your medication, therefore consult with your healthcare professional before taking any medical action. For important information and limitations regarding Pharmacogenetic reports, visit <a href="http://23andme.com/test-info/pharmacogenetics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andme.com/test-info/pharmacogenetics/</a>

A Big Step Forward for Patient Safety

We often hear about the &#8220;nature versus nurture&#8221; debate, framing it as a battle between our genes and our environment. But in many cases it&#8217;s not a battle at all, it&#8217;s a partnership. The way our genes impact our health and traits may change depending on our environment.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="684" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-981323210-1024x684.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-30209" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-981323210-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-981323210-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-981323210-768x513.jpg 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-981323210-880x587.jpg 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-981323210-1180x788.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Understanding both &#8220;nature&#8221; and &#8220;nurture&#8221; is especially important when we consider complex skills critical to success in life, like reading. Thanks to the contribution of over a million 23andMe® research participants, a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40991152/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new study</a>, led by scientists from the University of Edinburgh, is helping to untangle how both genes and environment work to shape literacy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-reading-puzzle-nbsp">The Reading Puzzle&nbsp;</h2>



Literacy is a powerful predictor of life outcomes, from education level to income. For decades, researchers have tried to understand the roles genetics and environment play in why some people learn to read and spell more easily than others.



<figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="425" height="282" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/twins.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-392" style="width:309px;height:auto" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/twins.jpg 425w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/twins-300x199.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 425px) 100vw, 425px" /></figure>



Several <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23725549/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19076484/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">twins</a> in the United States suggested an interaction between genes and environment. In these studies, how much influence genetics had on reading skills seemed to be higher in families with a higher socioeconomic status. In other words, genetics appeared to have a bigger impact on a child&#8217;s reading ability when they were in a more advantaged environment. This idea is called a gene-by-environment interaction.



However, the evidence of this gene-by-environment interaction was mixed in studies conducted in the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19296213/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">United Kingdom</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28832969/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Australia</a>. This puzzle led researchers to ask: can we use modern genetic data to test this theory in large, diverse populations?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-approach">A New Approach</h2>



Researchers utilized summary statistics from a 2022 <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/study-identifies-genetic-links-to-dyslexia" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">genome-wide association study (GWAS) on dyslexia</a> to construct a polygenic score—a way of estimating someone’s genetic tendency toward a trait by adding up the small effects of thousands of DNA differences.



The team then applied this polygenic score to two large groups of children and adolescents in Australia and the United Kingdom to see if the score&#8217;s effect on reading and spelling skills was moderated by their family&#8217;s socioeconomic status. Socioeconomic status was used as a broad measure of environmental advantage, capturing factors like parental education level and household income.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-was-discovered-two-parallel-paths">What Was Discovered: Two Parallel Paths</h2>



Both the dyslexia polygenic score (nature) and socioeconomic status (nurture) were significant predictors of reading and spelling performance. Together, demographic, genetic, and socioeconomic factors explained between 8% and 11.6% of the variation in reading skills.



However, the study found no interaction effect. Nature and nurture were both important, but they worked in parallel.



This means the influence of a person&#8217;s genetic predisposition was the same, regardless of their family&#8217;s socioeconomic background. In these groups, a higher genetic predisposition for reading provided a similar boost to children from all socioeconomic backgrounds.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-bigger-picture">The Bigger Picture</h2>



This finding is an important reminder to scientists to consider different environments when looking for gene-by-environment interactions. While some earlier US-based studies suggested an interaction, the different environments in these large UK and Australian groups showed a different outcome. Suggesting that both our genes and our environment make their own distinct contributions to the development of this fundamental skill.



Of course, every study has its limitations. The 23andMe research participants who contributed to the original GWAS are a self-selecting group and may not be perfectly representative of the general population. Additionally, only about 5% of 23andMe research participants said they had dyslexia, which is on the lower end of the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18652545/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">commonly cited 5–10% range</a>.



Even so, this large-scale study provides a crucial piece of the puzzle, emphasizing how vital it is to test scientific findings in diverse environments to get the full story.

Nature and Nurture: A New Look at the Genetics of Reading Ability

Every year on the third Saturday in October, the world celebrates International Archaeology Day, recognizing the important contributions archaeological research makes to society. This year, to celebrate, we&#8217;re spotlighting one of our favorite archaeological mysteries in the <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andmes-historic-matches" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Historical Matches</a>SM feature—the skeletons of Roopkund Lake.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-about-roopkund-lake">About Roopkund Lake</h2>



Roopkund Lake is a small glacial lake located over 5,000 meters (over 16,000 ft) above sea level in the Nanda Devi National Park, in the Indian Himalayas. In 1942, a forest ranger patrolling the park stumbled upon a chilling scene: hundreds of skeletal remains strewn around the lake. The site has captivated researchers and locals alike ever since.



The mystery of who these individuals were, how they died, and why they were in such a remote and inhospitable location has sparked decades of speculation. Some early researchers proposed that the remains belonged to an army that had lost its way in the mountains, while others suggested they might have been traders following a trans-Himalayan route that had since vanished. A few archaeologists posited that they were pilgrims traveling to nearby shrines, possibly part of the ancient Nanda Devi Raj Jat, a religious procession spanning ~290 kilometers (~180 miles) that is still undertaken in the region every 12 years.



The identification of women and children among the dead, however, made some of the proposed explanations less plausible–especially the claim that they may have been members of an army. Without weapons, trade goods, or written records, no single theory could fully account for the diversity and composition of the group. Local folklore offered its own interpretation: a king, his family, and attendants on a pilgrimage to honor the mountain goddess Nanda Devi had violated sacred protocol and were struck down by a deadly hailstorm in divine retribution.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-exciting-23andme-connection">An exciting 23andMe connection</h2>



<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31431628/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">In 2019</a>, scientists sequenced the genomes of 38 individuals from Roopkund Lake in an effort to better understand the origins of the mysterious remains. But instead of resolving this longstanding mystery, their findings uncovered an even more complex puzzle. 



So what makes this story one of 23andMe’s favorite archaeological mysteries? That 2019 research study was actually led by our very own Dr. Éadaoin Harney—a Scientist on the Population Genetics R&amp;D Team and 23andMe’s “resident ancient DNA expert.” She worked on this study during her PhD at Harvard University where she was a member of Prof. David Reich’s ancient DNA laboratories–one of the largest ancient DNA research laboratories in the world.



“When I first started working with the Roopkund ancient DNA data, I thought that genetics would be a simple and straightforward way to finally help solve the mystery of who they were,” said Dr. Harney. But she was in for a big surprise! “The first hint that this wasn’t going to be as simple as I initially thought was when we discovered how ancestrally diverse the Roopkund individuals were. Then we learned that they didn’t all die at the same time, as had previously been believed. Instead radiocarbon dates generated from the bones spanned over 1,000 years.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-dna-adds-to-the-mystery">How DNA adds to the mystery</h2>



The 2019 genetic analysis showed that the individuals fell into three distinct genetic groups, with ancestries from across the globe.



The largest group (which we’ll refer to as Roopkund A) consisted of 23 individuals who died between the 7th and 10th centuries CE, likely during multiple distinct events. Genetically, all appeared South Asian, but with remarkably diverse ancestries–each individual appeared most closely related to different present-day South Asian populations. This finding suggests that they may have traveled to the lake from multiple locations across the subcontinent. Although the exact purpose of their journey to Roopkund Lake remains uncertain, some researchers speculate that they may have been early participants in the Nanda Devi Raj Jat, a traditional pilgrimage that still passes by the lake every 12 years.



The other two groups were even more surprising. One group (Roopkund B) consisted of 14 individuals whose DNA connected them to present-day populations from the eastern Mediterranean—particularly populations in Greece and neighboring regions. The third group (Roopkund C) was represented by a single individual with genetic ancestry most similar to Southeast Asian populations. Radiocarbon dating revealed that these individuals likely died in a single event some time between the 17th and 20th centuries. Why people with ancestry from such distant regions were traveling together in one of the most remote parts of the Himalayas remains a mystery to this day.



Dr. Harney joined 23andMe in 2020 with the goal of creating an approach to identify direct genetic connections between historical and living people. She and her colleagues on the Population Genetics R&amp;D Team succeeded! This technology was first described in their <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10958645/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2023 study of African Americans from Catoctin Furnace</a>, which was published in (and featured on the cover of) Science. She then helped spearhead the creation of the 23andMe Historical Matches feature, enabling customers to learn how they connect to different historical and ancient individuals.



Over the last five years, one of her secret ambitions was to use this technology to try and finally solve the mystery of the Roopkund individuals&#8217; identities. Could identifying any close genetic relatives of the Roopkund individuals in the 23andMe genetic database help us learn about their identities and answer what brought them to Roopkund?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-did-we-solve-the-mystery">Did we solve the mystery?</h2>



We compared the Roopkund individuals to over 11 million research consenting participants in the 23andMe genetic database. While we were hoping this analysis would reveal a number of close genetic relatives, unfortunately, the mystery of Roopkund Lake lives on.



We found that only about 1,240 research participants—less than 0.011% of the individuals included in our analysis—share any sort of genetic connection to the Roopkund individuals. And of those participants, we can count the number of individuals who share over 30 cM of DNA (what we label a “significant genetic connection” in the Historical Matches feature) on just one hand. In fact, we found so few &#8220;significant relatives” that the chances any of those connections trace back to a recent shared common ancestor on a genealogical family tree are extremely slim.



(Although if you happen to be one of those lucky individuals who sees a “significant connection” listed to one of the Roopkund individuals in your 23andMe report, please <a href="https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/requests/new" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reach out to us</a>, as we’d love to learn more!)



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-else-did-we-discover">What else did we discover?</h2>



So, we didn’t solve the mystery of who the Roopkund individuals were, but we did gather fascinating data about their connections to the present day.



First, here is a breakdown of the 17 Roopkund individuals whose DNA was well preserved enough to include in our analyses:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>8 from Roopkund A (South Asian ancestry)</li>



<li>8 from Roopkund B (Eastern Mediterranean ancestry)</li>



<li>1 from Roopkund C (Southeast Asian ancestry)</li>
</ul>



As we mentioned, about 1,240 23andMe research participants shared a genetic connection to the Roopkund individuals. The figure below shows the number of matches each Roopkund group received and highlights the amount of DNA shared. As you can see, the vast majority of the connections we discovered involve less than 20 cM of DNA, meaning that they likely trace back to a shared common ancestor who lived long before any of the Roopkund individuals.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="411" height="252" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/image-3.png" alt="" class="wp-image-34359" style="width:625px;height:auto" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/image-3.png 411w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/image-3-300x184.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 411px) 100vw, 411px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This figure shows the distribution of total shared DNA that we detected between 23andMe research participants and each of the Roopkund groups (A, B and C). It shows that the vast majority of the connections we identified are to individuals in the Roopkund B group, and the DNA segments they share are shorter than 15 cM. In order to protect participant privacy, all counts less than or equal to 5 are masked and appear equal to 5. </figcaption></figure>



Of those who share a genetic connection, the majority (~1,160) shared a connection to one or more individuals in the Roopkund B group—the one with Eastern Mediterranean-related ancestry. This didn&#8217;t surprise us, since the majority of 23andMe research participants have European ancestry, making them more likely to be related to the Roopkund B individuals.



In addition to occurring more frequently, the Roopkund B individuals also shared some of the strongest genetic connections to 23andMe research participants, as shown in the figure below which depicts the maximum amount of DNA that each Roopkund individual shared with a research participant.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="643" height="448" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/image-4.png" alt="" class="wp-image-34360" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/image-4.png 643w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/image-4-300x209.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 643px) 100vw, 643px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This figure shows the maximum amount of shared DNA that we detected between 23andMe research participants and each of the Roopkund individuals. The individuals are arranged along the x-axis by when they lived, as measured by radiocarbon dating. We masked this result for Roopkund individuals who shared DNA with 5 or fewer 23andMe research participants in order to protect participant privacy, and reported maximum DNA sharing as equal to 0.</figcaption></figure>



We decided to see what Genetic Groups the Roopkund individuals could be connected to, using the same approach that we use to connect customers to these Genetic Groups.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Many of the Roopkund B individuals received matches to Genetic Groups in south eastern Europe, with the strongest connections to groups in Greece and Crete–exactly mirroring the findings of the original study!



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="849" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/roopkund_b_2-1024x849.png" alt="" class="wp-image-34352" style="width:575px" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/roopkund_b_2-1024x849.png 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/roopkund_b_2-300x249.png 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/roopkund_b_2-768x636.png 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/roopkund_b_2-880x729.png 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/roopkund_b_2-1180x978.png 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This map shows the location of the different Genetic Groups that we compared the Roopkund B individuals to. Groups shown in darker colors shared the strongest genetic matches to one or more of the Roopkund B individuals.</figcaption></figure>



Since the Roopkund A and Roopkund C individuals shared far fewer genetic connections to 23andMe research participants, it was hard to localize their ancestry in the same way. But we were able to connect the Roopkund C individual to a single Genetic Group, located in China. This finding is generally consistent with the original study, where this individual exhibited connections to populations in East and Southeast Asia.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="874" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/roopkund_c_2-1024x874.png" alt="" class="wp-image-34353" style="width:592px;height:auto" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/roopkund_c_2-1024x874.png 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/roopkund_c_2-300x256.png 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/roopkund_c_2-768x655.png 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/roopkund_c_2-880x751.png 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/roopkund_c_2-1180x1007.png 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This map shows the location of the different Genetic Groups that we compared the Roopkund C individual to. Groups shown in darker colors shared the strongest genetic matches to the Roopkund C individual.</figcaption></figure>



We couldn’t connect the Roopkund A individuals to any of the Genetic Groups that we have identified. That doesn’t mean they aren’t genetically related to any of these groups. Instead it is likely just because the original research team was only able to sequence a small amount of DNA from these individuals, making it harder to connect them to research participants in the 23andMe database.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-next">What’s Next?</h2>



So for now, all we can say is that the mystery of Roopkund Lake continues. But we promise this archaeological site is one that is close to our hearts. If we have any updates in the future, we’ll be sure to let you know.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-learn-more">Learn more</h2>



Want to see if you share a genetic connection with any of the individuals who died at Roopkund Lake—or hundreds of other historical people? The Historical Matches feature is available to <a href="https://www.23andme.com/membership/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andMe+ Premium</a>™ members.



And if you are interested in finding ways to celebrate International Archaeology Day, check out organizations like the Archaeological Institute of America, which has an exciting <a href="https://www.archaeological.org/events/category/international-archaeology-day/list/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">calendar of Archaeology-related events</a>.

New Historical Matches Could Connect You to the Mysterious Skeletons of Roopkund Lake

This week the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) is having its <a href="https://meetings.ashg.org/event/ASHG25/home/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">annual meeting</a> in Boston. Attending the ASHG annual meeting is about more than just presenting our work, it&#8217;s one way we are working to ensure that the 23andMe® Research Institute contributes to a healthier future for everyone.



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Amplifying impact: Sharing our discoveries with a global audience helps our work reach those who can build upon it, accelerating the path from discovery to clinic.</li>



<li>Fostering collaboration: It&#8217;s where we connect with the brightest minds in the field. These conversations spark new ideas and forge partnerships that are essential for tackling complex diseases.</li>



<li>Staying on the cutting edge: Exposure to the latest technologies and unpublished data keeps our research relevant and innovative.</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-23andme-research-institute-at-ashg">23andMe Research Institute at ASHG</h2>



For those attending, stop by our posters in the following sessions:



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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15TH 2:30 &#8211; 4:30 PM (Posters; Board #2004W) Sustaining Research Ethics in Times of Change: A Framework from the 23andMe Research Program



presented by Emily DelloRusso, Principal Regulatory Science Manager
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16TH 2:30 &#8211; 4:30 PM (Posters; Board #2035T) Explore23: a privacy-forward, secure, extensible, and easy-to-use web application for exploration of a large genomic research cohort



presented by Julie Granka, Director, Statistical Genetics
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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17TH 2:30 &#8211; 4:30 PM (Posters; Board #3014F) Learning about a genetic predisposition to depression is psychologically well tolerated among those with high polygenic risk scores



presented by Rebecca Berns, Sr. Product Scientist I, Genomic Health and Sciences
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Interested in reading more? 23andMe has contributed to <a href="https://research.23andme.com/publications/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">more than 300 research publications</a>.

23andMe Research Institute Attending ASHG 2025

Cannabis is already one of the most widely used drugs globally, and its use will likely grow even more as it becomes more socially accepted and legally available. For many the recreational use of cannabis poses few problems, but for as many as a third of users, it becomes problematic developing into an addiction or what scientists call cannabis use disorder. Research suggests that genetics may explain why.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-searching-the-genome-for-clues">Searching the Genome for Clues</h2>



In collaboration with 23andMe Research Institute, researchers at the University of California, San Diego <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-025-03219-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published a study</a> today that found genetic links to cannabis use as well as links to psychiatric, cognitive, and physical health. The researchers used data from more than 130,000 people who consented to participate in 23andMe research. Participants answered survey questions on whether they had ever used cannabis (“lifetime use”) and, for those who had, how often they used it during their heaviest 30-day period (“frequency of use”). The team then conducted genome-wide association studies searching for genetic variants linked to ever trying cannabis and how often people used the drug.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-data-revealed">What the Data Revealed</h2>



Researchers found that having ever used cannabis was associated with two genetic regions: CADM2—a gene <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/scientists-identify-genes-associated-with-cannabis-use" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">previously linked</a> to cannabis and other substance use, impulsivity, and risk-taking—and GRM3. While GRM3 has been tied to alcohol use, schizophrenia, and certain personality traits, this is the first time it’s been linked to cannabis use. How often someone used cannabis was associated with a different variant also near CADM2, strengthening this gene’s role in cannabis behaviors. Both having ever used cannabis and how frequently someone used cannabis were genetically linked to other substance use, pain, and psychiatric conditions like depression. Researchers also created polygenic scores—which tally the effects of many different genetic variants—to estimate both the likelihood of ever having used cannabis and the frequency of cannabis use. These polygenic scores were able to replicate associations between cannabis use and substance use and mood disorders in two other independent research datasets (All of Us and BioVU). The researchers also uncovered novel associations with anxiety, celiac disease, HIV, and viral hepatitis.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-this-research-matters">Why This Research Matters</h2>



Most genetic research on cannabis has focused on two points in the spectrum: first use and cannabis use disorder. But the stages in between—like how often someone uses cannabis—are just as important. Studying these “pre-addiction” traits may help determine who is more likely to progress from a casual user to someone with cannabis use disorder. This study was one of the first genome wide association studies to look at traits that may lead to cannabis use disorder.&nbsp;



Traits like frequency of cannabis use can reveal genetic factors that shape vulnerability before addiction develops. Understanding these factors could eventually help predict risk for cannabis use disorder and related health conditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-than-just-dna">More Than Just DNA</h2>



Like all research there are some important considerations to keep in mind for this study:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>While this research focused on genetics, many non-genetic factors may also play a significant role in a person&#8217;s likelihood of using cannabis or developing cannabis use disorder.</li>



<li>The study was conducted in people of European descent (based on an analysis of their local genetic ancestry), so the findings may not fully apply to people of other ancestries.</li>



<li>The measure of frequency (use days in a 30-day window) of using cannabis doesn’t capture full patterns such as the duration of regular use or quantity consumed.</li>



<li>While GRM3 is a promising lead, more work is needed to understand how the genetic variant in this region affects cannabis use biology.</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-road-ahead">The Road Ahead</h2>



Future research will need to expand to larger and more diverse cohorts and include other cannabis-related traits such as craving, withdrawal, and response to cannabis. Combining genetic insights from multiple stages of cannabis use could:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Improve the discovery of new genetic variants</li>



<li>Help build predictive models for problematic use</li>



<li>Clarify how cannabis genetics intersect with physical and mental health</li>
</ul>



Takeaway: Studying genetic influences on early cannabis use behaviors could eventually help predict risk for cannabis use disorder and related health conditions, and may help shed light on who is most at risk for cannabis use disorder.&nbsp; These findings mark an important step toward understanding the genetics of cannabis use and its health consequences.

New Genetic Insights Into Cannabis Use

Late in the first quarter in only his third game this season, one professional football team’s star edge-rusher limped off the field, gesturing to his trainers with his thumb down. Apparently, he already knew what he&#8217;d find out a short time later with an MRI: he&#8217;d again torn his ACL, the anterior cruciate ligament.



While a hard tackle or awkward fall can tear an ACL, some people may be more prone to an ACL tear than others, and their genetics may explain why.



A new 23andMe polygenic risk score (PRS) report sheds light on that genetic connection. The report examines how a person&#8217;s genetics may impact their likelihood of experiencing an ACL tear, an injury particularly common among those involved in high-impact sports.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-genetics-may-influence-acl-tear-risk">How Genetics May Influence ACL Tear Risk</h2>



First, it&#8217;s important to note that your genetics is only one part of the story – many other factors can influence the risk of an ACL tear. 



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="306" height="126" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ACL-tear-PRS-Hero.png" alt="" class="wp-image-34316" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ACL-tear-PRS-Hero.png 306w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ACL-tear-PRS-Hero-300x124.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 306px) 100vw, 306px" /></figure>



Tears typically occur when the knee twists or extends beyond its normal range, often seen in sports that involve jumping and sudden stops, pivots, or changes in direction. That might be in sports such as football, soccer, basketball, or downhill skiing. The ACL is the most commonly injured ligament in the knee.&nbsp;&nbsp;



We also know that ACL tears are more common in female athletes. However, because more males participate in high-risk sports, the total number of ACL tears may actually be higher in males. They are also more likely in people with a family history of an ACL injury or a personal history of an ACL tear. Indeed, genetics plays an important role, with one 2020 sports medicine journal study estimating the <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/55/7/385" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">genetic contribution to an ACL tear at approximately 69 percent</a>. 



While the exact biological mechanism involved is not yet known, the genetic associations do offer some hints. Among the many genetic variants associated with ACL tears are variants in or near genes involved in the formation of collagen, a building block for ligaments. Scientists have discovered other variants linked to tears, but most of those associations are inconclusive, and more research is needed.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-23andme-s-new-acl-tear-prs-report">23andMe&#8217;s New ACL Tear PRS Report</h2>



Knowing how genetics influences the risk for an ACL tear can empower athletes, who are at the highest risk, train smarter and work toward preventing them.&nbsp;



To create the new ACL Tear PRS Report* 23andMe scientists analyzed data from people who consented to participate in research to identify thousands of variants associated with ACL tears. The 23andMe scientists then created a genetic model that incorporated those variants to calculate the genetic likelihood of an ACL tear.



This PRS report, like other 23andMe PRS reports, is research-based and not validated for medical diagnostic use; it may have limitations for people with mixed or less-studied ancestries and does not account for every possible factor influencing ACL health. In addition, polygenic risk scores integrate many common variants, but they do not account for rare genetic variants or lifestyle factors that can heavily impact risk.&nbsp;



For individuals with an elevated genetic or family risk, creating a personalized prevention plan and scheduling regular check-ins with sports medicine professionals are great ways to keep knees healthy.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mitigating-the-risk-of-acl-tears">Mitigating the Risk of ACL Tears</h2>



Whether you’re a pro athlete or not, and especially if you’ve already had an ACL tear before, proper training and technique&nbsp; are simple ways to help lower the likelihood of injury.



Here are a few things you can do to help lower the risk of an ACL tear:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Build muscle strength in the hamstrings, and core to stabilize the knee.</li>



<li>Maintain proper technique for movements such as jumping, pivoting, and squatting — like landing on the balls of your feet with knees bent and keeping knees aligned over your toes.</li>



<li>Warm up and cool down before and after physical activity to increase flexibility.</li>



<li>Wear supportive, activity-appropriate footwear for correct alignment.</li>



<li>Consulting with physical therapists or trainers for form and strength assessments can further reduce the risk, regardless of one&#8217;s genetic background.</li>
</ul>



We continue to learn about the role genetics plays in sports-related injuries, including ACL tears, but genetics is just one factor.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-learn-more">Learn More</h2>



<a href="https://www.23andme.com/membership/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andMe+ Premium</a>™ members can view this report with their other Wellness reports.



<a href="https://you.23andme.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sign in</a> to learn more about what 23andMe&#8217;s ACL Tear PRS can tell you. 



* The 23andMe ACL Tear PRS report is based on a genetic model that includes data and insights from 23andMe consented research participants and incorporates more than 6,000 genetic variants to provide information on the likelihood of experiencing an ACL tear. The report does not describe a person’s overall likelihood, does not account for lifestyle or family history and has not been reviewed by the US Food and Drug Administration. The ACL Tear PRS report is not intended to tell you anything about your current state of health, or to be used to make medical decisions or determine any treatment.

Genetics May Explain Why Some Athletes Are More Prone to ACL Tears

<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-study-may-help-identify-and-more-quickly-help-the-60-of-people-with-major-depression-who-do-not-get-relief-from-their-initial-treatments">A new study may help identify and more quickly help the 60% of people with major depression who do not get relief from their initial treatments. </h6>



It is estimated that 60% of patients with major depressive disorder don&#8217;t find relief from their first medication, and as many as one-third develop <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10503923/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">treatment-resistant depression</a>, which is often defined as still experiencing symptoms after trying at least two antidepressants.



Researchers at Johnson &amp; Johnson and the 23andMe Research Institute used advanced machine learning techniques to accurately identify those at most risk for treatment-resistant depression, a massive breakthrough for those suffering with this condition.



The groundbreaking research, published this week in the journal <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41028019/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scientific Reports</a>, used only self-reported information from about 23,000 people who consented to participate in 23andMe research. The model included a total of 101 predictive factors, including such things as age, symptoms that persist between episodes of depression, the duration of episodes of depression, stress levels, and suicidal thoughts. 



Using this predictive model, researchers were able to accurately predict those at the highest risk for treatment-resistant depression 78% of the time, according to the study.&nbsp;



The predictive model did not use either genetics or lab results, just questions that can be easily assessed by a clinician.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Why This Matters</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="508" height="531" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/drug-bottle.png" alt="" class="wp-image-34304" style="width:161px;height:auto" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/drug-bottle.png 508w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/drug-bottle-287x300.png 287w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 508px) 100vw, 508px" /></figure>



Typically, antidepressants used to treat major depression take a little time to work, up to a month or a month and a half. When a treatment does not work, clinicians often prescribe an alternative medication. When someone with depression fails to respond to at least two different medications, they are deemed to have treatment-resistant depression. In many cases, it can take around a year for someone to finally be diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression.



That long delay in finding effective treatment has a cost, not just in the time it takes to identify treatment but in the prolonged suffering for those in the throes of depression, unable to get relief.&nbsp;



The promise of the kind of predictive modeling described in this new study is that it would give both people with depression and clinicians who treat them a tool to flag those who might not respond to standard therapies.



Instead of waiting to see if initial treatments are effective, it may accelerate the process of finding alternatives. Additionally, this predictive model only utilizes patient-reported information; no expensive testing is required.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">More About the Predictive Model</h2>



The model identified eight primary factors that predict treatment resistance, as reported by research participants. Each offers different dimensions of their depression.



<figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="275" height="252" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/depression.png" alt="" class="wp-image-34307" style="width:184px;height:auto"/></figure>



Participants reported on the different symptoms that persisted between the episodes of depression. They reported on how long each episode of depression lasted, and how many years they&#8217;d experienced these periodic episodes. Also included in the self-reported data were levels of stress, or whether they had recurring post-traumatic stress, and two critical factors that looked at more external stressors and life events. Also factored into the modeling was a participant&#8217;s age and whether they had suicidal thoughts. Finally, the model included the self-reported timing between episodes of depression, which was significant when the time between episodes was shorter.



Using these factors and advanced machine learning the researchers were able to accurately distinguish between those who were treatment-resistant and those who responded to treatment. An accurate way to identify if someone will or will not respond to treatment could translate into meaningful clinical benefits. It could mean the difference between waiting months for effective treatment instead of years.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">More Personalized Depression Care</h2>



This research represents a crucial step toward more personalized mental health treatment and a move away from a &#8220;one-size-fits-all&#8221; approach to treatment of depression.&nbsp;



For the millions of people living with depression, this work represents a path toward precision care, shortening the time to effective treatment and improving quality of life.



The future of depression treatment lies not just in developing new medications, but in better understanding who needs what treatment when. This predictive model brings us measurably closer to that goal, promising a world where effective depression treatment is not a matter of luck, but of precision.



If you or someone you know is struggling with depression, please reach out to a mental health professional. The <a href="https://988lifeline.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Suicide Prevention Lifeline</a> (988) provides 24/7 support for those in crisis.

Predicting Treatment-Resistant Depression Using the 23andMe Survey Data

<div class="wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c531013 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex">
This October, for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we will be sharing some of the latest research on this important topic.
</div>



What if the same genetic factors that put you at higher risk for developing cancer could potentially increase the chances you&#8217;d survive longer if you do get cancer? This counterintuitive possibility is exactly what researchers discovered in a groundbreaking collaboration between the 23andMe Research Institute and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-cancer-risk-and-polygenic-scores">Understanding cancer risk and polygenic scores</h2>



Like most common diseases, cancer is multifactorial – it&#8217;s caused by a combination of genetic factors and non-genetic factors like environmental exposures and lifestyle. Polygenic risk scores are tools that can estimate an individual&#8217;s inherited genetic risk of developing many common conditions, such as cancers.&nbsp;



A <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40877800/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recent study</a> conducted at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigated whether  polygenic risk scores may be associated not just with risk of disease, but with clinical outcomes. The study analyzed nearly 24,000 cancer patients to ask whether having a high <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/three-new-prs-cancer-reports" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">polygenic risk score, predicting a high likelihood of cancer</a>, also could tell you anything about the prognosis for a person who does go on to develop cancer.



In collaboration with 23andMe, researchers looked at polygenic risk scores for more than 200 diseases to see if any could also predict the prognosis of six common cancer types: non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast carcinoma, glioma, ovarian cancer, and prostate cancer.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-unexpected-finding">An unexpected finding</h2>



Surprisingly, they found that among breast cancer patients, those with high polygenic risk scores for breast cancer actually showed longer average survival times than those with low scores. This finding held up even when accounting for other factors like a patient&#8217;s age, treatment, or different kinds of tumors.



Why might this be the case?&nbsp;



Cancer-causing genetic changes come in two types: those you&#8217;re born with (germline mutations) that appear in every cell, and those that develop over time in specific tissues (somatic mutations) due to factors like smoking or aging. Polygenic risk scores measure only germline mutations.



The researcher&#8217;s results raise the possibility that tumors driven more by germline mutations — and corresponding high polygenic risk scores — may tend to be less aggressive compared to tumors that are more driven by somatic mutations.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-comes-next">What comes next</h2>



While these results are statistically robust, they&#8217;ll need to be confirmed in other studies before changing how doctors might treat cancer patients. With additional investigation, these findings could eventually help doctors provide more personalized prognoses and potentially identify patients who might benefit from different treatment approaches based on their genetic risk profiles.

Study Reveals an Unexpected Link Between Genetic Cancer Risk Scores and Survival

This update is currently available to all eligible customers on the latest, V5, genotyping chip. 



The 23andMe Ancestry Team has been working hard on <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/a-major-update-to-ancestry-composition-is-coming-soon" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a major update to the Ancestry Composition report</a>, and results are now available! Our goal is to provide the most accurate and meaningful genetic ancestry results in the industry. We ground our models in rigorous science, guided by established population genetics research, to ensure your results are consistent, reliable, and can help guide your personal journey of discovery.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-changes-you-ll-see">What changes you&#8217;ll see</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>New granularity in your ancestry percentages: 33 new populations in Europe and 6 in the Americas to explore. Plus we&#8217;ve updated our algorithm to eliminate “Broadly” and “Unassigned” categories in the default results view.&nbsp;</li>



<li>More accurate results: A new state-of-the-art DNA phasing pipeline reduces errors and gives a more accurate estimate of your percentages, even if your ancestry isn&#8217;t from Europe or the Americas.&nbsp;</li>



<li>New features: A new “Version History” section lets you compare your new results to your previous result, and <a href="https://www.23andme.com/membership/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andMe+ Premium</a>™ members can also access all previous versions of their results at different confidence thresholds.</li>
</ul>



This update powers your Ancestry Composition, Ancestry Timeline, Parental Inheritance, DNA Painting, and more.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-our-focus-for-this-update">Our focus for this update</h2>



For this update we focused on improving the entire Ancestry Composition pipeline integrating the latest research. Throughout the rounds of development we look at two major metrics: precision and recall. Precision lets us know how often we correctly predict that a piece of DNA is from a specific population. Recall tells us how much DNA from a specific population we can correctly identify. Working to maximize both precision and recall is critical to making Ancestry Composition and other ancestry features as accurate as possible.



<figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="366" height="368" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/AC78_wheel.png" alt="" class="wp-image-34276" style="width:170px;height:auto" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/AC78_wheel.png 366w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/AC78_wheel-298x300.png 298w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/AC78_wheel-150x150.png 150w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/AC78_wheel-271x271.png 271w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 366px) 100vw, 366px" /></figure>



The final models in this update had good precision and recall across the new populations, ensuring the accuracy of the ancestry breakdown predictions while also expanding the specificity and granularity of the populations. One example of the improvements gained by this update is the reduced amount of North Asian ancestry predicted for some Indigenous North American customers. You can learn more about the development process and see precision and recall metrics for each population in the <a href="https://www.23andme.com/ancestry-composition-guide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ancestry Composition Guide</a>.



While this update focused on increasing granularity in Europe and the Americas, customers from other parts of the world will still benefit thanks to the improvements to the science and the removal of broadly and unassigned ancestry.



<a href="https://you.23andme.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sign in</a> and check out your new results.&nbsp;



Not yet a 23andMe member? Learn more about what <a href="https://www.23andme.com/compare-dna-tests/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andMe has to offer</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-some-questions-you-might-be-wondering-about">Some questions you might be wondering about</h2>



Why are certain populations combined?



To define the 78 Ancestry Composition populations, we analyzed the reference datasets, chose candidate populations that appeared to cluster together, and then evaluated whether we can distinguish those groups in practice. Some populations tend to cluster on their own, but most country-level populations overlap to some degree. In these cases, we experiment with different groupings of country-level populations to find combinations that we can distinguish with high confidence. Check out the <a href="https://www.23andme.com/ancestry-composition-guide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ancestry Composition Guide</a> to learn more.



Does this mean that the people in those groups are the same? No. Each group has its own history, culture, and often different languages. These groupings are a reflection of our current genetic understanding and scientific methods, not a statement about cultural identity.



Does this mean DNA that is assigned to these populations is from all groups? Not necessarily. For example, DNA assigned to the Belarusian, Polish &amp; Ukrainian group might mean your ancestors were from one, two, or all three of those country-level populations. Sometimes other information from your DNA, such as your Genetic Groups, might help you identify more specific locations your ancestors may have come from.&nbsp;



Why are some reference panels smaller than before?



A reference panel, or a reference population or reference dataset, is a collection of DNA samples from people with some common connection. We compare your DNA to these reference panels to determine which ancestry most closely corresponds to your DNA. We often use 23andMe research participants who tell us they have four grandparents all born in the same country for reference panels.



However, sometimes when we look at the ancestry prediction for individuals in a reference panel for a specific population a few individuals don&#8217;t end up being predicted to have a reasonably large percentage of their DNA from that population. These individuals are considered outliers. As part of this update we systematically reviewed our reference panels around the world to remove these outliers. But don&#8217;t worry; even though some reference panels might be smaller, we still check that the models perform as well as (or better than) before for people with ancestry from these regions.&nbsp;



Why is there no Indigenous Caribbean population?



To define a new ancestry population we need reference panels made up of individuals who have deep genetic roots from one place. However, many individuals from the Caribbean are highly admixed (“admixture” refers to places where there was mixing of previously separate populations). This makes it incredibly difficult to identify a sufficient number of individuals with primarily indigenous DNA from the Caribbean. The reference panels for the new Indigenous American populations are almost entirely unadmixed, which is why we are able to provide ancestry percentages for these populations.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="502" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/avg_ancestry_caribbean-1024x502.png" alt="" class="wp-image-27359" style="width:371px;height:auto" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/avg_ancestry_caribbean-1024x502.png 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/avg_ancestry_caribbean-300x147.png 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/avg_ancestry_caribbean-768x376.png 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/avg_ancestry_caribbean-880x431.png 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/avg_ancestry_caribbean-1180x578.png 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



So where does Indigenous Caribbean ancestry show up? We tend to see that Indigenous American ancestry in individuals from the Caribbean is spread among several of the new Indigenous American populations (especially North American, Southern Mesoamerican, Central Andean &amp; Amazonian, and Northern Andean).



Does this mean Indigenous Caribbean ancestors came from those places? Not necessarily. It simply means that of the options available today, those populations are the closest genetic match.&nbsp;



Why weren&#8217;t other parts of the world updated?



While we would love to be able to make major updates around the world more frequently, each new population requires new reference data and major updates in the prediction models. Throughout the years we have increased the number of populations across the rest of the world; however, we have not updated the populations in Europe since 2012. This update was an important opportunity to provide more detail in Europe and the Americas.



We will continue to work towards providing more specificity and granularity around the world in your ancestry percentages as well as Genetic Groups (keep an eye out over the next few months for new Genetic Groups in Africa), <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andmes-historic-matches" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Historical Matches</a>SM, and other features.



Why did the colors change?



Adding 39 new colors to the color palette was quite the task for the 23andMe Design Team. The team took this opportunity to think about the colors holistically, coming up with a new system that provides a gradient across the world, allowing for nearby populations that are closer together geographically to be represented by more similar colors, while at the same time providing a system that can work for more populations in the future.



Who will get this update?



All customers genotyped on the current (V5) chip and with access to the ancestry service will see this update. A genotyping chip (or array) tests for a fixed set of genetic variants (SNPs) across the genome. Different chip versions (V1, V2, V3, V4, V5, etc.) test for different sets of SNPs. More recent chips often include better coverage for certain populations, recently discovered variants, or better genetic markers that help improve ancestry?composition algorithms or detect health?associated variants.



Ancestry Composition is trained on specific genotyping chip versions, and these latest models were only trained on the latest chip version. The models are incompatible with data from older genotyping chips, as older chips don’t include most of the genetic markers used by these new ancestry models. More recent chip versions are also designed with better coverage for diverse populations. If you&#8217;re on an older chip version (or not sure which chip version you have) learn about chip upgrades <a href="https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/360025014494-How-Do-I-Upgrade-My-Genotyping-Chip" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.



What happens if my family deleted data and I want to connect with them?



When you connect with a biological parent through Your Connections, we use the additional information we learn from your parents&#8217; DNA to improve the resolution of your Ancestry Composition results. You will also be able to see the proportions of each ancestry that you inherited from each parent in the Parental Inheritance section in your Ancestry Composition report. If a family member has deleted their account they will need to purchase a new kit and create a new account before you can connect with them.

It’s Finally Here: A New Version of Ancestry Composition

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a complex and often debilitating condition that affects up to three percent of people, but the biological basis of the disorder has remained largely elusive. While we’ve known that genetics play a role, previous genetic studies have been limited by their relatively small sample size and have only identified a few of the specific genetic variants involved.



But that is now changing.



<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40360802/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">In a recent study</a>, the largest of its kind ever conducted for OCD, researchers identified dozens of genetic variants associated with the disorder, offering unprecedented insight into its underlying biology.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-power-of-numbers">The Power of Numbers</h2>



For complex conditions like OCD, genetic discovery is a numbers game. To find the subtle genetic variations that contribute to risk, scientists need to compare the DNA of vast numbers of people with and without the condition. This is where the research model of the 23andMe Research Institute makes a world of difference.



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="600" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/your_dna_family.png" alt="" class="wp-image-25345" style="width:141px;height:auto" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/your_dna_family.png 600w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/your_dna_family-150x150.png 150w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/your_dna_family-300x300.png 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/your_dna_family-271x271.png 271w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/your_dna_family-372x372.png 372w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/your_dna_family-574x574.png 574w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></figure>



This study combined data from 28 different cohorts. The result was a dataset of incredible scale, including 53,660 individuals with OCD and more than 2 million controls. Consented 23andMe research participants made up about half of the entire cohort in this study. This immense contribution, made possible by those who choose to participate in research, was critical to achieving the statistical power needed to make these new discoveries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-study-found">What the Study Found</h2>



By scanning the genomes of millions of individuals, the researchers identified 30 independent genetic variants that were significantly associated with OCD. Of these 30 genetic variants, half are entirely new discoveries, while the others confirm and strengthen findings from previous, smaller studies. Researchers mapped these genetic variants to 25 genes that are likely impacted by those variants.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-zeroing-in-on-the-brain">Zeroing In on the Brain</h3>



Identifying the genes is just the first step. The next question is: where in the body do these genes do their work?



<figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="438" height="458" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Brain-Logo.jpg" alt="Brain Logo" class="wp-image-22635" style="width:157px;height:auto" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Brain-Logo.jpg 438w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Brain-Logo-287x300.jpg 287w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 438px) 100vw, 438px" /></figure>



To find out, the researchers performed tissue and single-cell enrichment analyses. The results were striking. The genetic signals for OCD were highly enriched in six different types of human brain tissue. In contrast, there was no enrichment found in tissues outside the brain.



The study drilled down even further, pinpointing specific cell types and found that these genes are at work in the same cells identified by neuroimaging and deep brain stimulation studies of OCD. By independently identifying these precise brain regions and cell types through genetics, this study provides additional supporting evidence that these genes and neurons play a direct role in the biology of OCD.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shared-genetics">Shared Genetics</h3>



The study also investigated the genetic relationship between OCD and other psychiatric and behavioral conditions. The researchers found statistically significant positive genetic correlations between OCD and a range of other disorders, including anxiety, depression, anorexia nervosa, and Tourette syndrome



This finding reinforces a growing body of evidence that many psychiatric conditions, while appearing different on the surface, are likely to share some underlying genetic susceptibility factors. Understanding this genetic overlap may be key to understanding mental health as a whole.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-foundation-for-the-future">A Foundation for the Future</h2>



This study represents a pivotal moment for OCD research. By dramatically expanding the list of known genetic variants associated with OCD and grounding them in the specific biology of the brain, this work opens doors for researchers to explore the precise mechanisms by which these genes influence brain circuits and contribute to OCD symptoms.



Ultimately, these findings may be a critical step toward developing novel and more effective treatments for a disorder that has long been misunderstood.



And once again, we want to extend our deepest gratitude to 23andMe research participants. Your contribution to this landmark study has advanced our understanding of OCD and paved the way for a healthier future.

A Major Leap Forward in Understanding the Genetics of OCD

As many as one in 10 women have endometriosis, but diagnosing it can take up to a decade or more. Dive into the science, and learn a bit about a new 23andMe Endometriosis report that looks at the genetic likelihood of developing this painful condition.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="612" height="252" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/endometriosis_hero-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-34227" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/endometriosis_hero-1.jpg 612w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/endometriosis_hero-1-300x124.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 612px) 100vw, 612px" /></figure>



Have you ever been told your debilitating period pain is &#8220;normal&#8221;? Do you find yourself planning your life around your cycle, canceling plans, or missing work or school due to pain, heavy bleeding, or exhaustion? If so, you&#8217;re not alone; these symptoms could point to endometriosis, a common, yet often misunderstood, condition.



For those with endometriosis, tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows in other places, like the ovaries, fallopian tubes, or even the bowel and bladder. This can lead to severe pain, heavy periods, and in some cases, may make it harder to become pregnant (between 30–50% of women with endometriosis experience infertility).



If this sounds familiar, it’s important to know that your pain is real and more common than many people think. Endometriosis affects as many as 10% of women in the U.S. Despite this, the journey to a diagnosis can be frustratingly long, sometimes <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39373298/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">taking up to 12 years</a>. This delay often happens because symptoms are dismissed as &#8220;just a bad period.&#8221;



To support awareness and help people understand their genetic predisposition to endometriosis, we’ve launched the new Endometriosis* report for female <a href="https://www.23andme.com/membership/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andMe+ Premium</a>™ and <a href="https://www.23andme.com/total-health/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Total Health</a>™ members.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-causes-endometriosis">What causes endometriosis?</h2>



While the exact cause isn&#8217;t known, several factors can increase your likelihood of developing endometriosis:



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="612" height="720" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Group-125628.png" alt="" class="wp-image-34211" style="width:259px;height:auto" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Group-125628.png 612w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Group-125628-255x300.png 255w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 612px) 100vw, 612px" /></figure>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Age: It most often affects menstruating people and is frequently diagnosed in the 30s and 40s.</li>



<li>Family history: Having a family member with endometriosis increases risk.</li>



<li>Reproductive history: Starting menstruation at a young age, experiencing menopause later in life, and having frequent or heavy periods (short cycles or bleeding lasting more than 7 days) can all increase chances of developing the condition.</li>
</ul>



These factors are associated with a higher risk. On the other hand, having been pregnant or breastfeeding may reduce risk.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-genetic-connection">The genetic connection</h3>



Endometriosis is what’s known as a <a href="https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Polygenic-Trait" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">polygenic</a> condition — meaning that many different genetic variants in many different genes can influence a person’s chances of developing it. In fact, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26209831/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research suggests</a> that genetics may explain nearly half of the differences in who develops endometriosis across a population.



In 2023, 23andMe collaborated with researchers at Oxford in what was at the time the largest study on <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/largest-genetic-study-to-date-links-endometriosis-with-chronic-pain" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">endometriosis and its association with chronic pain</a>. Now, to further understand the genetics of this condition, researchers at 23andMe looked at genetic and self-reported data from more than 1.5 million consented research participants. Using this information, they created a Polygenic Risk Score (PRS) — a model that considers thousands of genetic variants to estimate a person’s likelihood of developing endometriosis.



However, this model did not perform as accurately for 23andMe customers with Black or African American ancestry. Due to this limitation, we cannot provide a result for the Endometriosis report to those customers at this time. This is an important reminder that genetics research has historically underrepresented many communities. With continued research and broader participation, we hope to improve this work and reduce these disparities in the future.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-you-can-do-about-it">What you can do about it</h2>



While the road to getting a diagnosis and managing endometriosis can be long and frustrating, there are proactive steps you can take on your journey to getting answers and feeling better.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-advocate-for-yourself">Advocate for yourself</h3>



Track Your Symptoms. Before you see a doctor, consider starting a symptom diary. Being specific can make a big difference. Every day, note:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Pain: On a scale of 1–10, where is the pain, and what does it feel like (sharp, dull, cramping)?</li>



<li>Timing: When during your cycle do you feel symptoms? (During your period, during ovulation, all month long?)</li>



<li>Bleeding: How heavy is your flow? Are you passing clots?</li>



<li>Other Symptoms: Note any bloating, painful bowel movements, pain with sex, or fatigue.</li>



<li>Impact: How do these symptoms affect your daily life? (e.g., &#8220;Missed two days of work,&#8221; &#8220;Couldn&#8217;t exercise,&#8221; &#8220;Had to leave the party early.&#8221;)</li>
</ul>



Connect with a Doctor. Armed with your symptom diary, make an appointment with a healthcare provider.



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Be clear and confident. Say, &#8220;I am concerned I might have endometriosis because of these specific symptoms.&#8221;</li>



<li>Don&#8217;t be afraid to ask questions. &#8220;What are the next steps for diagnosis?&#8221; or &#8220;Could we explore treatment options for my pain now?&#8221;</li>



<li>If you feel dismissed, get a second opinion. Look for a gynecologist who specializes in endometriosis or pelvic pain.</li>
</ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-manage-symptoms">Manage symptoms</h3>



There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, but experts agree that certain lifestyle habits can make a difference:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Exercise: Activities like yoga can improve blood flow, relax muscles, and reduce pain.</li>



<li>Relaxation and self-care: Rest, warmth on the lower stomach (like a heating pad, warm water bottle, or bath), and gentle movement can help ease discomfort.</li>
</ul>



Medical options may include medications to manage pain and hormone levels, pelvic floor physical therapy, and in some cases, surgery. Because endometriosis tissue can respond to estrogen, symptoms may improve after menopause, when estrogen levels remain consistently low.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-take-the-next-steps">Take the next steps</h2>



Endometriosis pain is not an exaggeration, and it deserves to be taken seriously. Seeking answers is the first and most powerful step toward managing your health and reclaiming your quality of life.



Ready to learn more about your health and genetics and take the next step in your journey? Learn more about <a href="https://www.23andme.com/membership/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andMe+ Premium</a> or <a href="https://www.23andme.com/total-health/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Total Health</a> memberships.



Already part of 23andMe? <a href="https://you.23andme.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sign in</a> to view this report with your other Health Predisposition reports or upgrade 23andMe+ Premium or Total Health memberships.



* The 23andMe Endometriosis PRS report is based on a genetic model that includes data and insights from 23andMe consented research participants and incorporates more than 13,000 genetic variants to provide information on the likelihood of developing endometriosis. The report does not describe a person’s overall likelihood, does not account for lifestyle or family history, and has not been reviewed by the US Food and Drug Administration. The Endometriosis PRS report is not intended to tell you anything about your current state of health, or to be used to make medical decisions or determine any treatment. 



NOTE: Within this blog post, we use the words &#8220;women&#8221; and &#8220;female&#8221; to refer to people whose sex assigned at birth is female. However, we recognize that not everyone who experiences endometriosis will identify as female, and being categorized by birth sex may be an uncomfortable experience for some people. We do not mean to delegitimize anyone’s gender identity. Learn more about why we made this decision in this <a href="https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/360010964373-How-23andMe-Uses-Your-Genetic-Sex-Birth-Sex-and-Gender" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">help article</a>.

Could Your Painful Periods Be Endometriosis? Here’s What You Should Know

This week, 23andMe added a new genetic report to help us all be more aware of an often overlooked contributor to health disparities.



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="763" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/duffy-statistic-1024x763.png" alt="" class="wp-image-34101" style="width:309px;height:auto" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/duffy-statistic-1024x763.png 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/duffy-statistic-300x224.png 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/duffy-statistic-768x572.png 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/duffy-statistic-880x656.png 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/duffy-statistic-1180x879.png 1180w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/duffy-statistic.png 1224w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35994632/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nearly 70%</a> of Black and African Americans have two copies of a variant in the Duffy antigen gene that can cause them to have white blood cell (WBC) counts that are lower than most standard reference ranges.&nbsp;



People who have this genotype — called Duffy null status — do not have an increased risk for <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32959868/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">infection</a> or <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39825822/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">other health problems</a>. But they may be flagged incorrectly as having abnormally low WBC counts, which can negatively impact the healthcare they receive.&nbsp;



&#8220;I&#8217;ve seen patients that are told that they might have cancer, go through painful bone marrow biopsies, miss out on joining clinical trials, or have critical medications like chemotherapy discontinued simply because their white blood cell counts were interpreted without understanding their Duffy status,&#8221; says Dr. Lauren Merz, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Michigan, who is leading efforts to raise awareness about Duffy null status and develop Duffy null-specific reference ranges and who provided expert feedback on 23andMe&#8217;s new report.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-a-one-size-fits-all-blood-test-falls-short">When a one-size-fits-all blood test falls short</h2>



When we have our blood drawn, testing labs use reference ranges to determine whether our results fall in the range considered &#8220;normal&#8221; or are too high or too low, which can flag the need for clinical follow-up. One common blood test measures neutrophils, which are a type of white blood cell that helps the body fight infections.



Most neutrophil reference ranges are defined based on populations where Duffy null status is rare, such as people with European or Asian genetic ancestry. And blood testing labs don&#8217;t usually take into account Duffy status. As a result, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35994632/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nearly 25%</a> of healthy Black and African Americans with Duffy null status — and more than 15% of all Black and African Americans — have neutrophil counts below the standard reference range.



These individuals may be misdiagnosed with neutropenia (low neutrophil counts), which can lead to a number of downstream harms, including <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34180972/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">unnecessary specialty referrals and follow-up tests</a> like bone marrow biopsies; <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39259539/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">exclusion from clinical trials</a> (because many trials require a minimum number of neutrophils that is higher than the normal range for people with the Duffy null genotype); and delayed or reduced access to medications for <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39259539/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cancer</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34645395/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mental health conditions</a>, and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35724382/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">autoimmune disorders</a>. (See the sidebar at the bottom for more details.)



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-the-duffy-antigen-and-how-does-it-impact-white-blood-cells">What is the Duffy antigen, and how does it impact white blood cells?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="87" height="138" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/research.b57972a5e8fa.svg" alt="an icon representing research" class="wp-image-29284" style="width:117px;height:auto"/></figure>



The Duffy antigen is a protein found on the surface of red blood cells and certain other cells in the body. People with two copies of a specific <a href="https://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/d/duffy-null-associated-neutrophil-count" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">genetic variant in the ACKR1 (Duffy antigen) gene</a> don&#8217;t express this protein on their red blood cells — giving rise to the name &#8220;Duffy null.&#8221;



Being Duffy null can also impact infection-fighting white blood cells called neutrophils. People who are Duffy null tend to have naturally lower levels of circulating neutrophils in the peripheral blood — <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37338884/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">about 40% lower, on average</a>. But they don&#8217;t have an increased risk for infection, because the total number of neutrophils in their bodies remains the same. (Their neutrophils just move from the blood into other tissues like the spleen more easily.)



In the past, healthy people with low neutrophil counts were said to have &#8220;benign ethnic neutropenia,&#8221; because the Duffy null variant is more common in certain populations. But the preferred name is now <a href="https://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/d/duffy-null-associated-neutrophil-count" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Duffy null-associated neutrophil count (DANC)</a>, as this refers to the biological driver of Duffy status rather than the social construct of race or ethnicity — and highlights that lower neutrophil counts are normal for people who are Duffy null.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-duffy-null-status-associated-with-any-health-conditions">Is Duffy null status associated with any health conditions?</h2>



To date, there is no robust evidence that people with Duffy null status are at increased risk for any health conditions. In fact, a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39825822/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recent, large phenome-wide association study (PheWAS)</a> — which looked for potential associations between the Duffy null variant and 1,400 possible health conditions using the National Institutes of Health&#8217;s All of Us initiative and other cohorts — did not report any associations with disease. However, this is an active area of research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-is-duffy-null-status-most-common-in-certain-populations">Why is Duffy null status most common in certain populations?</h2>



Although anyone can have Duffy null status, it is most common among people with African or Middle Eastern ancestry. In the U.S., two-thirds of people who identify as Black or African American have the Duffy null genotype, which means they do not express the Duffy antigen on their red blood cells.&nbsp;



Scientists believe this variant became common in certain populations because it <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21468018/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">helps protect against Plasmodium vivax</a>, a malaria parasite that relies on the Duffy antigen to infect red blood cells. (The variant does not protect against other types of malaria.) Over generations, people in regions where this malaria parasite was widespread were more likely to inherit this protective variant, and it remains common today in people with ancestry from some malaria-endemic regions.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="934" height="597" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/af_rs2814778_C.png" alt="" class="wp-image-34139" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/af_rs2814778_C.png 934w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/af_rs2814778_C-300x192.png 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/af_rs2814778_C-768x491.png 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/af_rs2814778_C-880x562.png 880w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 934px) 100vw, 934px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">23andMe data also show that the Duffy null genetic variant is most common in people with ancestry from parts of the world where Plasmodium vivax malaria is common.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-importance-of-raising-awareness">The importance of raising awareness</h2>



Last year, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) launched the <a href="https://www.hematology.org/education/danc/danc-project" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) by Duffy Status Project</a>, aimed at creating specific neutrophil reference ranges for people with the Duffy null genotype and advocating for broader awareness and testing.



&#8220;The Duffy null genotype is a perfect example of how well-meaning systems can fall short when they don&#8217;t reflect the full diversity of the people they serve,&#8221; says Dr. Merz. &#8220;Raising awareness — among both clinicians and patients — is essential to prevent misdiagnosis and ensure more equitable and personalized care.&#8221;



You can become your own advocate by learning about your Duffy status and sharing that information with your doctor.&nbsp;



The White Blood Cell Count (Duffy Antigen-Related) report is available to <a href="https://www.23andme.com/membership/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andMe+ Premium™ members</a> with their other Wellness reports.



<div style="float: left; text-align: justified; width: 700px; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 5px;">
 
<h3>A deeper dive: How lack of awareness of Duffy null status can lead to downstream harm</h3>


Although Duffy null status does not usually cause health problems, harms can arise when Duffy null individuals are misdiagnosed with abnormally low neutrophil counts. These harms can include:
<ul>
<li>
Unnecessary follow-up testing. In general, low neutrophil counts can prompt concern from doctors, because they can be caused by blood cancers like leukemia. Follow-up testing involves a bone marrow biopsy, which is an invasive and sometimes painful test. 
 Because their neutrophil counts may be naturally lower than standard reference ranges, people with Duffy null status are much more likely to receive <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34180972/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">unnecessary bone marrow biopsies</a>. And one study reported that Duffy null status was the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37419240/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">most common reason</a> for children to be referred to a children&#8217;s hospital for low neutrophil counts.
</li>
 
<li>
Exclusion from clinical trials. Many chemotherapy drugs reduce WBC production, which can make patients more susceptible to infections. As a result, most cancer clinical trials require patients to have a minimum neutrophil count before starting the trial, to help keep patients safe. 
 But a recent study found that more than 75% of cancer clinical trials have neutrophil thresholds that <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39259539/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">exclude some people with Duffy null status</a>. Researchers have suggested these exclusion criteria may be one reason that Black Americans are <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37477920/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">less likely to be included in cancer clinical trials</a>.
</li>
 
<li>
Delayed or reduced access to medications. Because some medications reduce WBC production, patients often have their neutrophils counted before and during treatment, so that their clinicians can adjust the dose, delay the start of treatment, or discontinue medications if counts become too low. 
 Because people with Duffy null status tend to have lower starting neutrophil counts, they may experience reduced or delayed access to important medications for <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39259539/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cancer</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34645395/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mental health conditions</a>, and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35724382/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">autoimmune disorders</a>, or inappropriate dose adjustments. Because chemotherapy dose often increases the chance of survival, some scientists think that inappropriate chemotherapy dosing related to Duffy null status could help explain, in part, why <a href="https://www.cancer.org/about-us/what-we-do/health-equity/cancer-disparities-in-the-black-community.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">breast cancer mortality is higher in Black than white Americans</a>.
</li>
</ul>

</div>

The Duffy Antigen Gene: A Clue Behind White Blood Cell Differences

Each year from September 15–October 15, National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the histories, cultures, and contributions of people from Spain, Latin America, and other Spanish-speaking communities. To mark the occasion, we’re highlighting a remarkable ancient DNA study from Las Gobas, a medieval site in northern Spain that sheds new light on life in early Iberia, which comprises present-day Spain and Portugal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-setting-the-scene-iberia-in-the-early-medieval-period">Setting the Scene: Iberia in the Early Medieval Period</h2>



From the 5th to 8th centuries CE, Iberia was ruled by the Visigoths, a Germanic people who established power after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. In 711 CE, their kingdom collapsed after the Umayyads—an Islamic dynasty with roots in Arabia and North Africa—invaded and established the Emirate (and later the Caliphate) of Córdoba. This new state controlled much of Iberia, along with the Balearic Islands and parts of North Africa.



In the mountainous north, however, many communities retained their independence and Christian traditions, even as the rest of the Iberian peninsula underwent profound cultural and political change.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-life-at-las-gobas">Life at Las Gobas</h2>



Las Gobas, located in today’s province of Burgos in northern Spain, consists of 13 rock-cut caves and several freestanding structures. Beginning in the 7th century, it served as a mixed-use settlement with homes, a Christian church, and a cemetery. By the late 9th century, the residential area was abandoned, but the site continued to be used as a burial ground and place of worship until the 11th century.



<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39196943/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">In 2024</a>, researchers analyzed DNA from 33 individuals buried at Las Gobas. They discovered that the community’s ancestry remained surprisingly stable over the centuries, with little evidence of genetic influence from the Islamic expansion that reshaped much of Iberia.



Why was Las Gobas different? Their DNA offered a clue. Many individuals carried stretches of identical DNA inherited from both parents—patterns that often occur in small, insular populations with limited outside contact. This genetic isolation likely helped shield the community from broader population shifts happening elsewhere.



The study also revealed striking details about life at Las Gobas:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Inbreeding: The DNA of several individuals showed evidence that their parents were close relatives; likely first cousins or closer.</li>



<li>Disease: DNA evidence showed infections from multiple pathogens, including what may be one of the earliest documented cases of smallpox in northern Iberia.</li>



<li>Violence: Skeletal remains showed signs of traumatic injuries, likely from swords—evidence of interpersonal conflict or warfare.</li>
</ul>



Taken together, the findings paint a vivid—and sometimes harsh—picture of life more than a thousand years ago in a small, tightly knit community in northern Spain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-learn-more">Learn more</h2>



Want to see if you share a genetic connection with these newly added individuals from Las Gobas—or hundreds of other historical people? The <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andmes-historic-matches" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Historical Matches</a>SM feature is available to <a href="https://www.23andme.com/membership/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andMe+ Premium</a>™ members.

New Historical Matches Could Connect You to the Medieval Iberian Site of Las Gobas

<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/ancestry-composition-version-7-is-here" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">This update</a> is currently available to all eligible customers on the latest, V5, genotyping chip.



23andMe’s flagship Ancestry Composition algorithm was last updated in 2022, when three new reference populations were added in China. Since then, the 23andMe Ancestry Team has focused on improving the specificity of reference populations and updating the methods underlying this state-of-the art algorithm. The result? More specificity and accuracy in the ancestry breakdowns we provide.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="508" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Ac-omega-map-correc-1024x508.png" alt="" class="wp-image-34246" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Ac-omega-map-correc-1024x508.png 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Ac-omega-map-correc-300x149.png 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Ac-omega-map-correc-768x381.png 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Ac-omega-map-correc-880x437.png 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Ac-omega-map-correc-1180x585.png 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



The project, Version 7 of Ancestry Composition, is the most significant update to the feature ever.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-improved-algorithm-expanded-populations-better-results">Improved algorithm, expanded populations, better results</h2>



Over the last few months, we’ve been hard at work finalizing the details on this major update to your favorite report: Ancestry Composition.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="499" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-3-1024x499.png" alt="" class="wp-image-34237" style="width:537px;height:auto" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-3-1024x499.png 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-3-300x146.png 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-3-768x374.png 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-3-880x429.png 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-3-1180x575.png 1180w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-3.png 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Here’s what we&#8217;ve been working on:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Better breakdowns in Europe and the Americas: Thanks mainly to consented 23andMe research participants we&#8217;ve been able to expand the number of unique populations in our reference datasets. Reference datasets are collections of DNA samples from people with deep roots in a specific part of the world. It&#8217;s what is needed to compare each piece of your DNA to in order to determine where in the world that DNA most likely came from. What this means is we’re launching with nearly four times the resolution in Europe and six new populations in the Americas. We also took the opportunity to refine reference datasets from around the world, making them more specific to each global population.</li>



<li>Enhanced Accuracy: The accuracy of these new ancestry results are greatly improved by using our <a href="https://www.cell.com/hgg-advances/fulltext/S2666-2477(25)00082-X" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recently published</a>, state-of-the-art DNA phasing method. You could think of phasing as sorting which DNA you inherited from each parent. Reducing errors in phasing means a more accurate estimate of your ancestry percentages and better <a href="https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/212860507-Chromosome-Painting-23andMe-Ancestry-Results" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DNA Painting</a>.&nbsp;</li>



<li>Elimination of Broadly and Unassigned DNA: We are updating our algorithm to report the most likely assignment for a given stretch of DNA rather than at a fixed confidence threshold. This will have the benefit of eliminating &#8220;Broadly&#8221; and &#8220;Unassigned&#8221; categories in the default results view. You will still be able to view your results at different confidence thresholds in the Version History section.</li>



<li>Better Error Detection: We&#8217;ve upgraded our smoother to better filter out erroneous trace ancestries between two larger blocks of ancestry. See our <a href="https://www.23andme.com/ancestry-composition-guide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ancestry Composition Guide</a> for more information about the current smoother.</li>



<li>Version History: Compare your new results to your old ones in a new &#8220;Version History&#8221; section. <a href="https://www.23andme.com/membership/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andMe+ Premium</a>™ members will also be able to access previous versions at different confidence settings.</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-the-new-reference-populations-nbsp">What are the new reference populations?&nbsp;</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>33 new ancestry populations in Europe are coming: Albanian &amp; Macedonian; Andalusian, Asturian &amp; Castilian; Aragonese &amp; Catalan; Austrian &amp; Southern German; Basque; Belarusian, Polish &amp; Ukrainian; Belgian, Rhinelander &amp; Southern Dutch; Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin &amp; Serbian; Bulgarian, Moldovan &amp; Romanian; Canary Islander; Czech, Hungarian, Slovak &amp; Southern Polish; Danish; Dutch &amp; Northern German; English; Estonian; Finnish; French; Greek; Icelandic; Irish; Kosovar &amp; Northern Albanian; Latvian; Lithuanian; Maltese; Northern Italian; Norwegian; Portuguese &amp; Galician; Russian; Sardinian; Scottish; Slovenian; Southern Italian; Swedish; Swiss, Southwestern German &amp; Western Austrian; Welsh</li>
</ul>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="840" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/europe_map-1024x840.png" alt="" class="wp-image-34262" style="width:523px;height:auto" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/europe_map-1024x840.png 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/europe_map-300x246.png 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/europe_map-768x630.png 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/europe_map-880x722.png 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/europe_map.png 1101w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Indigenous American will be broken into 6 new ancestry populations: Arctic North American, Central Andean &amp; Amazonian, North American, Northern Andean, Southern Mesoamerican, and Western North American</li>
</ul>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="562" height="393" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-34236" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-2.png 562w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-2-300x210.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 562px) 100vw, 562px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-your-dna-story-now-clearer-across-time-place-and-family">Your DNA story, now clearer across time, place, and family</h2>



These updates, drawn from sharper science and richer data, power everything you use to explore your ancestry, including Ancestry Timeline, Parental Inheritance, DNA Painting, and more. This builds on the world’s most comprehensive ancestry breakdown on the market with over 4,000 regions, helping you experience the life-changing power of DNA by tracing where your ancestors lived and what they passed on to you.



Ancestry Composition, Version 7. More precision. More connection. More you.



This is a massive project for us and a chance to get back to our roots by digging deeper into yours. We’re thrilled you’re as excited as we are.



The 23andMe Ancestry Team

A Major Update to Ancestry Composition

<h5 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-data-initiative-accelerates-access-to-vital-genetic-and-clinical-insights">Data initiative accelerates access to vital genetic and clinical insights</h5>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1200" height="675" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/lung-double-edited-2.png" alt="Illustration of lungs on a background with a larger illustration of lungs" class="wp-image-34192" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/lung-double-edited-2.png 1200w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/lung-double-edited-2-300x169.png 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/lung-double-edited-2-1024x576.png 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/lung-double-edited-2-768x432.png 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/lung-double-edited-2-880x495.png 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/lung-double-edited-2-1180x664.png 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></figure>



At the 2025 World Conference on Lung Cancer in Barcelona, the 23andMe Research Institute, in collaboration with Troper Wojcicki Philanthropies and the health data software company Lifebit, introduced an open-source platform that could help fast-track research discoveries through a powerful new cancer data repository.



The announcement comes just a year after the start of the<a href="https://www.23andme.com/lung-cancer" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Lung Cancer Genetics Study</a>, spearheaded by 23andMe and bringing together more than 20 lung cancer advocacy and science organizations to recruit 10,000 people diagnosed with lung cancer. Their goal is to develop new ways to identify those at highest risk for lung cancer early, while also finding possible new treatments for this deadly cancer.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Personal Drive Behind the Mission</h2>



The effort is personal for many of the advocates who are part of the collaboration and also for Anne Wojcicki, founder and CEO of the 23andMe Research Institute. Anne&#8217;s sister Susan Wojcicki died of lung cancer last year, just as the study began.



&#8220;My sister was passionate about understanding the science behind lung cancer so future generations could prevent the disease and treat it. The Lung Cancer Genetics Study is a step towards achieving that.” Anne said.



In the months before her death, <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/a-legacy-of-hope-in-the-fight-against-lung-cancer" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Susan had been very involved in helping to create the study with the hope that it could help others</a>. The idea was not just to leverage genetic data for insights into lung cancer but also to create a repository of data that would be available to as many qualified researchers as possible.&nbsp;



The platform — created through the collaboration between the 23andMe Research Institute, Troper Wojcicki Philanthropies, and Lifebit — offers a secure, open-source data platform for researchers to access this novel dataset. Powered by Lifebit&#8217;s Health Data Ecosystem, the platform provides qualified researchers with no-cost access to de-identified data from people diagnosed with lung cancer who have consented to participate in this research.&nbsp;



&#8220;More people die of lung cancer each year than breast, colon, and prostate cancer combined, yet it is one of the least funded for research. It’s important for this powerful new tool to be available at no cost to qualified researchers so that the best minds can work on unlocking the genetic insights that may lead to a cure,&#8221; said Anne.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Building a One-of-a-Kind Data Resource</h2>



Since launching the <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andme-launches-new-genetic-study-of-lung-cancer" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lung Cancer Genetics Study</a>, more than 1,200 people diagnosed with lung cancer have enrolled to participate in the research. The goal is to enroll 10,000 people by 2027, but the study has already assembled one of the most diverse cohorts ever for lung cancer genetic research.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="464" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/teal_waldos-1024x464.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-34183" style="width:242px;height:auto" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/teal_waldos-1024x464.jpg 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/teal_waldos-300x136.jpg 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/teal_waldos-768x348.jpg 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/teal_waldos-880x399.jpg 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/teal_waldos-1180x534.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Genetics is just one of many factors involved in why some people develop lung cancer. Exposure to tobacco smoke is perhaps the best-known risk factor; however, <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2409903/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">80 to 90%</a> of people with a history of tobacco exposure never get lung cancer, and many people without tobacco exposure get the disease. These facts underscore the importance of investigating other, less well-known risk factors, like air pollution, radon exposure, and workplace-related exposures.



And there&#8217;s much more we don&#8217;t know about lung cancer. Many do not realize, for instance, that lung cancer is the <a href="https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/annual-cancer-facts-and-figures/2025/2025-cancer-facts-and-figures-acs.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">number one cause of cancer death in women</a> and <a href="https://www.massgeneralbrigham.org/en/about/newsroom/articles/most-common-cancers-in-women#:~:text=It%20may%20not%20surprise%20you,in%20women%20and%20people%20AFAB." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the second most common cancer in women</a>. Although lung cancer overall is decreasing because of declines in tobacco use, lung cancer among people who have never smoked <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7431055/#:~:text=As%20expected%2C%20the%20primary%20factor%20leading%20to,non%2Dsmokers%20has%20been%20noted%20to%20be%20increasing." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">is stable or increasing</a>, and <a href="https://www.webmd.com/lung-cancer/features/lung-cancer-women-who-never-smoked" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">two-thirds of people diagnosed with lung cancer with no smoking history are women</a>.&nbsp;



Understanding the genetics of lung cancer may help unravel some of the factors underlying those statistics. Additionally, learning more about the underlying genetics could provide researchers with more insight into the biological mechanisms of the disease, aiding in the development of improved therapies and new diagnostics.&nbsp;



The de-identified data that participants in the Lung Cancer Genetic Study consented to share isn’t limited to just genetics. Many participants also chose to provide self-reported clinical, lifestyle, and even tumor biomarker data. The study will also follow participants over time, gathering important longitudinal data to help researchers understand the progression of cancer as well as the response to treatments.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Empowering Researchers</h2>



By opening up access to qualified researchers, the collaborators aim to address significant gaps in current lung cancer research, break down institutional silos, and remove barriers to dataset access, thereby accelerating research progress.&nbsp;



&#8220;We&#8217;re delivering more than a data system — we&#8217;re enabling an entirely new model for research equity and access,&#8221; said Nadia Litterman, PhD, Director of Scientific Affairs and Partnerships at Troper Wojcicki Philanthropies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Find Out More</h2>



Anyone who has been diagnosed with lung cancer can learn more and enroll in the study at<a href="http://23andme.com/lung-cancer" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> 23andme.com/lung-cancer</a>.



Interested researchers can begin the data access request process by contacting TWP study program manager Caitlin Nichols at <a href="mailto:caitlin@twphilanthropies.org">caitlin@twphilanthropies.org</a>.&nbsp;

Illustration of lungs on a background with a larger illustration of lungs

Powerful New Tool Opens Lung Cancer Data for Research Breakthroughs

Health Huddle LIVE from New Orleans brought together top athletes, medical professionals, and community leaders for powerful conversations on health, genetics, and early detection. Hosted at Dillard University during Super Bowl Week, the event was part of 23andMe’s Community Health Huddle, featuring expert panels and free health screenings. 



Watch the Highlights: 



<figure class="wp-block-embed alignwide is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="The 23andMe Health Huddle: Live from New Orleans" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5hOR4o5PkAU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-experts-athletes-amp-actionable-insights">Experts, Athletes &amp; Actionable Insights</h2>



Panelists included Dr. Jen Caldwell, Dr. Joel Bervell, and Dr. Mathew Knowles—a breast cancer survivor and 23andMe Global Brand Ambassador—who shared personal stories and insights on health disparities, preventive medicine, and genetic testing. They were joined by NFL Total Health Ambassadors, highlighting how genetic insights shape performance, recovery, and longevity in sports.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-takeaways">Key Takeaways</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Genetic Testing Saves Lives – Understanding your genetic risks enables early detection and prevention, reducing the burden of chronic diseases. </li>



<li>Your Family History is Your Health Roadmap – What runs in your family doesn’t have to define your future, but knowing your risks empowers healthier decisions. </li>



<li>Health Inequities Must Be Addressed – Underserved communities continue to lack access to vital genetic and preventive care. This must change. </li>



<li>Athletes Rely on Science to Perform &amp; Recover – The same genetic insights that help pros optimize their health can help everyone make more informed health choices.</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-beyond-the-event-driving-change">Beyond the Event: Driving Change</h2>



Health Huddle LIVE reinforced a core truth: genetic insights aren’t just about ancestry—they’re a tool for taking control of your health and advocating for better healthcare access. By bringing together medicine, sports, and community leadership, 23andMe continues to lead the movement for health equity and empowerment.



 #HealthHuddleLIVE #GeneticHealth #CommunityWellness

Inside Health Huddle LIVE: Athletes, Experts & Doctors on Longevity, Genetics & Wellness

September is Sickle Cell Awareness Month, which offers us another chance to highlight some of the work 23andMe and its collaborators have done over the years.



Earlier this month, researchers from 23andMe,<a target="_blank" href="https://www.nih.gov/" rel="noreferrer noopener"> the the National Institutes of Health</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/som/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine</a> published new data on the association between sickle cell trait and blood clots. The new findings highlight the importance of this ongoing research and our overall efforts to illuminate this condition.



At 23andMe, knowledge is power, and understanding risks offers people opportunities to mitigate them.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-awareness-and-research">Awareness and Research</h2>



But more than that, 23andMe also offers a unique research model that allows individuals to learn about their genetic likelihood of developing a condition and participate in innovative genetic research that could potentially find new treatments.



As part of our <a href="http://www.23andme.com/sickle-cell" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sickle Cell Carrier Status Awareness Program</a>, 23andMe has collaborated with academics and advocacy organizations to increase <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/sickle-cell-awareness-2">understanding of sickle cell</a>. In addition, we’re providing resources for those with sickle cell trait and sickle cell disease. With the help of the<a href="https://www.sicklecellga.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia, Inc. (SCFG)</a>,<a href="https://www.btsscycle.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Breaking the SSickle Cell Cycle</a>,<a href="https://www.sc101.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Sickle Cell 101</a>, and the<a href="https://www.msm.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Morehouse School of Medicine</a>, we’re working with Black communities to promote awareness. 



We are not alone in this effort. Recently, the NBA, the WNBA, and Wilson Sporting Goods began the #IBall4SickleCell social media campaign to raise awareness. The groups participating in the effort are Breaking the SSickle Cell Cycle, the American Red Cross of Tennessee, and New York Presbyterian’s Dalio Center for Health Justice. Learn more about sickle cell, the campaign, and how to help<a href="https://www.sicklecellball.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> here</a>. 



From all this work and research, we have learned much about sickle cell and the people it impacts most. However, much work is still needed to improve people’s understanding of sickle cell.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-on-sickle-cell-anemia-sickle-cell-trait">More on Sickle Cell Anemia, Sickle Cell Trait</h2>



Although many people have heard of sickle cell, often they do not know the difference between sickle cell trait and sickle cell anemia.



To have sickle cell anemia, one must inherit two copies of the HbS variant in the HBB gene—one copy from each biological parent. Typical signs and symptoms include anemia, pain episodes, and frequent infection.



People with just one copy of the HbS variant are called carriers. They’re also said to have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/sicklecell/traits.html" rel="noreferrer noopener">sickle cell trait</a>. People with sickle cell trait are not expected to have sickle cell anemia. They typically do not experience any health complications. However, in rare cases, people with the sickle cell trait may experience some health impacts. Current research, including our study, is underway to understand better and spread awareness about the complications someone with SCT may experience.



Importantly, carriers can pass their variant on to their future children. If their partner has the HbS variant or another variant in the HBB gene, there’s a 25 percent chance that each child may have sickle cell anemia or a related blood disorder.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-23andme-s-sickle-cell-anemia-carrier-status-report">23andMe’s Sickle Cell Anemia Carrier Status Report**</h2>



23andMe’s<a target="_blank" href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/carrier/sickle-cell-anemia/" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Sickle Cell Anemia Carrier Status Report</a>, which meets FDA requirements for clinical and analytical validity, looks at the HbS variant in the HBB gene linked to sickle cell anemia.



Sickle cell anemia is the most severe form of sickle cell disease. Three hundred million people worldwide and one in 13 Black and African Americans in the United States have sickle cell trait, making them carriers for sickle cell anemia.



In addition to informing people if they have one copy of the HbS variant and are carriers for sickle cell anemia, <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andme-updates-carrier-status-report-on-sickle-cell-anemia">23andMe’s report </a>can also tell individuals if they have two copies of the tested variant and if they are at risk of developing symptoms. However, the report does not describe one’s overall risk of developing symptoms. 



Because the HbS variant is more common in certain populations, the Sickle Cell Anemia report is most relevant to people of African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian descent, as well as people from the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and parts of Central and South America.



23andMe Health + Ancestry Service customers and 23andMe+ Premium members can see their <a target="_blank" href="https://you.23andme.com/reports/carrier.sickle_cell_anemia/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sickle Cell Anemia report here</a>.&nbsp;



Not yet a customer? Learn more about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.23andme.com/compare-dna-tests/?_gl=1*11ns9j4*_ga*OTk4NDAyMjA3LjE3MTgzODA2MTg.*_ga_G330GF3ZFF*MTcyNTQxNDcyOS4xNjQuMS4xNzI1NDE0Nzk4LjAuMC4w" rel="noreferrer noopener">all that 23andMe offers here</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-note">Note:</h2>



**The 23andMe PGS test uses qualitative genotyping to detect select clinically relevant variants in the genomic DNA of adults to report carrier status and reporting and interpreting genetic health risks. The relevance of each report may vary based on ethnicity. Our carrier status reports can be used to determine carrier status but cannot determine if you have two copies of any genetic variant. These carrier reports are not intended to tell you anything about your risk for developing a disease in the future, the health of your fetus, or your newborn child’s risk of developing a particular disease later in life. We provide a single report for certain conditions that includes information on carrier status and genetic health risk. For important information and limitations regarding other genetic health risk reports and carrier status reports, click <a target="_blank" href="https://www.23andme.com/test-info/" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.

An illustration for 23andMe's Sickle Cell Carrier Statues Awareness Program.

Learn More About Our Research and Collaborations During Sickle Cell Awareness Month

Editor&#8217;s note 7/8/2024: This post has been updated since 2020. In addition, We do not support uploading DNA data obtained from other testing services to 23andMe. This article explains the risks of uploading your DNA data to third party services.
With all of <a class="waffle-rich-text-link" href="https://www.23andme.com/compare-dna-tests/">23andMe&#8217;s services</a>, you’re in charge of your genetic data. That means we let you decide what information you want to learn and what information you want to share. However, you need to be informed about the risks of sharing your genetic data with other services. This includes understanding the implications if you decide to upload DNA to 23andMe or any third-party service.
After receiving <a class="waffle-rich-text-link" href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-reports-list/">personalized genetic reports</a> from 23andMe, customers can choose to download their raw DNA data. Some customers may do this to upload their data to third-party services, which offer to interpret their raw DNA data to find new genetic relatives or get additional genetic reports. However, 23andMe cannot vouch for the scientific validity or accuracy, or clarity in communication of results of any such third-party services. In fact, only 23andMe offers a consumer genetic test with health reports that have FDA&#8217;s independent assurance of validity and clear results (without requiring a prescription).
Beyond concerns about scientific validity, uploading your raw DNA data to a third-party service can also put <a href="https://www.23andme.com/privacy/">your data privacy</a> at risk. In part, this is why 23andMe provides important warnings to its customers before they choose to download.
<h2>What are some of the risks of uploading your DNA data to a third-party website? </h2>
<div id="attachment_27862" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/how-to-be-careful-with-your-raw-dna-data/what-is-dna-upload" rel="attachment wp-att-27862"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-27862" class="size-medium wp-image-27862" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/What-is-DNA-Upload-300x128.jpg" alt="An illustration of the steps for downloading data." width="300" height="128" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/What-is-DNA-Upload-300x128.jpg 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/What-is-DNA-Upload.jpg 512w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>Most consumer genetics companies, including 23andMe, allow you to download your own raw DNA data. At that point, the customer is free to do what they like with their raw DNA data, such as deciding to upload that raw DNA data to third-party services.</div>
At 23andMe, we’re clear with our users about the risks of using third-party services that provide additional health, wellness or trait insights. This is because only select genotype data used specifically in our Health reports have been individually validated for accuracy. While the rest of your data has undergone a general quality review, it has not been validated to the extent of the data underlying our official 23andMe reports. As a result, raw DNA data should not be used for medical purposes and we do not recommend the use of third-party services that claim to interpret raw DNA data to provide health information.
Consumers also cite concerns about law enforcement uploading crime-scene DNA data to third-party services to crack a cold case. Simply put, uploading crime-scene DNA data into the 23andMe environment is not possible because we do not support the upload of DNA data that has been processed by a third-party laboratory.
Further, 23andMe’s <a href="https://www.23andme.com/transparency-report/">Transparency Report</a> details our policy against releasing customer’s individual DNA data to any third party &#8211; including law enforcement &#8211; without receiving the customer’s explicit consent, unless required by law.
However, this concern about law enforcement upload of crime scene DNA data is a real one that we warn customers about should they choose to upload their DNA data to other third party platforms, including public genealogy services or other third party services that facilitate DNA data upload.
But there’s another form of vulnerability that’s less well-understood: Within databases that allow for raw DNA data uploads with access to relative matching features, people with malicious intent can upload real or fake “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_horse_(computing)">Trojan Horse</a>” genetic profiles for access to your personal identifying information. They could even infer your specific DNA variants—such as information about any disease risk variants you might carry. This is one reason why we don&#8217;t support uploading DNA to 23andMe.
<h2>How can that happen?</h2>
<ul>
<li>Many relative-matching services allow you to see the exact section or sections of DNA you share with each relative.*</li>
<li>If uploading DNA data is allowed, it means you no longer know for sure that your relative’s profile is actually controlled by your relative, and a malicious actor could upload real or fake DNA data to deduce information about you based on sections of matching DNA, including any disease risk variants you might have.</li>
<li>Even if shared segments aren’t shown, there are still ways that people with malicious intent can deduce some of your DNA variants.</li>
</ul>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-27863 alignright" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/How-Uploading-Creates-Risk-300x202.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="202" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/How-Uploading-Creates-Risk-300x202.jpg 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/How-Uploading-Creates-Risk.jpg 512w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
This vulnerability was recently described in two reports: one at the University of Washington and another at the University of California, Davis. The authors of these reports explain several ways an “adversary” can deduce people&#8217;s genotypes “either at key positions or at many sites genome-wide” in databases that allow DNA data uploads with relative matching. This highlights the risks associated with uploading DNA to 23andMe or similar services.
Both reports outline specific ways for services to mitigate risk, such as limiting the information displayed in relative-matching features.
While these practices may reduce risk, we believe the simplest and most effective defense is to not allow individuals genotyped through other testing services to upload their DNA data to 23andMe for the purpose of discovering genetic relatives.
In the past, 23andMe has allowed DNA uploads from other consumer genetic testing services in very specific circumstances. Specifically, on DNA Day in April 2018, 23andMe allowed individuals who tested at other companies to upload their results to access a subset of our trait reports, but 23andMe has not enabled the discovery of new relatives for these accounts.
<h2>How does 23andMe ensure that only real, consenting individuals participate in our service? </h2>
In a word, spit.
When you spit into the tube, you’re embarking on the adventure of a lifetime. You’re also trusting 23andMe with some of your most personal information.
Requiring a saliva sample is how 23andMe is able to verify that you’re a real person who chose to participate in the service. While it might be easy to upload fake DNA data, it’s another matter entirely to fake a spit sample, which requires filling a tube with more than two milliliters of spit. It’s how you know that “Linda-your-4th-cousin-who-you-didn’t-know-existed” is a real person who chose to do 23andMe. Linda had to spit in a tube, too.
<h2>What are some key questions you should ask?</h2>
When considering whether or not to upload your raw DNA data to another website, we encourage you to familiarize yourself with their privacy and security policies before you upload your raw DNA data.
Make sure to consider the following questions:
<ol>
<li>Before you upload your DNA data, ask yourself: do I really need to do this? Am I willing to risk the security and privacy of my DNA data by uploading it to a third-party service?</li>
<li>Do your research! Does the third-party service have a track record of strong privacy and data security?</li>
<li>How will the third-party service use your information?  How can your information be further shared with other third parties?</li>
<li>If you are not interested in discovering new relatives but you want additional DNA insights, does the other service explicitly exclude features relating to discovering genetic relatives?</li>
</ol>
An earlier article detailing our stance on protecting customers’ data is available <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/news/our-stance-on-protecting-customers-data/">here</a>. 
<h2>Learn More</h2>
Find out if your <a href="https://www.23andme.com/test-info/genetic-health/">genetics</a> might Increase your risk for any health conditions with 23andMe.
You can also Learn more about common risks associated with uploading raw DNA online and how to protect your DNA information.
*By default, 23andMe does not display your ancestry information or DNA segment information to relatives or connections until you decide to share it with them.

Can You Upload DNA Data to 23andMe? 

Today is DNA Day, and while every day at 23andMe is about DNA, this one is extra special because it allows everyone to delight in the power of DNA.



Whether you are a 23andMe customer or just DNA curious, there is a lot you can do if you’d like to start or deepen your genetic journey and take action to participate in the new genomic age.



We’ll get to that, but first, take a moment to learn —or refresh your knowledge — about what we’re celebrating.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-double-helix-celebration">A Double Helix Celebration</h2>



<a href="https://www.genome.gov/dna-day">DNA Day</a> commemorates the anniversary of the 1953 discovery of the double helix structure of DNA and the 2003 completion of the human genome project that led to the sequencing of the human genome for the first time. That code represents the building blocks of life, and it gives us access to information that has already led to medical and scientific breakthroughs, as well as an understanding of the human story.



23andMe was founded in 2006, not long after the publication of the mapping of the human genome. Our mission then and now is to help people access, understand, and benefit from the human genome.&nbsp;



Not too long ago, 23andMe surpassed 15 million genotyped customers, each of whom chose to begin their genetic journey with us. We’d like to invite you along as well, or if you’re already a customer, we’d like to share with you how to go a little further on this journey.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-first-steps">First Steps</h2>



If you’re not yet a customer, your first step could be to spit in a tube provided in one of our test kits and send it to our lab. At the lab, technicians extract DNA from your saliva, which is placed on a genotyping chip.



Here’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtxX_3nVDao">a little video</a> about the different services we offer customers and what they can tell you about your health, traits, and ancestry.



Of course, if you don’t want to use 23andMe or don’t want to use a genetic test, there are plenty of great and free options for learning more about genetics. One of our go-to resources is the <a href="https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics">National Human Genome Research Institute</a>, but many other options exist.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-open-and-explore-your-reports">Open and Explore Your Reports</h2>



Like with any exploration, you don’t know what you might find in using 23andMe that could draw you deeper into your DNA exploration.



Customers might want to learn more about their health, find DNA relatives, or learn about their genetic ancestry. Some people are just curious and want to geek out on genetics.&nbsp;



If you’ve taken that first step and tested, the next step is to open your reports. Some Genetic Health Risk Reports*—such as those on Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease, BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants), and Parkinson’s Disease, for instance—require an additional opt-in before opening. But whatever reports you’re looking at, we have tutorials on navigating them and where to start.



Our <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/">Ancestry Service</a> has the most comprehensive ancestry breakdown on the market; it now includes more than 3000 geographic regions, an automatic family tree builder, and more than 30 trait reports. As 23andMe grows, so does our ability to improve the granularity and specificity of the regions we offer in our ancestry report. For instance, we added 36 new Genetic Groups in France and Belgium.&nbsp;



23andMe’s <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-health-ancestry/">Health + Ancestry Service</a> includes everything you get in the Ancestry Service plus health predisposition reports (including FDA-authorized reports), wellness reports, carrier status reports, and a family health history tree feature. In all, the service includes more than 150 personalized reports.



The 23andMe+ Premium membership includes everything in the Health + Ancestry Service plus more than 30 PRS reports, including reports on three of the most common forms of cancer and reports on heart health and mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. In addition, the service includes FDA-authorized reports on how your genetics may impact the way you process certain types of medications.** 23andMe+ Premium also includes tools and features such as <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/stay-on-track-with-23andme-health-tracks">Health Tracks</a>SM and <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/a-health-action-plan-for-you">Health Action Plan</a> to help you get even more personalized recommendations. Most recently, we’ve added a new ancestry feature called <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andmes-historic-matches">Historical Matches</a>SM that helps determine whether you connect to one or more of 335 historical people across the globe.&nbsp;



For those who want our most advanced and comprehensive health membership, we offer <a href="https://www.23andme.com/total-health/">23andMe+ Total Health</a>***, which includes next-generation sequencing that detects 200x more disease-causing genetic variants*. This new membership offers more than 190 genetic reports from 23andMe+ Premium, along with clinician-ordered exome sequencing to help identify disease risks and biannual blood testing with advanced cardiometabolic biomarkers. You&#8217;ll have direct access to clinicians trained in genetics-informed care to receive a personalized health plan tailored to you



Whatever services you’re using with 23andMe, we offer a guide to <a href="https://www.23andme.com/compare-dna-tests/">get started with your reports</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-participate-in-research">Participate in Research</h2>



What is something in you, something in your DNA, that could help scientists better understand a disease or develop a new treatment or cure?&nbsp;



One of the many innovations 23andMe pioneered is our research model, which allows people to consent to participate in research. The guiding principle for 23andMe is transparency and choice. It’s a choice whether someone wants to access their genetic information, and 23andMe also gives our customers a choice about whether they want to participate in research. More than 80 percent of 23andMe customers actively consent to participate in research.&nbsp;



Our research database, which contains aggregated de-identified genetic and phenotypic data, is by far the largest research database of its kind.&nbsp;



It’s helped not just our scientists but academic and institutional researchers with whom we’ve collaborated on more than <a href="https://research.23andme.com/publications/#publications">250 publications</a> on neurological conditions, cancers, and rare diseases. There are also ongoing research studies for <a href="https://www.23andme.com/PD/">Parkinson’s Disease,</a> <a href="https://www.23andme.com/genetic-insights-into-colorectal-cancer-black-community/">Colorectal Cancer within the Black Community</a>, and <a href="https://www.23andme.com/sickle-cell/">Sickle Cell</a>. And we continue to work on other conditions, including <a href="https://www.23andme.com/depression-bipolar/">depression and bipolar disorder</a>, <a href="https://www.23andme.com/sarcoidosis-representation/">sarcoidosis</a>, and <a href="https://you.23andme.com/covid19-study/">COVID</a>.&nbsp;



Another aspect of this work is ensuring that our research is more representative and thus benefits people of all backgrounds. Unfortunately, much of genetic research to date lacks diversity, which has meant that people of non-European backgrounds often do not benefit from those insights. 23andMe is trying to change that. Our Black Representation in Genomic Research study, for instance, has made great strides at engaging with communities that have historically been left out of research.&nbsp;



You can also help. If you’re a customer of 23andMe, you can consent to participate in research at any time through your Account Settings; if you’re not, you can seek out opportunities to participate in research through the <a href="https://allofus.nih.gov/">National Institutes of Health’s All of Us</a> effort, for example, or the Veteran’s Administration <a href="https://www.research.va.gov/mvp/">Million Veterans Program</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-share-your-story">Share Your Story</h2>



It’s always been heartening for us at 23andMe to hear from our customers and those who participate in our research about how launching their DNA journey has impacted them.&nbsp;



Whether they’ve learned more about their <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andme-connects-living-family-to-enslaved-african-american-from-historic-site">family’s ancestral journey</a>, discovered <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbWirWghCJA">life-saving information</a> about family members, or joined with others to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JzErEQFPIU">participate in crucial genetic research</a>, their stories inspire us all.&nbsp;



If you have a story to share, <a href="https://www.23andme.com/stories/#submit">we’d love to hear it</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



*23andMe health predisposition reports include both reports that meet FDA requirements for genetic health risks and reports that are based on 23andMe research and have not been reviewed by the FDA. The test uses qualitative genotyping to detect select clinically relevant variants in the genomic DNA of adults from saliva for the purpose of reporting and interpreting genetic health risks. It is not intended to diagnose any disease. Your ethnicity may affect the relevance of each report and how your genetic health risk results are interpreted. Each genetic health risk report describes if a person has variants associated with a higher risk of developing a disease, but does not describe a person’s overall risk of developing the disease. The test is not intended to tell you anything about your current state of health or to be used to make medical decisions, including whether or not you should take a medication, how much of a medication you should take, or determine any treatment. For certain conditions, we provide a single report that includes information on both carrier status and genetic health risk. 



Warnings &amp; Limitations: The 23andMe PGS Genetic Health Risk Report for BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) is indicated for reporting 44 variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. The report describes if a person&#8217;s genetic result is associated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer and may be associated with an increased risk for prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, and potentially other cancers. The variants included in this report do not represent the majority of the BRCA1/BRCA2 variants in people of most ethnicities. This report does not include variants in other genes linked to hereditary cancers and the absence of variants included in this report does not rule out the presence of other genetic variants that may impact cancer risk. This report is for over-the-counter use by adults over the age of 18 and provides genetic information to inform discussions with a healthcare professional. The PGS test is not a substitute for visits to a healthcare professional for recommended screenings or appropriate follow-up. Results should be confirmed by an independent genetic test prescribed by your own healthcare provider before taking any medical action. For important information and limitations regarding each genetic health risk report, visit <a href="https://www.23andme.com/test-info/">23andme.com/test-info/</a>. 



**23andMe PGS Pharmacogenetics reports: The 23andMe test uses qualitative genotyping to detect 3 variants in the CYP2C19 gene, 2 variants in the DPYD gene, and 1 variant in the SLCO1B1 gene in the genomic DNA of adults from saliva for the purpose of reporting and interpreting information about the processing of certain therapeutics to inform discussions with a healthcare professional. It does not describe if a person will or will not respond to a particular therapeutic. Our CYP2C19 Pharmacogenetics report provides certain information about variants associated with the metabolism of some therapeutics and provides interpretive drug information regarding the potential effect of citalopram and clopidogrel therapy. Our SLCO1B1 Pharmacogenetics report provides certain information about variants associated with the processing of some therapeutics and provides interpretive drug information regarding the potential effect of simvastatin therapy. Our DPYD Pharmacogenetics report does not describe the association between detected variants and any specific therapeutic. Results for DPYD and certain CYP2C19 results should be confirmed by an independent genetic test prescribed by your own healthcare provider before taking any medical action. Warning: Test information should not be used to start, stop, or change any course of treatment and does not test for all possible variants that may affect metabolism or protein function. The PGS test is not a substitute for visits to a healthcare professional. Making changes to your current regimen can lead to harmful side effects or reduced intended benefits of your medication, therefore consult with your healthcare professional before taking any medical action. For important information and limitations regarding Pharmacogenetic reports, visit <a href="http://23andme.com/test-info/pharmacogenetics/">23andme.com/test-info/pharmacogenetics/</a> 



***Total Health is not available to residents of HI, NJ, NY, OK, RI and US territories. Not currently available to existing 23andMe customers. <a href="https://www.23andme.com/total-health/#sign-up">Sign up</a> to be the first to know when it’s available.



Exome Sequencing and blood testing services are available to eligible customers upon completion of the intake questionnaire that must be reviewed, approved and ordered by a third-party clinician. Exome Sequencing is analyzed by a CLIA- and CAP-accredited laboratory. Blood testing is completed by Quest Diagnostics. All telehealth services are provided in accordance with the Telehealth Terms and Consent Telehealth.



‡Our genotyping product detects 250 health-related variants in our Carrier Status and Genetic Health Risk reports. The Exome Sequencing reports detect 50,000+ hereditary disease-causing variants.&nbsp;

Happy DNA Day 2024

Cancer casts its shadow on almost all of us. Whether we&#8217;re facing our own diagnosis or that of a spouse, a parent, a child, a friend, or another loved one, we can muster the courage we need in those moments by knowing we are not alone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-beat-cancer">Beat Cancer</h2>



We at 23andMe are encouraged by the White House’s recent designation of April as National Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Month to rally support for those affected and their families and highlight the importance of prevention and screening.



But beyond simply naming the month, this is part of a collective effort to raise awareness that includes <a href="https://www.preventcancer.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024_White_House_partner_letter_Cancer_Prevention_Early_Detection_FINAL.pdf">support from 84 non-profit and patient advocacy organizations</a>. Each group focuses on expanding cancer screening, research, and treatments. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="1024" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Get-your-green-on-1024x1024.png" alt="" class="wp-image-32772" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Get-your-green-on-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Get-your-green-on-150x150.png 150w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Get-your-green-on-300x300.png 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Get-your-green-on-768x768.png 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Get-your-green-on-880x880.png 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Get-your-green-on-1180x1180.png 1180w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Get-your-green-on-271x271.png 271w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Get-your-green-on-372x372.png 372w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Get-your-green-on-574x574.png 574w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Get-your-green-on-980x980.png 980w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Get-your-green-on.png 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">23andMe Employees wearing green in support of National Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Month.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-progress">Progress</h2>



So much progress has been made already — <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/parents/vaccine/six-reasons.html">vaccines against human papillomavirus</a> promise to slash the rates of cervical cancer; cancer screening has <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10405449/">saved millions of lives</a> in the last three decades; new <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/press-releases/2020/lung-cancer-treatments-mortality-drop">treatments for lung cancer</a> have reduced mortality rates; and immunotherapies such as <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/research/car-t-cells">CAR-T cell therapy</a> have improved outcomes for many types of cancer.



However, much more needs to be done. Every year, more than 1.8 million people in the United States are <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/statistics">diagnosed with cancer</a>, and more than 600,000 people die each year, making it the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm">second leading cause of death</a> behind heart disease.&nbsp;



Every cancer is different, but early detection and treatment offer the best outcomes for all cancers. Improved awareness about cancer screening — regular mammograms and colorectal cancer screening, for instance — can go a long way toward early detection.&nbsp;



Knowing one&#8217;s risk by learning about one&#8217;s family cancer history, or through genetic testing, or simply through identifying risk factors in one&#8217;s life can help identify those at higher risk and direct them toward preventive care or enhanced screening.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-power-of-knowing">The Power of Knowing</h2>



23andMe wants to show our support for this new effort but also share a little about how we are raising awareness about cancer, alerting people of their potential risk for different forms of cancer, and adding to the growing body of research into cancer to potentially identify causes and cures.



In the coming weeks, we’ll share more about what 23andMe has done and is doing to help people better understand their genetic risk and family cancer history and how that knowledge is a formidable tool for cancer prevention.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-find-out-more">Find Out More</h2>



Learn more about cancer prevention and screening from the <a href="https://www.preventcancer.org/cancer-prevention-early-detection-month/">Prevent Cancer Foundation</a>. You can explore more about all that 23andMe has to offer <a href="https://www.23andme.com/compare-dna-tests/">here</a>.

A photo of a doctor showing a patient information on a digital tablet.

Improving Cancer Outcomes Through Early Diagnosis and Treatment

Fundamental, common humanity unites every person on the planet: DNA. Some use race and biology to explain what are, in reality, social and cultural differences between people. It’s a fact that we humans are genetically 99.5 percent identical.&nbsp;



23andMe is a brand that leads with science. We fundamentally believe that we are more alike than we are different. Understanding that ridding ourselves of socially constructed ‘isms’ — like racism or classism —frees everyone. When we step out of systems of “us” vs “them” and bear witness to the oppression of people everywhere, humanity takes center stage.&nbsp;



Isabel Wilkerson’s biographical New York Times best-selling book, Caste, inspired Ava DuVernay’s new film ORIGIN. As with the book, DuVernay’s moving film adaptation — starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Wilkerson — analyzes discrimination and the connections between American racism, Nazi persecution of Jews, and India&#8217;s caste system.&nbsp;



It is the 0.5 percent that makes us each genetically different from one another and has also bred hatred across the world.



23andMe believes that focusing on all that we share as humans, and celebrating what makes us unique, could bring the world together. So for the next 23 days of January, 23andMe will donate 100 seats daily, to the <a href="https://www.seat16.com/">Seat16 program</a> which has a goal of getting 10,000 young people around the country to see the new film, ORIGIN.



Everyone deserves a place in this world and we believe in focusing on the things we share in common. Above all else, we want the world to remember that we are all 100 percent human.



ORIGIN will be in select theaters starting on January 19, 2024. 23andMe CEO and Co-founder Anne Wojcicki helped produce the film. You can see the ORIGIN film trailer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAweg5PaMuw">here.</a> 



#100PercentHuman <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C1VAohGvlEW/?img_index=2">#ORIGINFilm</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/seat16/">#Seat16</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/23andme/">#23andMe</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/unityindiversity/">#UnityInDiversity</a>

Origin and Our Common Humanity

Sit back and listen to 23andMe CEO and Co-Founder <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andmes-anne-wojcicki-among-the-best-ceos-for-women">Anne Wojcicki, </a>along with 23andMe board member and founder of 23andMe Therapeutics division <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/richard-scheller-named-to-national-academy-of-medicine">Richard Scheller</a>, speak to Roelof Botha of Sequoia Capital about the company&#8217;s critical moments in history.



Botha, who is also on the 23andMe Board of Directors, discusses how the company weathered early criticism, even at its founding in 2006, from the 2013 FDA letter that ordered 23andMe to stop selling health testing products to customers to downturns in consumer interest.



The episode is part of a series called <a href="https://www.cruciblemoments.com/episodes/23andme" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Crucible Moments,</a> produced by Sequoia Capital. In this series, Roelof explores moments in every start-up business journey in which a company can succeed or fail. How a company responds often defines its future.



Listen to <a href="https://www.cruciblemoments.com/episodes/23andme">Anne&#8217;s Crucible Moments</a> and learn a little about <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andme-turns-16">23andMe&#8217;s history</a>.

Crucible Moments in 23andMe’s History

Since 2019, 23andMe customers have had the option to utilize authenticator app 2-factor authentication, which adds an extra layer of security to their account. Starting today, we are requiring all customers use a second step of verification to sign into their account.&nbsp;



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-2-step-verification">What is 2-Step Verification?</h6>



2-step verification (2SV), also referred to as 2-factor authentication, requires customers to provide two distinct steps to sign in before accessing their accounts. In combination with a username and password, customers will be asked for a verification code. 



Depending on what method customers choose to use, that code will either be generated by an authenticator app, or sent to their email if they use email 2-step verification. This code is another way to verify the customer’s identity before accessing their account.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-setting-up-2-step-verification">Setting Up 2-Step Verification</h6>



New customers will be automatically enrolled in email 2SV when they create their account. Existing customers who do not already use an authenticator app will also be automatically enrolled in email 2SV, and will receive an email containing their verification code at their next sign-in. 



Existing customers who already use an authenticator app, can continue to use that option. New customers who want to use an authenticator app, such as Google Authenticator™ mobile app, instead of email 2SV, can set up the authenticator app using the instructions found <a href="https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/360034119874-Adding-2-Step-Verification-to-Your-23andMe-Account">here</a>. 



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-questions">Questions?</h6>



As always, customers can work with our <a href="https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/">Customer Care team</a> if they have questions about using this added security step.



 This new security update is part of our ongoing commitment to keep customer data safe and secure. It’s another line of defense to protect their data. We encourage all of our customers to review our <a href="https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/360062175913-Privacy-and-Security-Help-Center">Privacy and Security Checkup</a> page, where they will find additional information on how to keep their accounts secure.

An image of a lock a computer, DNA and a mobile phone representing security protections.

Enhanced Customer Security at 23andMe with 2-Step Verification

Update: December 5, 2023 2:45 PM PST



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-credential-stuffing-incident-what-happened">Credential Stuffing Incident: What happened?</h2>



As our investigation comes to a close, we wanted to share the details of what took place and our findings.&nbsp;



In early October, we learned that a threat actor accessed a select number of individual 23andMe.com accounts through a process called credential stuffing. That is, usernames and passwords that were used on 23andMe.com were the same as those used on other websites that have been previously compromised or otherwise available. We do not have any indication that there was a data security incident within our systems, or that 23andMe was the source of the account credentials used in these attacks.&nbsp;



The threat actor used the compromised accounts to access information shared with these accounts. Specifically, DNA Relatives profiles connected to these compromised accounts, which consist of information that a customer chooses to make available to their genetic relatives when they opt in to participate in 23andMe’s DNA Relatives feature. A DNA Relatives profile includes information such as display name, predicted relationships, and percentage of DNA shared with matches. You can find a full list of the types of information included in a DNA Relatives profile <a href="https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/212170838">here</a>.



Additionally, through the compromised accounts, the threat actor accessed a feature called Family Tree, which includes a limited subset of DNA Relatives profile information. The Family Tree feature does not include ancestry information such as the percentage of DNA shared with genetic matches or ancestry reports.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-threat-actor-accessed-nbsp">What the Threat Actor Accessed&nbsp;</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>The threat actor was able to access less than 0.1%, or roughly 14,000 user accounts, of the existing 14 million 23andMe customers through credential stuffing.&nbsp;</li>



<li>The threat actor used the compromised credential stuffed accounts to access the information included in a significant number of DNA Relatives profiles (approximately 5.5 million) and Family Tree feature profiles (approximately 1.4 million), each of which were connected to the compromised accounts.</li>
</ul>



Since detecting the incident, we emailed all customers to notify them of the investigation and are continuing to notify impacted customers, based on applicable laws. We also required every 23andMe customer to reset their password. In addition, 23andMe now requires all new and existing customers to login using two-step verification. Protecting our customers’ data privacy and security remains a top priority for 23andMe, and we will continue to invest in protecting our systems and data.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-security-incident-updates">Security Incident Updates</h2>



Update: December 1, 2023 3:45 PM PST



23andMe has completed its investigation, assisted by third-party forensics experts. We are in the process of notifying affected customers, as required by law.&nbsp;



We have taken steps to further protect customer data, including requiring all existing customers to reset their password and requiring two-step verification for all new and existing customers. The company will continue to invest in protecting our systems and data.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Updated: November 6, 2023 7:45 AM PST



Starting today, we are requiring all customers to utilize email 2-step verification (2SV) as an&nbsp;added&nbsp;layer of protection for their account.&nbsp;New customers will be automatically enrolled in email 2SV when they create their account. Existing customers who do not already use an authenticator app will also be automatically enrolled in email 2SV, and will receive an email containing their verification code at their next sign-in. You can read <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/enhanced-customer-security-at-23andme-with-2-step-verification">more on our blog post</a>.



Update: October 20, 2023 9:35 PM PST



As part of the ongoing security investigation, we have temporarily disabled some features within the DNA Relatives tool as an additional precaution to protect the privacy of our customers.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-actions-has-23andme-taken">What actions has 23andMe taken?</h2>



Update: October 9, 2023 8:25 PM PST



Our investigation continues and we have engaged the assistance of third-party forensic experts. We are also working with federal law enforcement officials.&nbsp;



We are reaching out to our customers to provide an update on the investigation and to encourage them to take additional actions to keep their account and password secure. Out of caution, we are requiring that all customers reset their passwords and are encouraging the use of multi-factor authentication (MFA).



If we learn that a customer’s data has been accessed without their authorization, we will notify them directly with more information.



Please continue to follow this blog for updates as our investigation continues



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



October 6, 2023



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-credential-stuffing-attack">Credential Stuffing Attack</h2>



We recently learned that certain 23andMe customer profile information that they opted into sharing through our <a href="https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/212170838">DNA Relatives feature</a>, was compiled from individual 23andMe.com accounts without the account users’ authorization.



After learning of suspicious activity, we immediately began an investigation.&nbsp; While we are continuing to investigate this matter, we believe threat actors were able to access certain accounts in instances where users recycled login credentials – that is, usernames and passwords that were used on <a href="https://www.23andme.com/">23andMe.com</a> were the same as those used on other websites that have been previously hacked. 



We believe that the threat actor may have then, in violation of our <a href="https://www.23andme.com/legal/terms-of-service/#requirements-and-conditions">Terms of Service</a>, accessed <a href="https://www.23andme.com/">23andMe.com</a> accounts without authorization and obtained information from certain accounts, including information about users’ DNA Relatives profiles, to the extent a user opted into that service.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-committed-to-safety-and-security">Committed to Safety and Security</h2>



23andMe is committed to providing you with a safe and secure place where you can learn about your DNA knowing your privacy is protected. We are continuing to investigate to confirm these preliminary results. We do not have any indication at this time that there has been a data security incident within our systems, or that 23andMe was the source of the account credentials used in these attacks.&nbsp;



At 23andMe, we take security seriously. We exceed industry data protection standards and have achieved three different ISO certifications to demonstrate the strength of our security program.&nbsp; We actively and routinely monitor and audit our systems to ensure that your data is protected.&nbsp; When we receive information through those processes or from other sources claiming customer data has been accessed by unauthorized individuals, we immediately investigate to validate whether this information is accurate. Since 2019 we’ve offered and encouraged users to use multi-factor authentication (MFA), which provides an extra layer of security and can prevent bad actors from accessing an account through recycled passwords.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-recommendations">Recommendations </h2>



We encourage our customers to take as much action to keep their account and password secure. Out of caution, we recommend taking the following steps:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Confirm you have a strong password, one that is not easy to guess and that is unique to your 23andMe account. If you are not sure whether you have a strong password for your account, reset it by following the steps outlined <a href="https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/202907580-Forgot-Your-Password-#:~:text=You%20are%20able%20to%20reset,the%20Send%20Reset%20Email%20button.">here</a>.&nbsp;</li>



<li>Please be sure to enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) on your 23andMe account. You can enable MFA by following the steps outlined <a href="https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/360034119874-Adding-2-Step-Verification-to-Your-23andMe-Account">here</a>.</li>



<li>Review our <a href="https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/360062175913-Privacy-and-Security-Help-Center">Privacy and Security Checkup</a> page with additional information on how to keep your account secure.</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-need-assistance-customer-care-is-available">Need Assistance? Customer Care is Available</h2>



23andMe is here to support you. Please contact Customer Care at <a href="mailto:customercare@23andme.com">customercare@23andme.com</a> if you need assistance with navigating these important steps to protect your account.

Addressing Data Security Concerns – Action Plan

Have you ever wondered why some people stutter? You’re not alone. Developmental stuttering—disruptions in the normal flow of speech, like repeating sounds or involuntary pausing on words— affects more than 400 million people worldwide. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40721530/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A new genetic study</a>, powered in part by data from more than one million consented 23andMe research participants, offers exciting insights into the genetics behind stuttering.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stuttering-often-starts-young-and-many-kids-recover">Stuttering Often Starts Young—And Many Kids Recover</h2>



Most people who stutter begin showing signs between ages 2 and 5. For many, it’s temporary—about 80% of children who stutter will recover, often naturally and sometimes with the help of speech therapy. Interestingly, boys and girls are about equally likely to start stuttering, but by the time they reach adulthood, men are four times more likely to continue stuttering compared to women.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-genetics-of-stuttering-a-new-look">The Genetics of Stuttering: A New Look</h2>



Until recently, research into the genetics of stuttering has been limited to a handful of rare genetic variants identified in families. But a new large-scale study is changing that. By combining genetic data from over a million individuals, researchers identified 57 genetic variants (in or near 48 unique genes) linked to self-reported stuttering.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="616" height="378" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Visualize-GWAS.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-30872" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Visualize-GWAS.jpg 616w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Visualize-GWAS-300x184.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 616px) 100vw, 616px" /></figure>



Some of these genetic signals were ancestry- or sex-specific, meaning they were only significant associations in certain populations. Others were shared across groups, highlighting the complex nature of the genetics behind stuttering.



And there’s more: while most previously reported variants were too rare or not included in the dataset, this study still found strong genetic signals in three of the six candidate genes previously linked to stuttering—GNPTAB, GNPTG, and AP4E1—adding new weight to past findings.



Some of the genetic findings in this study also overlap with traits like depression, autism, and even beat synchronization (your ability to accurately synchronize your movements with a musical beat). These overlaps suggest that stuttering might share some genetic similarity with these other traits.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-value-of-diversity-in-genetic-research">The Value of Diversity in Genetic Research</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="406" height="444" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/CRC-Group.jpg" alt="An image to represent African Americans participating in 23andMe's colorectal cancer research." class="wp-image-32581" style="width:240px;height:auto" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/CRC-Group.jpg 406w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/CRC-Group-274x300.jpg 274w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 406px) 100vw, 406px" /></figure>



One important takeaway from this study is the value—and the current limits—of genetic diversity in research. Researchers were able to create a polygenic risk score (PRS) for stuttering using data from people of European descent and found that it predicted stuttering risk well in both independent clinical and self-reported datasets. However, a lack of large, diverse datasets meant that the team couldn’t validate similar scores for people from other ancestry groups.



That’s why increasing diversity in genetic studies is so important. It helps ensure that the insights we gain are applicable to everyone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-this-means-for-the-future">What This Means for the Future</h2>



This study marks a major step forward in understanding the genetic contribution to stuttering. It confirms that stuttering, like many other traits, is influenced by a complex mix of genetic factors. And it highlights the importance of building inclusive, diverse research databases to ensure that discoveries can benefit as many people as possible.



Whether you’ve experienced stuttering yourself, know someone who has, or are just curious about the science of speech, studies like this help us better understand the fascinating interplay between genetics and communication.



Learn more about this study from our collaborators at <a href="https://news.vumc.org/2025/07/28/large-scale-study-defines-genetic-architecture-of-stuttering/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vanderbilt University Medical Center</a> and learn more about <a href="https://www.23andme.com/research/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research at 23andMe</a>.

Why Do People Stutter? Genetics Holds Some Clues

<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-driven-by-a-fascination-with-his-pet-fish-named-calvin-high-school-student-indeever-madireddy-became-the-first-person-to-sequence-the-genome-of-a-freshwater-angelfish">Driven by a fascination with his pet fish named Calvin, high school student Indeever Madireddy became the first person to sequence the genome of a freshwater angelfish.</h6>



<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-full"><img decoding="async" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/20220731_173349-1-scaled-e1667861703712.jpg" alt="Indeever head shot" class="wp-image-30672"/></figure>



Several weeks ago, Rich Abdell, Ph.D., a bioinformatician at the University of Pennsylvania, sent out a<a href="https://twitter.com/richabdill/status/1582483998554525697?s=20&amp;t=KEw3XM8667HYr8gXrLuo7g">&nbsp;</a><a href="https://twitter.com/richabdill/status/1582483998554525697?s=20&amp;t=KEw3XM8667HYr8gXrLuo7g" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweet&nbsp;</a>to his 2,100 followers: “From what I can tell, the first freshwater angelfish genome was just&nbsp;<a href="https://www.micropublication.org/journals/biology/micropub-biology-000654" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published by a high schooler</a>&nbsp;using a MinION to sequence&nbsp;the DNA of his dead pet.”



Within a day, the post had amassed thousands of likes and over 500 retweets, as scientists from all over the country chimed in to express their support.



“I literally love everything about this, full stop,” replied an assistant professor. “What an incredible example of what can be achieved with early access to molecular biology resources,” a neuroscientist also tweeted in response.



As the tweet continued circulating online, a friend alerted 17-year-old Indeever that he was going viral.



“My first thought,” Indeever said, “was, ‘oh gosh, what did I do?’”



Indeever is a senior at BASIS Independent Silicon Valley in San Jose, California. He’s an avid fishkeeper, which he layers on top of his other interests: riding his bike, conducting research projects, competing in science competitions, and helping with his two younger brothers, who, he quipped, are “quite a lot of work.”



We recently spoke with him about his approach to work, how crowdfunding and community labs can help democratize science, and why young researchers “just need to get started.” The conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.&nbsp;



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-did-you-get-interested-in-genetics">How did you get interested in genetics?</h6>



It was kind of spontaneous. I’ve always really been into fishkeeping and raising fish. I had a pair of angelfish that would always lay eggs, but they’d never hatch. So, I decided that the next time my angelfish laid eggs, I would raise the baby fish to ensure they would survive, which is exactly what I did in August 2020. I used a pipette, moved the eggs to a new aquarium, and raised the fish until they were fully grown.



Unfortunately, one of the angelfish that I raised died in March 2022.



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I do my research at&nbsp;<a href="https://biocurious.org/">BioCurious</a>&nbsp;which is a local biohacker space for DIY biologists. There I always saw many biologists doing sequencing work. This made me curious about what sequencing had been done with fish. Weeks before my fish died I learned that no one had sequenced the genome of a freshwater angelfish. At the time, no reference genome was available through the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/">NCBI</a>&nbsp;(National Center for Biotechnology Information).



So when my pet fish died, I decided to sequence its genome. And that’s where this all took off.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-before-we-continue-what-was-your-fish-s-name">Before we continue, what was your fish’s name?</h6>



&nbsp;His name was Calvin.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-talk-us-through-your-sequencing-work-and-your-research-process">Talk us through your sequencing work and your research process.</h6>



When Calvin died, I rushed him to the BioCurious lab so I could freeze him in the -80°C freezer to keep his DNA stable.



Then I needed to figure out how to sequence. I spent the next month doing background research and learning genomics from scratch.



(Editor’s note:&nbsp;Reader in case you forgot, Indeever is a high school senior.)



I’ve had prior research experience in molecular biology and I’m familiar with the lab equipment available in my local lab. I came across nanopore technology and its long-read sequencing ability. This technology would allow me to&nbsp;de novoassemble the genome. So, I purchased a new nanopore sequencer and flow cell.



I used a New England Biolabs Genomic DNA extraction kit to extract DNA from Calvin’s muscle tissue. I did have to do some trial and error and experiment with the standard protocol to figure out what would give me the best DNA yield.



After I extracted the DNA, I had to prepare the genomic library and the DNA so that the nanopore device could properly sequence it.&nbsp;



I worked for two weekends in the lab to obtain the raw sequencing data.&nbsp;The bioinformatics work that came after that took a lot more time—around two months.



And then, I had to screen the genome to ensure there weren&#8217;t any contaminants.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-did-you-learn-or-find-anything-else-during-your-sequencing-work">Did you learn or find anything else during your sequencing work?&nbsp;</h6>



Interestingly, there was a bacterial contaminant in my sequencing reads.



<h6 class="has-text-align-left wp-block-heading" id="h-could-that-have-been-the-cause-of-calvin-s-death">Could that have been the cause of Calvin’s death?</h6>



It could have been. I was hesitant to say that in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.micropublication.org/journals/biology/micropub-biology-000654">paper</a>. Bacteria is a common fish pathogen that&#8217;s just naturally present in aquariums and on fish. At the same time, it&#8217;s an opportunistic pathogen, and if a fish is already ill or injured, the bacteria will exacerbate the problem and kill it.



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So, unfortunately, I couldn&#8217;t say for sure. I wish I could, but I just pointed it out in my paper and left it at that. It would have been interesting to see if that was true.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-in-addition-to-performing-your-work-at-a-community-lab-you-also-relied-on-crowdfunding-can-you-tell-us-more-about-that">In addition to performing your work at a community lab, you also relied on crowdfunding. Can you tell us more about that?</h6>



I used a lot of my own funds for this research, but I also fundraised on<a href="https://experiment.com/">&nbsp;experiment.com</a>&nbsp;so that I could buy another flow cell for the nanopore sequencer to increase my sequencing yield.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-did-it-feel-like-to-open-twitter-and-discover-your-project-had-generated-a-lot-of-interest">What did it feel like to open Twitter and discover your project had generated a lot of interest?</h6>



It was crazy! I wasn’t on Twitter. In fact, the only time I tweeted was for the fundraising I was doing for this project.



A friend of mine reached out and said, &#8216;hey, do you know you&#8217;re going viral on Twitter?&#8217; And I thought, ‘oh gosh, what&#8217;s going on? What did I do?&#8217; And then it turns out it was the angelfish work!



It’s been a great experience. I’ve met so many new scientists and researchers; it’s surreal.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-do-you-think-it-resonated-with-people">Why do you think it resonated with people?</h6>



I’ve noticed that there&#8217;s a big movement in the scientific community toward democratizing science and making it accessible to all. And I think this project exemplified that.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-you-re-not-in-the-lab-sequencing-genomes-what-do-you-like-to-do-for-fun">When you’re not in the lab sequencing genomes, what do you like to do for fun?</h6>



I raise a lot of fish. I have over 100 fish—koi, angelfish, goldfish…I even have a bichir, which is a kind of an eel, but way cooler.



Outside of fishkeeping, I do a lot of other research work. One of my previous projects was about CRISPR and how we could use the CRISPR-Cas9 enzyme as a tool to augment the human immune system and similarly protect against viral infections. I competed in various science competitions with that research.



I also have two younger brothers, who are quite a lot of work! And I enjoy riding my bike. I really like electric bikes, actually, so that&#8217;s what I do in my free time.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-any-future-research-projects-on-the-horizon">Any future research projects on the horizon?</h6>



Right now, I&#8217;m applying to colleges, and that’s taking up most of my time. I’m interested in sequencing the transcriptome of the angelfish, so I think that&#8217;s next.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-advice-do-you-have-for-young-researchers">What advice do you have for young researchers?</h6>



There is so much I want to say, but for starters, don’t be intimidated by the research world. It might be easy to see my research and wonder how I did it, but this was not my first research project. Throughout high school, I conducted independent research work.&nbsp;



Anyone can do research; you just have to get started. Find what you&#8217;re interested in and pursue it. Don’t be afraid of what other people think or even what the results will be.&nbsp;



Also, setbacks are expected. A setback simply means that you have reached a point where you are pushing the boundaries of science.&nbsp;It is a good sign and that must not deter you. You should definitely try to anticipate issues and find multiple pathways to work through or around them.&nbsp;



Finally, learn from the reviews, wisdom, and experiences of others while believing in and improving your own judgment and abilities. No one can learn everything by themselves, and it’s often other people who have interesting insights.&nbsp;



The nice thing about open science and the internet and computers and all that is that you can do research&nbsp;anywhere. From a lab, from home…anywhere!

The High Schooler who Sequenced the Angelfish

With the start of Lupus Awareness Month, we’re offering up a snapshot of our growing lupus research community and one <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-22794 size-medium" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/communityBadge_lupus-300x300.jpg" alt="communityBadge_lupus" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/communityBadge_lupus-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/communityBadge_lupus-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/communityBadge_lupus-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/communityBadge_lupus-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/communityBadge_lupus.jpg 400w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />of the many people who has joined to make the work possible.


Since we launched our<a href="https://www.23andme.com/lupus/"> Lupus Research Study</a> we’re already more than halfway to reaching our goal of enrolling 5,000 people living with lupus.
Launched last year in collaboration with Pfizer Inc, the study is meant to help better understand the genetics of this insidious autoimmune disease, which affects almost 1.5 million in the United States alone. Symptoms for lupus can range from joint inflammation to sores and skin rashes – often in the form of blotchy red marks on the face. The symptoms can progress to other issues including damage to the kidneys, heart or lungs.
While the cause of lupus is unknown, several studies indicate that a number of factors, including genetics, hormones and the environment all play a role. Lupus also impacts women more than men – 90 percent of the cases are women – and it often hits them between the ages of 15 and 44, although a significant percentage of cases hit people in childhood.


Lupus is a serious condition, but we are inspired by the positive attitude of many of those who are participating in this research. One of the several thousand people who’ve enrolled in 23andMe’s Lupus Study is Mary Frances, a California mother who was first diagnosed in college.
Despite the challenges she’s faced along the way, she remains positive.
&#8220;
You have to think &#8211; someone else has it worse than me and turn your attention to the challenge,&#8221; she said.
Learn more about <a href="https://www.23andme.com/lupus/">our study.</a> 
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Learn About Our Lupus Research

By Anne Wojcicki

It is with great pleasure that we are announcing an addition to the 23andMe executive team and a new initiative for the company.
<div id="attachment_22312" style="width: 305px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-22312" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Headshot-Richard-Scheller.jpg" alt="Dr. Richard Scheller" class="size-full wp-image-22312" width="295" height="197" />Dr. Richard Scheller</div>
Renowned scientist, Dr. Richard Scheller, will be joining 23andMe as our Chief Science Officer and will lead the development of a new research and development group, 23andMe Therapeutics.


The same way we are transforming the way people access and understand their genomes, we hope to transform the way we discover and develop novel therapies. By starting with genetic information and understanding the basics of disease, we hope we can make discoveries that will have a meaningful impact on society. 
Dr. Scheller joining is a testament to the power of 23andMe and what our customers have come together to build. 23andMe is the largest database in the world of genetic information, with almost 900,000 customers.
Customers have contributed over 250 million datapoints of information. All that information powers research that helps us understand how to prevent and treat disease.
Our mission is to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome. With Dr. Scheller joining the team, we believe we will be putting our best efforts into helping customers and society benefit from the human genome.
Participating in research is completely voluntary and customers can opt-in or out at any time.
Over 80 percent of customers chose to opt-in to research and answer questions. We believe we have the potential to be the source of new discoveries that transform the health and lives of our friends and family. Our customers should be proud that they make this research possible.

23andMe Therapeutics

There are grand visions about what genetic discoveries will be made in the distant future, but what about in the next five years.
That was the question Dr. Eric Green, the director of the National Genome Research Institute, asked of 23andMe&#8217;s CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki. Anne recently participated in a discussions with Green and Yale University genetics professor, Dr. Richard Lifton, as part of a symposium at the Smithsonian&#8217;s National Museum of Natural History. The talk revolved around the future of genomics, medicine and the impact genetic research will have globally on health care.
For Anne, what is happening right now is most interesting.
&#8220;It&#8217;s the most exciting time in science,&#8221; she said.
Check out their conversation. 
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The Most Exciting Time in Science

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-16833 size-medium" title="23andMe-Uta-007" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/23andMe-Uta-007-210x300.jpg" alt="" width="210" height="300" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/23andMe-Uta-007-210x300.jpg 210w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/23andMe-Uta-007.jpg 508w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 210px) 100vw, 210px" />
A big congratulations from everybody here at 23andMe to our Senior Medical Director Uta Francke, who’ll be picking up the William Allan Award from the American Society of Human Genetics in San Francisco this morning.
A medical doctor and professor emeritus of Genetics and Pediatrics at Stanford University, Uta has never rested on her long record of achievement. She continues to break new ground in genetics research and inspire her fellow scientists here at 23andMe.
This award – one in a long string of accolades she’s received in her career – recognizes her singular scientific contributions in the field of genetics.
In making the announcement, Joann Boughman, the executive vice president of the American Society of Human Genetics noted the respect she commands among geneticists offering a “stellar example of a tireless scientist, always seeking answers to any question that she becomes interested in, and pursing a variety of research techniques that will advance the knowledge in that particular subject.”
We couldn’t agree more.
Uta has spent decades on the leading edge of genetic research particularly focusing on human genetic diseases. Among her many achievements were groundbreaking new insights into such genetic diseases as Charcot-Marie-Tooth, Marfan, Rett, Prader-Willi, Williams, and Wiskott-Aldrich syndromes. Her work opened new avenues for the study and treatment of these disorders.
Uta, who served as president of the ASHG in 1999, continues to make contributions on many levels. Beyond her work in basic research, Uta is helping 23andMe – and the direct-to-consumer genetics industry as a whole – move into a new era of personalized medicine.
As a testament to her forward-thinking one need only look back to her remarks more than a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1288184/">decade ago to the ASHG</a> when she noted that genetic information would increasingly influence primary medicine. She called for educating both physicians and the public about genetics. And, as if foreseeing her own role at 23andMe, she pointed to the potential that the Internet would be how people could get access to genetic information.
23andMe is extremely proud of her achievements and continues to draw inspiration from her work.

23andMe’s Uta Francke Lauded by ASHG

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-2489" title="stevenpinker1" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/stevenpinker1.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="233" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/stevenpinker1.jpg 350w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/stevenpinker1-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" />
For an insightful and thought-provoking essay on the present and future of personal genomics, as well as the role that 23andMe is playing in its advancement, check out Steven Pinker&#8217;s essay &#8220;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/magazine/11Genome-t.html?em" target="_blank" rel="noopener">My Genome, My Self</a>&#8221; in this week&#8217;s New York Times magazine.
Pinker, who is a 23andMe customer himself and also a participant in <a href="http://arep.med.harvard.edu/gmc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">George Church&#8217;s</a> <a href="http://www.personalgenomes.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Personal Genome Project</a>, recommends taking genetic data with a grain of salt. Because as we often point out on The Blog, genetics is not fate and the science is still evolving.
Pinker, for example, has discovered that he has a genetic variation that increases his chances of going bald. Considering the man&#8217;s trademark thick and curly tresses, that one genetic toggle is not the whole story.

Pinker recommends personal genomics if you&#8217;re curious about how the countless genetic discoveries that are being made almost daily may apply to you personally, and might be relevant to your health down the road. And, we might add, becoming part of the 23andMe community also gives you the opportunity to help advance genetic <a href="https://www.23andme.com/research/" target="_self" rel="noopener">research</a> into diseases, conditions or traits that interest you. Combined with our community features, which let you find people with whom you share elements of nature AND nurture, personal genomics has great potential to become a tool not just for utilizing scientific advancements but making new ones as well.
As Pinker makes it clear however, personal genomics is not about to supplant, or even supplement, preventive medicine any time soon. &#8220;If you want to know whether you are at risk for high cholesterol, have your cholesterol measured,&#8221; he rightly recommends. (For some other takes on the Pinker piece and the state of personal genomics, check in with our colleagues at Gene Expression and Genetic Future.)
One of the most fascinating, albeit technical, parts of the essay is Pinker&#8217;s prediction that personal genomics will have more success elucidating the genetic underpinnings of personality than intelligence. Assuming from an evolutionary standpoint that it&#8217;s better to be smarter (it also kind of depends on how you define intelligence, but we won&#8217;t dwell on that), then over the millennia natural selection has done the work of deleting any genetic variations that substantially decrease intelligence but left intact hundreds or thousands that have negligible influence. Thanks to their tiny effect, those variations will prove very difficult to identify.
Evolution appears to foster large personality differences, on the other hand, because different types of people tend to thrive as the environment changes. Consider the recent history of the world&#8217;s financial markets – it&#8217;s easy to see how both pessimists and optimists could do well, though not necessarily at the same time. And it&#8217;s also easy to see how the number of bulls and bears could oscillate as first one side, then the other, got the upper hand. If you&#8217;re smart (and lucky) enough, you can make money in the market using either approach.
Evolutionary biologists call it balancing selection when two opposing traits are maintained in this way. And geneticists have had considerable success identifying genetic variations that have been subject to balancing selection, just as they have ones that make some people more adventurous, or prone to depression.
&#8220;It’s still a messy science, with plenty of false alarms, contradictory results and tiny effects. But consumers will probably learn of genes linked to personality before they see any that are reliably connected to intelligence,&#8221; Pinker contends.

Steven Pinker on Personal Genomics

National Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Month: Highlighting Customer Stories

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="768" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/All-the-siblings-1024x768.jpg" alt="Image of Jenn and her three half siblings" class="wp-image-33542" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/All-the-siblings-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/All-the-siblings-300x225.jpg 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/All-the-siblings-768x576.jpg 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/All-the-siblings-880x660.jpg 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/All-the-siblings.jpg 1080w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Jenn (far left) and her half siblings (from left) Joe, Mechele &#038; Lisa</figcaption></figure>



They were strangers to Jenn, so as she prepared for her first in-person meeting with her newly found brother and two sisters, her anxiety rose.



“Of course, I was nervous,” said Jenn, a 46-year-old who works in a New York real estate office. “I went over everything that can go wrong, you know, especially because of what happened when I reached out to my birth mother.”



That was in 2019. The state of New York had just opened adoption records. Jenn found the identity of her birth mother, carefully crafted a letter to her, and included photos of herself as a child and another one of her as an adult. Jenn didn’t want anything from her birth mother; she just wanted to connect. Instead of an embrace, she got the kind of response many adoptees fear the most.



“She doesn’t want to have anything to do with me,” Jenn said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-you-have-daddy-s-eyes">‘You Have Daddy’s Eyes’</h2>



So, five years later, after connecting through 23andMe to three half-siblings on her birth father’s side, Jenn was all butterflies. Then she walked into the pizza parlor where she’d be meeting Joe, Lisa, and Mechele. She heard Lisa say, “Welcome baby sister,” and she then got her first group hug.



“Sometimes when you meet someone for the first time, you’re nervous and you hold something of yourself back,” Jenn said. “There was none of that. It’s crazy how easily we got along.”



At one point, one of her siblings said, “You have daddy’s eyes.”



One minute, they were four strangers meeting for the first time; the next, they were family.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="360" height="480" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jenn-and-sister-.jpg" alt="Jenn and half-sister Mechele" class="wp-image-33543" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jenn-and-sister-.jpg 360w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jenn-and-sister--225x300.jpg 225w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Jenn and Mechele</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-creating-family-memories">Creating Family Memories</h2>



That was on January 26th, 2024, the 30th anniversary of their father’s death. Their bonds with each other have only grown since then, including a bigger family reunion in August and plans to gather again for the holidays this year.



“I am looking forward to creating memories with my family and learning more and more about our father,” said Jenn. “23andMe was a blessing, and we are so very grateful for the opportunity to make our family complete.”



Getting to the point where she could sit at this much, much bigger family table this holiday season wasn’t easy. It was 46 years in the making.



Jenn, and her brother, were adopted from different families, but they always felt lucky to have a mom that loved them unconditionally.



“When I say, ‘my mom,’ I mean the woman who raised me,” Jenn said. “She is my mother.”



That’s never going to change.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-losing-mom">Losing Mom</h2>



When, as young kids, she and her brother learned that they’d been adopted, they didn’t tell their mom.



“I couldn&#8217;t even think about looking for (my birth parents) while she was here because it would have broken her,” Jenn said. “I would not do that.”



For Jenn, being adopted felt special. She believed that unlike other kids who just get the parents they’re born to, she and her brother had been chosen by their parents, and they won the parent lottery with their mom.



“She was my world,” Jenn said, her voice filled with emotion.



When their mom died in 1997, Jenn was devastated. She was 19.



It would be a long time before she’d start searching for where she came from and who her birth parents might have been. It wasn’t so much to make a connection but more about trying to understand herself and her story.



“I wanted to know where I came from and who I was,” she said.



She loved her mom and loves her brother, but she also felt different.



“Growing up, my mom was very quiet, very calm, cool, and collected,” Jenn said. “My brother is also like that, and here I come along and I’m loud, I&#8217;m fresh. I’m the person at the party saying &#8216;let&#8217;s dance.’ I wanted to know why I was that way.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-taking-a-chance-at-finding-family">Taking a Chance at Finding Family</h2>



Her first quest in 2019 started with getting ahold of her adoption records in New York and ended in rejection. She thought that was the end to her search for family.



“I closed the book on all that,” she said.



In 2017 she used 23andMe, but it wasn’t to find her family. She wanted to learn more about her ethnicity. She learned she was mostly British and Irish and had some German ancestry. She had some very distant cousins that popped up, but she didn’t really think about family connections. Then she got an email in December of 2023 notifying her that a relative had messaged her on 23andMe.



It was a message from Joe.



She scrolled down, saw his photo and that he was predicted to be a half-brother.



“I dropped my phone,” she said.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="240" height="320" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jenn-and-Joe.jpg" alt="Jenn and half-sibling Joe" class="wp-image-33544" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jenn-and-Joe.jpg 240w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jenn-and-Joe-225x300.jpg 225w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Jenn and Joe</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meeting-for-the-first-time">Meeting for the First Time</h2>



They feverishly began exchanging messages. Joe was as eager as she was to learn more. He eventually asked if he could loop in his sisters. Jenn thought, “Wait, I have sisters.” Then using Facebook, she was able to put more faces to names.



Along with Joe, there was Mechele and Lisa. They all had questions for her as well. Their dad had divorced from their mom in the early 1970s, and afterward he dated for a while. That’s when Jenn had been conceived, but the three siblings believe their father didn’t know anything about Jenn.



“He had no idea about me,” Jenn said. “Everyone swears that if he knew, he one hundred percent would have looked for me, would have found me, and would have been a part of my life.”



But he never got that chance, and then he died of a heart attack in 1994.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nature-versus-nurture">Nature Versus Nurture</h2>



Now Jenn is learning about her birth father from her siblings. She’s learning that they all share the same kind of boisterous personality as she does, and odd little things.



“Okay. So here&#8217;s one thing that happened when,” Jenn said offering one example. “We took a picture, all four of us for the first time and we&#8217;re all joking and just kind of sitting there living in the moment. And my sister Mechele goes, ‘Put a leg up!’”



She kicked her leg up and her sister grabbed it for the photo.



“I stopped for a second and she said, ‘Wait, what happened?’” Jenn said. “They all stopped and looked at me.”



That’s something she’s always doing for photos.



“I looked over at my boyfriend and we&#8217;ve been together for 20 years, and he just shook his head, (because) I do that all the time. I say, ‘Put a leg up!’ and you throw a leg up in the picture.”



It’s such an odd thing to imagine that could be something genetically shared, but it was also so distinctive like something she has always done.



“I was baffled, it’s so weird, but cool, in a cool way,” Jenn said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-your-people">Your People</h2>



&nbsp;As she gets closer to visiting again with her newfound family for the holidays, Jenn also marvels at how fortunate she has been.



“It’s beautiful, this is my family, and I finally get like, I get it all. I get sisters. I get an extra brother. I don’t know how it was so perfect or how I’m so lucky. But I am. I’m the luckiest person in the world.”



There is no question that they are going to stay in each other’s lives. The family is just bigger now.



Her brother, who she was raised with, saw it too.



“He’s my brother. We’re not blood related, but we were raised together. And he said to me when he saw the photos of that first meeting, he said, ‘Jennifer, those are your people.’”

Image of Jenn and her three half siblings

New Family Gathering This Holiday Season

Bella doesn’t know how it started, but genetics has fascinated her since she was little.



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="228" height="300" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Bella-Photo-228x300.jpg" alt="A photo of Bella." class="wp-image-33300" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Bella-Photo-228x300.jpg 228w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Bella-Photo-768x1009.jpg 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Bella-Photo-779x1024.jpg 779w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Bella-Photo-670x880.jpg 670w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Bella-Photo-898x1180.jpg 898w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Bella-Photo.jpg 1080w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 228px) 100vw, 228px" /></figure>



“I don’t know what triggered it; it just appealed to me,” said Bella, a 22-year-old college student with a passion for biology.



For Bella, genetics is like a giant puzzle, with scientists still trying to piece it together to reveal something about us as humans or why some people get sick, and others don’t. 



During the pandemic, she devoured details of how scientists used a small piece of messenger RNA, mRNA, to create a vaccine that would produce an immune response and antibodies against COVID-19. She also contemplates what might be possible in the future; as most people know, certain genetic variants can dramatically increase one’s risk for a disease. But Bella likes to imagine discovering genetic variants that might do the opposite and protect one against disease.



“There’s still so much more to discover,” she said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-gift-of-knowledge">A Gift of Knowledge</h2>



She soon learned that the same was true about her own genetics. Her mom gifted her a 23andMe Health + Ancestry kit for Christmas one year. Bella thought it was a perfect choice.



“It’s really easy to use and super detailed,” she said.



She was interested in her ancestry because she never knew much about her family tree. It turns out that she’s Turkish, Iranian and Italian. She was also interested in her health reports. She opted in to view the reports, went through a short tutorial, and opened up her reports, including her Cystic Fibrosis Carrier Status Report.*



“I found out I was a carrier of cystic fibrosis,” Bella said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-it-means-to-be-a-carrier">What it Means to Be a Carrier</h2>



Being a carrier does not typically impact your health, and it’s not unusual; depending on ethnicity, between one in 25 and one in 100 people in the United States are carriers for cystic fibrosis. But there is a chance that if you are a carrier and your partner is a carrier, you could have a<a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/carrier/cystic-fibrosis/"> child with cystic fibrosis</a>. P



eople with cystic fibrosis inherit variants in the CFTR gene from both parents. It is relatively rare; about 35,000 people in the United States have<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/cystic-fibrosis/about/"> cystic fibrosis, according to the CDC</a>. It’s a very serious condition affecting breathing and digestion. There is no cure, but new treatments have helped people with the disease live longer.  



Learning that she was a carrier initially was a big surprise and a little scary. But it triggered some essential family conversations. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-planning-ahead">Planning Ahead</h2>



Bella talked to her mom and then contacted her dad to find out if there was any family history of cystic fibrosis. Then she spoke to her older brother and then a cousin. She thought this would be important information for them to know since they might be considering having children.



Her mom told her she was glad she used 23andMe.



“’Now you know,’” Bella’s mom told her.



Knowing meant she could plan ahead if she decided to have children. It would be essential to know if her partner was also a carrier.



&#8220;Knowledge is power!&#8221; Bella said more than once.&nbsp;



&nbsp;She continues to stress the importance of genetic testing and planning for the future.



Learn More



<a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-health-ancestry/">23andMe Health &amp; Ancestry</a>, <a href="https://www.23andme.com/membership/">23andMe+ Premium</a>, and <a href="https://www.23andme.com/total-health/">23andMe+ Total Health </a>customers can all <a href="https://you.23andme.com/health/carrier_status/">learn about their carrier status here</a>. 



Not yet a customer? Find out more about <a href="https://www.23andme.com/compare-dna-tests/">all that 23andMe offers here</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-note">Note:</h2>



*The 23andMe PGS test uses qualitative genotyping to detect select clinically relevant variants in the genomic DNA of adults to report carrier status and reporting and interpreting genetic health risks. The relevance of each report may vary based on ethnicity. 



Our carrier status reports can be used to determine carrier status but cannot determine if you have two copies of any genetic variant. These carrier reports are not intended to tell you anything about your risk for developing a disease in the future, the health of your fetus, or your newborn child’s risk of developing a particular disease later in life. We provide a single report for certain conditions that includes information on carrier status and genetic health risk. 



The Cystic Fibrosis Carrier Status report is indicated for detecting 29 variants in the CFTR gene and is most relevant for people of Ashkenazi Jewish, European, and Hispanic/Latino descent.

Bella Learns About Her Carrier Status

Lillian Newman decided to use 23andMe in part because she wanted to learn about her grandfather, who was from Cuba and had some Sephardic ancestry, but she thought testing could reveal so much more than that.



&#8220;The reason I chose 23andMe is that (it has) a focus not only on the ancestry side but on how your DNA relates to your health,&#8221; Lillian said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-i-know-now">What I Know Now</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="225" height="300" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IMG_3775-225x300.jpg" alt="A photo of Lillian Neuman" class="wp-image-33205" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IMG_3775-225x300.jpg 225w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IMG_3775-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IMG_3775-660x880.jpg 660w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IMG_3775-885x1180.jpg 885w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IMG_3775-scaled.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" /></figure>



Little did she know that her 23andMe health reports would help her profoundly. She shared her story because she thought it might help others. Lillian believes that she&#8217;s not the only one who didn&#8217;t know that genetics affects how one&#8217;s body processes many commonly prescribed medications.* Despite this, clinical guidelines rarely call for testing people before prescribing those medications.



&#8220;I wish I had known then what I know now,&#8221; Lillian said. &#8220;Using 23andMe+ Premium and finding out about the SLCO1B1 gene was huge. Huge.&#8221;



Her reference to the SLCO1B1 gene refers to how different genetic variants in SLCO1B1 can affect how you process certain medications.&nbsp; Like millions of Americans, Lillian Newman has high cholesterol, which, left untreated, can lead to a whole host of issues, including heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes. She learned about her high cholesterol after a routine blood test in 2018. To address the problem, Lillian&#8217;s doctor prescribed a statin.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-statins-save-lives">Statins Save Lives</h2>



Statins are among the most prescribed medications in the United States. According to the CDC, an estimated one in four adults in the U.S. takes a cholesterol-lowering medication, and the vast majority of those are statins.



Statins work by inhibiting an enzyme in the liver so the liver makes less cholesterol but pulls in more cholesterol from the bloodstream. That lowers the amount of bad cholesterol in the blood, stabilizing any plaques along the artery&#8217;s walls, and preventing even more plaque from building up. That, in turn, reduces the chances of a stroke or heart attack. Statins have proven<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5126440/"> mostly safe and effective</a> in lowering cholesterol and thus have helped to prevent heart attacks and strokes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-side-effects">Side Effects</h2>



But there are some side effects from taking statins — headache, brain fog, fatigue, and sometimes intense muscle cramping and pain. Sometimes, these side effects are related to a person&#8217;s genetics, which can affect how they process medications. In turn, the side effects sometimes lead people to either change how they take their medication or stop taking it altogether, which in turn can lead to poor health outcomes.



For Lillian, the side effects — severe muscle pain — began after her doctor increased the dose of the statin she was taking. Within a few weeks, the muscles in her legs started cramping. At one point, she had such crushing chest pain that she thought she was having a heart attack and was rushed to the ER. After a cardiologist determined it wasn&#8217;t her heart, her doctor told her that sometimes people experience cramping as a side effect of taking statins but that the benefits of taking the statin outweigh the pain.



&#8220;I remember I went home feeling despondent,&#8221; Lillian said.



Lillian said no one ever mentioned genetics or how using a different statin dose might help. She thought she just had to grit her teeth and bear it. Periodically, the pain was so bad that she&#8217;d go off her medication, something that can be very risky.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-simple-change">A Simple Change</h2>



A person&#8217;s genetics — specifically a genetic variant that affects the function of the <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/new-23andme-report-on-simvastatin">SLCO1B1 transporter protein</a>, which in turn affects how a person&#8217;s body processes the statin known as simvastatin — plays a role in side effects like muscle pain in some people. Other non-genetic factors also play a role, but very few people are tested to see if they have a genetic marker that might impact how they process a drug. Lillian didn&#8217;t know anything about what&#8217;s known as <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andme-granted-the-first-and-only-fda-authorization-for-direct-to-consumer-pharmacogenetics-reports">pharmacogenetics</a> or how DNA variants influence the body&#8217;s ability to process medication.



&#8220;In the five years of dealing with cholesterol issues, no one tested me for SLC01B1,&#8221; Lillian said.



Although she had been a customer of 23andMe for years, last year, she decided to upgrade to 23andMe+ Premium, which includes pharmacogenetic reports. When she opened the report on SLCO1B1 Drug Transport, specifically looking at the medication insights for simvastatin, it felt personal to her experience.



&#8220;It provided me with critical information to discuss with my doctor,&#8221; Lillian said.



Her doctor lowered her statin dosage, and that small change made a huge difference in her life, allowing her to continue to manage her cholesterol but without the debilitating pain.&nbsp;



&#8220;Now, I wanted to tell you that doing the 23andMe+ membership is the best (money) I spent this year,&#8221; Lillian said. &#8220;I am deeply grateful to 23andMe. You truly made a difference for me by having that test available. I think everyone should know about this.&#8221;&nbsp;



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-note">Note:</h2>



*23andMe PGS Pharmacogenetics reports: The 23andMe test uses qualitative genotyping to detect 3 variants in the CYP2C19 gene, 2 variants in the DPYD gene, and 1 variant in the SLCO1B1 gene in the genomic DNA of adults from saliva to report and interpret information about the processing of certain therapeutics to inform discussions with a healthcare professional. It does not describe if a person will or will not respond to a particular therapeutic and does not describe the association between detected variants and any specific therapeutic. 



Our CYP2C19 Pharmacogenetics report provides certain information about variants associated with metabolism of some therapeutics and provides interpretive drug information regarding the potential effect of citalopram and clopidogrel therapy. Results for SLCO1B1 and DPYD and certain CYP2C19 results should be confirmed by an independent genetic test prescribed by your own healthcare provider before taking any medical action. Warning: Test information should not be used to start, stop, or change any course of treatment and does not test for all possible variants that may affect metabolism or protein function. The PGS test is not a substitute for visits to a healthcare professional. Making changes to your current regimen can lead to harmful side effects or reduced intended benefits of your medication, therefore consult with your healthcare professional before taking any medical action. For important information and limitations regarding Pharmacogenetics reports, visit <a href="http://23andme.com/test-info/pharmacogenetics/">23andme.com/test-info/pharmacogenetics/</a>

Customer Learns Her Genetics Impacts How She Processes Statins

By Rebecca Jones



We all have a story or an accumulation of stories that make us who we are. It&#8217;s part of being human. It&#8217;s in our DNA. If those stories vanish, what are we then?&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-six-million-living-with-alzheimer-s-disease">Six Million Living with Alzheimer&#8217;s Disease</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="200" height="300" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Rebecca-Jones-200x300.jpg" alt="A photo of Rebecca Jones." class="wp-image-33172" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Rebecca-Jones-200x300.jpg 200w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Rebecca-Jones.jpg 426w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /></figure>



More than <a href="https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures#:~:text=More%20than%206%20million%20Americans%20of%20all%20ages%20have%20Alzheimer's,older%20(10.7%25)%20has%20Alzheimer's.">six million people in the United States live with Alzheimer&#8217;s disease</a>. A condition that cruelly extinguishes memories one by one—everything from the memory of holding a child for the first time to the touch of a fleeting lost love or the bracing courage we felt when we stood up for ourselves. With Alzheimer&#8217;s disease, those memories vanish until you have no stories left.&nbsp;



Not too long ago, I learned from a 23andMe genetic test that I carry the ?4 variant in the APOE gene, predisposing me toward late-onset Alzheimer&#8217;s disease.* Seeing &#8220;increased risk&#8221; in writing shook me, but it wasn&#8217;t surprising. Three of my aunts on my father&#8217;s side died of Alzheimer&#8217;s disease. After a series of follow-up visits with doctors, confirmatory testing, and then brain scans, I learned that I had early signs of Alzheimer’s disease. Soon after learning all this, I became part of a clinical trial and was among the first wave of patients treated with Eisai and Biogen’s newly approved drug, <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2024/05/09/alzheimers-leqembi-eisai-biogen-hurdles/">Leqembi.</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-my-story">My Story</h2>



I want to share my story because I believe we should all rethink how we approach genetic testing for Alzheimer&#8217;s disease or any disease. Knowledge is power. Learning early through a consumer genetic test alerted me to a risk I didn’t know about before I was symptomatic. It was information that my doctors could follow up on, and then, miraculously, there was a clinical trial for which I was a good candidate. If I’d waited until I was symptomatic, it might have been too late.



I&#8217;m a mother of four and grandmother of ten. Before I retired, I was a marketing manager for a pharmaceutical company focusing on oncology. Maybe that made me particularly ready to understand the importance of learning one’s genetic risk and navigating participation in a clinical trial.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-treatments">New Treatments </h2>



For too long, the prognosis for people with Alzheimer’s was bleak. So much so that doctors recommended against learning of your genetic risk because, they reasoned, there was little you could do about it; learning of your risk would cause anxiety and stress. Research <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2778270/">doesn&#8217;t support that</a>, but more importantly, the options for people with an early diagnosis have changed. I’m hoping that attitudes about genetic testing, or new types of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/11/17/alzheimers-blood-test-research-treatment/">blood testing</a> to identify those at risk or who may have early-stage Alzheimer’s, change as well.&nbsp;



Learning of my risk and then getting a diagnosis spurred me to action. I studied up on new research, promising treatments, and interventions that had only recently become available. Learning of my risk wasn&#8217;t easy, but I knew it was something I couldn’t ignore. I had to educate myself.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-family-conversation">A Family Conversation</h2>



After I learned of my risk, I did what a lot of people do when confronted with a health issue: I talked to my family. Alzheimer&#8217;s runs in families, so this was more than just seeking counsel; I wanted my sisters and my adult children to know that the risk I faced might be something they should be aware of as well. My older sister and two of my daughters tested and learned that they, too, carry the same genetic risk. They call this the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/cascade-testing/about/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/cascade_testing/cascade_finding.htm">cascade effect</a> of genetic testing. One family member learns of a risk and can alert other family members to a potential risk they might not have known otherwise.



Beyond talking to family, I spoke to my doctor, who fortunately didn&#8217;t just brush it off. What followed was confirmatory testing, baseline testing for cognitive impairment — I had some — and referral to a neurologist. A brain scan revealed amyloid plaque build-up, a sign of the disease. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-clinical-trial">A Clinical Trial</h2>



I learned that I had early signs of Alzheimer&#8217;s. But I also knew I was a good candidate for a drug that was in clinical trials. I volunteered. I also learned that I was the perfect candidate for the drug Leqembi. The FDA approved Leqembi to treat people with early Alzheimer&#8217;s disease as a way to slow its progression. Knowing your APOE status is recommended before treatment because individuals with two copies of the APOE e4 variant have an increased risk for side effects. My older sister and I began infusion treatments together. 



The biggest takeaway for me is that, just like with cancer, the earlier a diagnosis, the better the odds of treating Alzheimer&#8217;s. And yet, often, people only learn that they have Alzheimer&#8217;s after symptoms become hard to ignore. However, by then, the disease has already caused significant damage. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-power-of-knowing">The Power of Knowing</h2>



How many people are diagnosed with Alzheimer&#8217;s before significant cognitive impairment? Not many, unfortunately.



I was lucky. I had access to a genetic test that informed me of my risk early. I didn&#8217;t ignore it. I acted early with my doctor&#8217;s help. My hope lies in more people like me getting genetic testing, learning of their potential risk, and then following up and getting an early diagnosis. 



It&#8217;s given me the chance to use new treatments to stave off the erasure of my memories. I hope it will help prevent Alzheimer&#8217;s from robbing me of the stories that make up my life.



Rebecca Jones is a mother of four and grandmother of ten. She is retired and was formerly a marketing manager for a pharmaceutical company focused on oncology. She lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-note">Note:</h6>



*The 23andMe PGS test uses qualitative genotyping to detect select clinically relevant variants in the genomic DNA of adults from saliva to report and interpret genetic health risks. It is not intended to diagnose any disease. Your ethnicity may affect the relevance of each report and how your genetic health risk results are interpreted. Each genetic health risk report describes if a person has variants associated with a higher risk of developing a disease but does not describe a person’s overall risk of developing the disease. The test is not intended to tell you anything about your current state of health or to be used to make medical decisions, including whether or not you should take a medication, how much of a medication you should take, or determine any treatment. 



The Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease genetic health risk report is indicated for reporting of the e4 variant in the APOE gene. It describes if a person has a variant associated with an increased risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. The e4 variant included in this report is found and has been studied in many ethnicities. Detailed risk estimates have been studied the most in people of European descent.

The Power of Knowing

Editor&#8217;s note: For Juneteenth we&#8217;re republishing a post from earlier this year about connecting a woman and her family to the remains of a little girl buried among those of other enslaved African Americans near a historic iron furnace in Maryland. 



Agnes Jackson lives in Hagerstown, Maryland, near her four daughters and about 20 miles from the Catoctin Furnace, a historic site.&nbsp;



This long-ago shuttered iron smelter is one of the earliest industrial sites in the United States. The old iron furnace is on the edge of the Catoctin Mountain National Park, a verdant open space blanketed in forest and lined with hiking trails along the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-iron-furnace">An Iron Furnace</h2>



The beauty of the place belies the brutal conditions that once made up the day-to-day lives of the free and enslaved African Americans who lived and worked there.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Photo-of-Agnes-1024x576.jpg" alt="A photo of Agnes Jackson." class="wp-image-32672" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Photo-of-Agnes-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Photo-of-Agnes-300x169.jpg 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Photo-of-Agnes-768x432.jpg 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Photo-of-Agnes-880x495.jpg 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Photo-of-Agnes-1180x663.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Agnes Jackson, as researchers explain her genetic connection to a girl buried at the historic Catoctin Furnace.</figcaption></figure>



Until recently, Agnes, who is 86, knew little of that history or her deep connection to those who lived and worked there.



Despite living so close, Agnes and her daughters visited Catoctin for the first time only about a year ago, soon after she learned about her family&#8217;s link to the site.&nbsp;



&#8220;We never knew,&#8221; Agnes said during a visit to the site last year.



With the help of the local archaeologist and president of the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society, Elizabeth Comer, and <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ade4995?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D36970045036454591841970885085615049025%7CMCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1708709301">groundbreaking research</a> from scientists at Harvard, the Smithsonian, and 23andMe, Agnes and her family are seeing for the first time all the threads that connect them to this place and the people who toiled here.



Elizabeth, who perhaps has spent more time than anyone trying to document the legacy of the people who worked at the furnace, said adding the DNA component to this research connects this early American history to the living.



&#8220;What DNA does for the first time is connect a living, 21st-century family not just to Catoctin but to the cemetery,&#8221; she recently told Science magazine.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Photo-of-Elizabeth-Eadaoin-talking-to-Agnes-and-her-daughters-1024x576.jpg" alt="Photo of Agnes and her daughters talking to Éadaoin Harney, and Elizabeth Comer." class="wp-image-32671" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Photo-of-Elizabeth-Eadaoin-talking-to-Agnes-and-her-daughters-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Photo-of-Elizabeth-Eadaoin-talking-to-Agnes-and-her-daughters-300x169.jpg 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Photo-of-Elizabeth-Eadaoin-talking-to-Agnes-and-her-daughters-768x432.jpg 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Photo-of-Elizabeth-Eadaoin-talking-to-Agnes-and-her-daughters-880x495.jpg 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Photo-of-Elizabeth-Eadaoin-talking-to-Agnes-and-her-daughters-1180x664.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">From left Éadaoin Harney, Elizabeth Comer, Agnes Green, her daughters Vicki Winston, Sharon Green, and Barbara Hart. </figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-groundbreaking-genetic-study">Groundbreaking Genetic Study</h2>



Earlier this month, Elizabeth and 23andMe scientist Éadaoin Harney visited with Agnes and three of her daughters, Sharon Green, Vicki Winston, and Barbara Hart, at a museum commemorating the Catoctin Furnace and the enslaved and free people who worked there.



Éadaoin was the lead author of a study published in the journal Science last year. The other researchers in the study included senior authors David Reich at Harvard and Doug Owsley at the Smithsonian. The researchers sequenced and studied genetic data from the remains of 27 anonymous enslaved and freed African Americans buried at the site. 



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Catoctin + 23andMe" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FJ-wWvZVK94?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



The remains were uncovered decades ago during a highway construction project and buried in an unmarked burial ground. Researchers noted that the genetically related individuals were clustered into five family groups: mothers, children, and siblings.



The study leveraged 23andMe&#8217;s extensive research database to find genetic connections between those anonymous individuals and more than 41,000 relatives, although most of whom are very distantly related. The paper broke new ground by providing a technical and <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/ethics-and-the-study-of-historic-dna-catoctin-furnace">ethical benchmark for future studies</a> of similar, largely forgotten burial sites. Agnes and her family were the first of the living close relatives to be informed that they share a previously unknown genetic connection to a historical individual using the first-of-its-kind approach developed by 23andMe researchers for this study.



When the paper was published in August 2023, Carter Clinton, an African American geneticist at North Carolina State University, said the research was &#8220;significant for every African American in the country.&#8221;&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/The-Catoctin-Furnace-1024x576.jpg" alt="A photo of the Catoctin Furnace" class="wp-image-32668" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/The-Catoctin-Furnace-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/The-Catoctin-Furnace-300x169.jpg 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/The-Catoctin-Furnace-768x432.jpg 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/The-Catoctin-Furnace-880x495.jpg 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/The-Catoctin-Furnace-1180x664.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-human-connection">The Human Connection</h2>



For Agnes, it was also personal. One of those family groups that the study identified at the Catoctin site included the remains of a young girl between the ages of two and three years old. There were few artifacts with the body, just some pins, nails, and screws found with her remains. The nails and screws were likely the only surviving remnants of the coffin she was buried in, and one of the pins was perhaps used to hold back the little girl&#8217;s hair, some of the researchers suspect. The other pins were likely used to fasten a burial shroud.&nbsp;



Comparing the genetic sequence of this little girl with Agnes, Éadaoin and the team of scientists saw a large amount of shared DNA, indicating they were relatively closely related. The most likely connection is with Agnes&#8217;s great-great-grandfather, Hanson Summers. It’s possible that Hanson and the girl were half-siblings or cousins.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="577" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Agnes-and-three-of-her-daughters-1024x577.jpg" alt="A photo of Agnes, left, with her daughters, Vicki Winston, Sharon Green, and Barbara Hart." class="wp-image-32665" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Agnes-and-three-of-her-daughters-1024x577.jpg 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Agnes-and-three-of-her-daughters-300x169.jpg 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Agnes-and-three-of-her-daughters-768x432.jpg 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Agnes-and-three-of-her-daughters-880x495.jpg 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Agnes-and-three-of-her-daughters-1180x664.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Agnes, left, with her daughters, Vicki Winston, Sharon Green, and Barbara Hart.</figcaption></figure>



Often, there is family lore, stories passed down from generation to generation, but it is rare for African Americans to trace back their family history, often hitting the brick wall of slavery. Often, historical records for those enslaved ancestors are spotty. Names may never have been recorded or are only partially recorded.&nbsp;



For Agnes&#8217;s family, it was no different. She knew nothing of her family&#8217;s connection to the iron furnace. That changed a few years ago during this study when researchers from the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society, who had been attempting for years to find living descendants, had their first success. Elizabeth helped connect Agnes&#8217;s family to the furnace using paper records and historical sleuthing. The connection was through her great-great-grandfather, Hanson &#8220;Henson&#8221; Summers, who&#8217;d been enslaved at the iron furnace site in the early 19th century.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-family-s-history-and-american-history">A Family&#8217;s History and American History</h2>



The family, of course, knew that their ancestors had been enslaved. They knew he’d worked at the Antietam Furnace that operated in Hagerstown, but they didn&#8217;t know they were linked to the Catoctin Furnace until Elizabeth connected them. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="577" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Canon-balls-manufactured-at-the-furnace-1024x577.jpg" alt="Photo of cannon balls produced at the Catoctin Furnace." class="wp-image-32670" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Canon-balls-manufactured-at-the-furnace-1024x577.jpg 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Canon-balls-manufactured-at-the-furnace-1180x665.jpg 1180w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Canon-balls-manufactured-at-the-furnace-300x169.jpg 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Canon-balls-manufactured-at-the-furnace-768x433.jpg 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Canon-balls-manufactured-at-the-furnace-880x496.jpg 880w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Among the many items produced at the Catoctin Furnace were cannonballs used by the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.</figcaption></figure>



Hanson had been enslaved at Catoctin until he was in his 30s, at which point he and other members of his family were sold to the operators of the Antietam Furnace, according to the records. 



After the end of slavery, Hanson worked at an iron forge. Known for his strength and skill, he died in Hagerstown at 82 in 1899. Elizabeth&#8217;s work first found mention of Hanson in Maryland archives from 1834. His name was included on an inventory from Catoctin Furnace that included the names of enslaved African Americans. On it was a 17-year-old boy named &#8220;Henson.&#8221;&nbsp;



The Catoctin Furnace has a significant place in American history. 



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="168" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Historic-Marker-for-the-Furnace-300x168.jpg" alt="A historic marker of the Catoctin Furnace" class="wp-image-32667" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Historic-Marker-for-the-Furnace-300x168.jpg 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Historic-Marker-for-the-Furnace-768x431.jpg 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Historic-Marker-for-the-Furnace-1024x575.jpg 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Historic-Marker-for-the-Furnace-880x494.jpg 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Historic-Marker-for-the-Furnace-1180x662.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></figure>



The first owner of the furnace was Thomas Johnson Jr. — a wealthy enslaver, the first non-colonial governor of Maryland, and a signer of the <a href="https://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/assoc74.html">Articles of Association</a>, a precursor document to the Declaration of Independence. Iron production began in earnest in 1776. It contributed to the arming of the fledgling Continental Army — supplying 100 tons of shells for the Siege of Yorktown. While historians documented the industrial significance of the site, the history of enslaved workers there was not.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-we-built-this">We Built This</h2>



Agnes and her family didn&#8217;t know their family’s contribution to that history. Agnes said that learning about her ancestors&#8217; contributions was important.



“Just to know that we actually were in history and that we made a difference,” she said. “We built this place.”&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Touching-the-burial-ground-1024x576.jpg" alt="A photo of one of Agnes's daughters's hands touching the burial ground at Catoctin Furnace." class="wp-image-32669" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Touching-the-burial-ground-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Touching-the-burial-ground-300x169.jpg 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Touching-the-burial-ground-768x432.jpg 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Touching-the-burial-ground-880x495.jpg 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Touching-the-burial-ground-1180x664.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Touching the burial ground.</figcaption></figure>



That history might have remained lost had it not been a forgotten burial ground, which had been unearthed in the 1970s during a freeway construction project. Archaeologists found the remains of more than 30 individuals buried there. No records existed of who those individuals were. Over the years, the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society has worked to preserve the history of the site and the people who worked there. Only with the advent of ancient DNA technology did an effort to learn more about the DNA of individuals begin.&nbsp;



This study offered the <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/historical-dna-connection-to-early-enslaved-and-free-african-americans">first genetic link</a> between enslaved or freed African Americans working at the furnace and their living relatives, including Agnes.



&#8220;It&#8217;s so exciting to see my tree… to learn more about our ancestors,&#8221; Agnes said. It&#8217;s always good to know where we came from.&#8221;

A photo of one of Agnes's daughters's hands touching the burial ground at Catoctin Furnace.

23andMe Connects Living Family to Enslaved African American from Historic Site

Maybe it&#8217;s genetics, maybe not, but Hannah and her dad, Oscar, both share interests in science and athletics.



Hannah is an avid runner. Her dad has always been active, whether it&#8217;s playing soccer or distance cycling. A patent lawyer by profession, Oscar is also captivated by science and holds a master&#8217;s degree in applied molecular biology. 



For her part, Hannah, a genetic counselor at Lemonaid Health, Inc., part of the 23andMe family, can&#8217;t remember a time when she wasn&#8217;t interested in genetic science. It happened early after her identical twin younger brothers were born. 



&#8220;I actually used 23andMe back in 2015,&#8221; Hannah said. &#8220;But I&#8217;ve been interested in genetics my whole life. I&#8217;m captivated by the intersection of genetics and health.&#8221;



That sort of sums up her dad&#8217;s outlook, too. Along with their shared interest, Hannah and her dad learned from using 23andMe that they shared something else: an increased genetic likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-like-father-like-daughter">Like Father, Like Daughter</h2>



We wanted to share Hannah and Oscar&#8217;s story for Father&#8217;s Day this year. Hannah gifted her dad a 23andMe kit that revealed health insights that benefited both of them.



&#8220;You have these two generations of individuals,&#8221; Hannah said. &#8220;Myself, and my father, and we all have this in common. Knowing that helps to highlight how important it is for us to each have a healthy lifestyle and remain active.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-unexpected-risk-addressed">An Unexpected Risk Addressed</h2>



Hannah and her dad are fit, lean, healthy, and active. You might not expect that they had this predisposition toward type 2 diabetes. But like most health conditions, type 2 diabetes is influenced by several factors, including genetics, diet, activity levels, and whether one can maintain a healthy weight. 



Sometimes, a person&#8217;s ancestry and family history is also essential in understanding a predisposition for certain conditions. Rates of type 2 diabetes are higher among people with African, Indigenous American, Asian, Latino, and Pacific Islander ancestry. Oscar is Filipino. 



One key indicator for those at risk for type 2 diabetes is a blood test called hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C). It measures a person’s average blood sugar (glucose) level.



&#8220;I make sure that every year I get a blood test, and one of the first things I do is check my A1C number because it is high,&#8221; Oscar said. &#8220;It&#8217;s something I watch along with my diet.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-power-of-prevention">The Power of Prevention</h2>



Because Hannah&#8217;s A1C numbers have been up and down, her doctor has recommended getting tests every six months. 



This has been important for her health. However, Hannah also said it perfectly illustrates what she does almost every day as a genetic counselor—reminding people that their health is influenced by the interplay of their genetics, lifestyle, and environment. Understanding that and your family health history can go a long way to understanding what you should be aware of and actions you could take toward prevention. 



Like her dad, it motivates her to make healthier choices and avoid processed foods and too much sugar. Seeing that she has a genetic predisposition is also motivating.



&#8220;I feel like that&#8217;s the real power of these results in a preventative sense,&#8221; she said. &#8220;The genetic result gives clarity, puts it front and center, and motivates me. It&#8217;s very powerful.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-learn-more">Learn More</h2>



Explore how genetics impacts your health and the traits you share with your family. Find out <a href="https://www.23andme.com/compare-dna-tests/">all that 23andMe has to offer here</a>.

Hannah and Her Father

It&#8217;d been 43 years since the last time Kim held her son.&nbsp;



In all those decades, she wondered what had happened after she&#8217;d given him up in a private adoption as a scared 15-year-old girl. Kim&#8217;s life turned out well: She married and has two wonderful daughters and grandkids, but the thought of her son and the questions never left her.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-good-person">A Good Person</h2>



Did he have a good life? Did his parents love him? Was he happy?



&#8220;You know, the only thing I could ever think about in my head was, &#8216;I just want him to be alive and be a good person,'&#8221; Kim said.



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="284" height="300" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Kimberly-Ramos-and-Jason-284x300.png" alt="Kim and her son Jason soon after meeting in person for the first time." class="wp-image-32850" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Kimberly-Ramos-and-Jason-284x300.png 284w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Kimberly-Ramos-and-Jason-768x813.png 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Kimberly-Ramos-and-Jason-968x1024.png 968w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Kimberly-Ramos-and-Jason-832x880.png 832w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Kimberly-Ramos-and-Jason.png 1066w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 284px) 100vw, 284px" /></figure>



With the help of 23andMe and her daughter Jenny, Kim could answer those questions. Most importantly, she was able to embrace her son, Jason, for the first time and see the wonderful father and person he&#8217;d become.&nbsp;



Their first in-person meeting was at a gas station near Des Moines, a random halfway point between where Kim had been in Minnesota and Jason in Missouri. Kim found a friendly cashier to record the moment on her cellphone, and you can hear the cashier’s sweet comments while she’s filming.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-long-embrace">A Long Embrace</h2>



In the video, you can see their minute-long embrace in the aisles between the chips and soda fountain and the emotion welling up in them. Kim cries and pulls back to look into Jason&#8217;s eyes and touch his cheeks as the two — mother and son — soak in the moment.



For Jason, it was the first time he had looked at someone besides his kids who looked like him. 



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Kim and Jason First Hug" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ERbWCvwZ-Ao?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



&#8220;That was like, &#8216;Wow,'&#8221; he said.



Their story was unexpected for both of them. Jason always knew he had been adopted, but he wasn&#8217;t looking for his biological parents. Raised in a loving Midwest home with four siblings, who also were adoptees, Jason didn&#8217;t feel the need to go searching. He had questions, but he wasn&#8217;t looking.&nbsp;



Then, in late 2022, his wife, Elizabeth, gave him a 23andMe kit for Christmas. The two, who met and fell in love in high school, have three children and one grandchild. Elizabeth survived a breast cancer battle starting in 2019, and now in their 40s, the couple wanted to know more about their health.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-for-health-information">Looking for Health Information</h2>



Jason, who had no family health history, thought it was vital for him and his children.



&#8220;If you grew up with a mom and dad and brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles and grandparents, you&#8217;d know if there was anything you should be aware of,&#8221; he said.



Jason used 23andMe to see if he had any genetic predispositions that would concern him or his three children and one grandson.



&#8220;So, the motivation was, &#8216; Let&#8217;s (learn more) for (the kids) sake,’&#8221; he said.



He did get some health information indicating a higher likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes, but he&#8217;d also opted into DNA Relatives. Opening DNA Relatives, he saw someone matched as a predicted niece. He messaged her almost immediately, and he got a response.



&#8220;I&#8217;m not your niece. I&#8217;m your half-sister. Our mom&#8217;s name is Kimberly.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-someone-searching-for-me">Someone Searching for Me</h2>



Kim&#8217;s daughter Jenny knew all about her mom giving up a son at 15. She was able to fill Jason in on his biological mom&#8217;s life.



&#8220;It was unbelievable, you know, because I wasn&#8217;t looking for one, and it happened so fast,&#8221; Jason said. &#8220;It was literally within a minute or two that she responded, which blew my mind.&#8221;



The two quickly connected on the phone and talked. Jenny was in Nebraska, and Jason was at home in Missouri. So much was loaded into Jenny&#8217;s response and their conversation on the phone.



&#8220;Like, I just had no idea that there was somebody out there looking for me, you know? So, yeah, it&#8217;s hard to imagine all that when you&#8217;re an adoptee,&#8221; Jason said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mom-are-you-sitting-down">Mom, Are You Sitting Down?</h2>



They&#8217;d talked in the evening, but Jenny waited until morning to call Kim.



&#8220;Mom, are you sitting down,&#8221; she said.



Kim, concerned something was terribly wrong, sat down and braced herself. Her husband stood by, concerned.



&#8220;Mom, I found your son,&#8221; Jenny said.



&#8220;We were both crying and talking,&#8221; Kim said. It took me a while to catch my breath, but as soon as I did, I called (Jason), and it&#8217;s been like it was all meant to be.&#8221;



They eventually arranged to meet in person. Kim and her husband now live in Florida but had been in Minnesota and were on a road trip to see their daughter in Nebraska, so she and Jason arranged to meet at a road stop gas station about midway.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-building-a-relationship">Building a Relationship</h2>



For Kim, getting to know Jason, learning about his upbringing, meeting his family, and having them embrace her has given her peace. She&#8217;s building relationships with them that are expanding her family. Jason and his wife have visited Kim and her husband in Florida. They all spent time with Jason&#8217;s family in Missouri.



&#8220;His entire family was there to meet us, and I cannot tell you how nervous I was to meet them, but I got the best hugs and love from everybody,&#8221; Kim said. &#8220;I&#8217;m so thankful these lovely people adopted Jason.&#8221;



They&#8217;re trying to build new family traditions, but Kim said there isn&#8217;t a rush.



&#8220;I don&#8217;t need to hurry anything,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We&#8217;re a family now. We&#8217;re together, and we&#8217;re not going anywhere.&#8221;



Jason knows that many adoptees never get the opportunity to meet their birth mom or build a relationship. Maybe they never connect; if they do, it isn&#8217;t a welcoming experience.&nbsp;&nbsp;



&#8220;I didn&#8217;t even realize anything was missing in my life, but now I feel complete.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-discover-more-with-23andme">Discover more with 23andMe</h2>



Not everyone is searching for family, but <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/">23andMe&#8217;s Ancestry Service </a>can help you learn your genetic connections to more than 3000 geographic regions or your connections to DNA Relatives with whom you share DNA. 



If you want to go deeper, <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-health-ancestry/">23andMe Health + Ancestry</a> gives you all the great insights of the Ancestry Service, plus more than 150 personalized reports with information to help you manage your health. 



Learn more about <a href="https://www.23andme.com/compare-dna-tests/">all that 23andMe offers here</a>.

A Mother and Son Reunion

Emily&#8217;s deep curiosity drew her to try 23andMe, but she didn&#8217;t anticipate being floored by what she would learn.



&#8220;I was interested in the health information, of course,&#8221; said Emily, a mother of three who runs a small business and farm in Ohio with her husband. &#8220;But I guess the bigger part of why I tested is I&#8217;m just curious. I&#8217;m interested in history, genealogy, science, and the fun stuff that DNA can tell you. I didn&#8217;t expect this.&#8221;



Her results offered her a layer of information about her health and traits, and then something entirely unexpected expanded what she understood about herself and her family.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="769" height="1024" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/583F2C4C-8CF4-4976-B279-C04DA30B16B7-769x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-32429" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/583F2C4C-8CF4-4976-B279-C04DA30B16B7-769x1024.jpeg 769w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/583F2C4C-8CF4-4976-B279-C04DA30B16B7-887x1180.jpeg 887w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/583F2C4C-8CF4-4976-B279-C04DA30B16B7-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/583F2C4C-8CF4-4976-B279-C04DA30B16B7-768x1022.jpeg 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/583F2C4C-8CF4-4976-B279-C04DA30B16B7-661x880.jpeg 661w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/583F2C4C-8CF4-4976-B279-C04DA30B16B7-scaled.jpeg 1923w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 769px) 100vw, 769px" /></figure>



She first focused on the health reports when she got her results in early 2023. Emily, who is in her 30s, was increasingly aware that prevention was a much better approach to her health than simply treating something after you&#8217;ve already gotten sick. She wanted to know if she had any genetic health risks for things like <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andme-updates-brca1-2-report">breast and ovarian cancer</a>*, <a href="https://www.23andme.com/en-eu/topics/health-predispositions/hereditary-thrombophilia/">blood clots</a>*, or her likelihood for certain <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/heart-health-2">heart </a>conditions that she should know about and try to prevent with the help of her doctor.&nbsp;



She learned instead that she had an increased genetic likelihood for type 2 diabetes. It surprised her because she&#8217;s active and in good shape. But while lifestyle and diet play a significant role in whether one develops type 2 diabetes, genetics is also a factor.



&#8220;It&#8217;s something for me to keep an eye on and take seriously,&#8221; said Emily, who is very health conscious. &#8220;That was probably the most valuable health information for me.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-dna-surprise">A DNA Surprise</h2>



After learning a bit more about her health, Emily turned to her ancestry reports. That was when her jaw hit the floor.



&#8220;I saw that I shared 25 percent of my DNA with someone I didn&#8217;t know,&#8221; Emily said.



Customers have the option of opting into the DNA Relatives feature. DNA Relatives connects customers to other 23andMe customers who have also opted in, from close relatives to more distant third or fourth cousins.



In Emily&#8217;s case, she and an unknown relative named Eric shared 25 percent of their DNA. The DNA Relative feature predicted Eric was her uncle. Emily is in her 30s, while Eric is in his 50s. She called her sister.&nbsp;



At first, she wondered if maybe her grandfather had had a child they never knew about, but quickly looking at a dropdown list of other relatives who share 25 percent, she saw that half-brother was one of them. That made more sense. Then, she read the information Eric shared in his profile. He had been adopted and didn&#8217;t know much about his birth parents, only that his mom was a teenager when he was born.&nbsp;



Emily wanted to understand the connection, so she sent Eric a message.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-conversation-begins">A Conversation Begins</h2>



Eric responded quickly, and the two exchanged messages back and forth before getting on the phone to talk the next day. They quickly determined that Eric was Emily&#8217;s half-brother.



&#8220;I never dreamed I&#8217;d find a brother,&#8221; she said.



They quickly determined that perhaps when Emily&#8217;s dad was a 16-year-old high school student, he&#8217;d fathered a son he didn&#8217;t know about. Eric knew his birth mother&#8217;s name. Many years ago, he&#8217;d tried to contact her or her family, but her family turned him away.&nbsp;



He learned that she had passed away sometime after he&#8217;d reached out to her family. Emily wanted to see if her dad knew the name, so she found time to talk to her dad privately. She asked him if he remembered the woman&#8217;s name. He did. She told him about Eric. He was surprised but not as surprised as she thought he&#8217;d be. They then told Emily&#8217;s mom.&nbsp;



Emily&#8217;s dad then explained that he&#8217;d had a girlfriend for two years in high school. They were both very close. Her dad had had a rough couple of years after his mom had died when he was 12. He was kind of on his own, and at least from the outside, it might not have looked like he had a future. At some point, after he&#8217;d been in a bad car accident, his girlfriend&#8217;s father asked him what his intentions were toward his daughter. He&#8217;d told him he had strong feelings for her, but soon after that, the family moved. The relationship ended after that. Looking back, Emily said her father thinks that maybe his girlfriend&#8217;s parents whisked her away, fearing their daughter might marry someone with few prospects. It wasn&#8217;t long after that she had Eric and put him up for adoption.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-building-family-nbsp">Building Family&nbsp;</h2>



While Emily wanted to be careful and sensitive during this process, she felt that her mom and dad were open to talking about it all and even to Eric.&nbsp;



At some point, after learning more about the back story, Emily got Eric on the phone.



After talking with everybody, Emily gave her dad some private time to talk to Eric and answer some of his questions.



&#8220;Hearing that they all appreciated how I handled it was important for me,&#8221; Emily said.



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="225" height="300" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/85CE27C7-4200-4FAF-AD0C-39966BC81C05-225x300.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-32426" style="aspect-ratio:1;object-fit:cover" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/85CE27C7-4200-4FAF-AD0C-39966BC81C05-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/85CE27C7-4200-4FAF-AD0C-39966BC81C05-887x1180.jpeg 887w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/85CE27C7-4200-4FAF-AD0C-39966BC81C05-768x1022.jpeg 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/85CE27C7-4200-4FAF-AD0C-39966BC81C05-769x1024.jpeg 769w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/85CE27C7-4200-4FAF-AD0C-39966BC81C05-661x880.jpeg 661w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/85CE27C7-4200-4FAF-AD0C-39966BC81C05-scaled.jpeg 1923w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" /></figure>



Not too long after, they all met at a park and had coffee. Soon, they were talking regularly. Emily&#8217;s dad, who liked to write poems, sent a couple of letters to Eric with poems he&#8217;d written. It was something he&#8217;d done for a long time for his daughters. Now they talk almost every day. A few months in, Eric and his wife came over for a cookout to meet the extended family, cousins, aunts, and uncles.&nbsp;



&#8220;Everyone welcomed him right away,&#8221; Emily said. &#8220;It&#8217;s like family now.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-building-relationships">Building Relationships</h2>



But they are all still getting to know each other. Emily and her sister and relatives immediately noticed the resemblance. Eric does look like one of Emily&#8217;s uncles. Everyone said he was family once they saw his picture or him in person. 



But there are other things beyond appearances. Eric owns a print shop, and there&#8217;s an artistic bent in the family, Emily said. There are mannerisms and this enormous love of animals that they all share. Eric has several dogs. Emily owns a menagerie of animals on the farm and is especially fond of parrots. Over time, Eric started referring to their dad as Pop, which Emily and her sister&#8217;s children call their dad. It also happens to be how people once shortened their Slovak last name. It&#8217;s as if they were all meant to connect.



&#8220;There are familial similarities, personality, ways we interact, and things,&#8221; said Emily. &#8220;There hasn&#8217;t been any awkwardness.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-connecting-it-all">Connecting it all</h2>



Emily is most proud that what could have been difficult or potentially painful was the opposite. She understands that this kind of family surprise doesn&#8217;t always end well. It can mean different things to different people.



She points out that Eric, who didn&#8217;t have connections to their biological family, is learning things many of us take for granted.&nbsp;



&#8220;Our genetics say so much about us and our family,&#8221; said Emily. &#8220;I mean, for someone who is adopted, knowing this health stuff can be so important. How would an adoptee know if, say, their grandfather had a thyroid condition or their dad had diabetes?&#8221;



But then there are many seemingly little things, &#8220;breadcrumbs,&#8221; as Emily says, that suddenly resonate or give context to their lives—things like personality, interests, and even their Slovak heritage.



&#8220;For him, it&#8217;s probably more helpful than I can imagine,&#8221; she said.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-disclaimer">Disclaimer</h2>



*The 23andMe PGS test includes health predisposition and carrier status reports. Health predisposition reports include both reports that meet FDA requirements for genetic health risks and reports that are based on 23andMe research and have not been reviewed by the FDA. The test uses qualitative genotyping to detect select clinically relevant variants in the genomic DNA of adults from saliva to report and interpret genetic health risks and report carrier status. It is not intended to diagnose any disease. Your ethnicity may affect the relevance of each report and how your genetic health risk results are interpreted. 



Each genetic health risk report describes if a person has variants associated with a higher risk of developing a disease but does not describe a person’s overall risk of developing the disease. The test is not intended to tell you anything about your current state of health or to be used to make medical decisions, including whether or not you should take a medication, how much of a medication you should take, or determine any treatment. Our carrier status reports can be used to determine carrier status but cannot determine if you have two copies of any genetic variant. These carrier reports are not intended to tell you anything about your risk for developing a disease in the future, the health of your fetus, or your newborn child&#8217;s risk of developing a particular disease later in life. For certain conditions, we provide a single report that includes information on both carrier status and genetic health risk.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-warnings-amp-limitations-nbsp">Warnings &amp; Limitations:&nbsp;</h2>



The 23andMe PGS Genetic Health Risk Report for BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) is indicated for reporting of 44 variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. The report describes if a person&#8217;s genetic result is associated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer and may be associated with an increased risk for prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, and potentially other cancers. 



This report does not represent most of the BRCA1/BRCA2 variants in people of most ethnicities. This report does not include variants in other genes linked to hereditary cancers. The absence of variants included in this report does not rule out the presence of other genetic variants that may impact cancer risk. This report is for over-the-counter use by adults over the age of 18, and provides genetic information to inform discussions with a healthcare professional. The PGS test is not a substitute for visits to a healthcare professional for recommended screenings or appropriate follow-up. Results should be confirmed in a clinical setting before taking any medical action. For important information and limitations regarding each genetic health risk and carrier status report, visit 23andme.com/test-info/

Using DNA to Explore Health and Family Connections

Our customers have redefined prevention for us over the years. Hundreds of them have written to us, telling stories of how they’ve become the hero of their health journey. 



We are continually so inspired by their stories we recently launched a new campaign called The Hero Gene that celebrates some of those customers in their own words.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-kenzie-and-shannon-s-brca1-story">Kenzie and Shannon’s BRCA1 Story</h6>



Kenzie and her mom, Shannon, are closer than the average mother and daughter, sharing a love of traveling together and their favorite foods. Kenzie knew there was Ashkenazi Jewish heritage in her background, but with no family history of breast cancer, she did not think there was a need to get screening for BRCA variants. Through 23andMe’s BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) Genetic Health Risk Report,* Kenzie learned she had a BRCA1 variant that put her at a greatly increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1011" height="1024" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1-1011x1024.jpeg" alt="Photos of Shannon recovering from cancer treatment with Kenzie at her side. Image in upper left was taken on Kenzie's 16th birthday." class="wp-image-31684" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1-1011x1024.jpeg 1011w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1-296x300.jpeg 296w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1-768x778.jpeg 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1-869x880.jpeg 869w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1-1165x1180.jpeg 1165w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image0-1.jpeg 1170w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1011px) 100vw, 1011px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photos of Shannon recovering from cancer treatment with Kenzie at her side. Image in upper left was taken on Kenzie&#8217;s 16th birthday.</figcaption></figure>



Women with one of these variants have a <a href="https://www.23andme.com/brca">45-85 percent chance</a> of developing breast cancer and up to a 46 percent chance of developing ovarian cancer by age 70. One of her first thoughts was, “Could my mom have cancer and not know it?” 



Kenzie immediately knew she had to call her mom.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Mom, I have this gene, and I think you need to get tested.” 



Shannon made an appointment with her oncologist, where she shared the news about Kenzie’s report.  The oncologist referred her to a genetic counselor, who immediately set Shannon up for genetic testing. In addition, the genetic counselor suggested Kenzie talk to her doctor right away for follow-up testing.  After doing so, both were able to take steps to minimize their risks. While Kenzie is opting to go for a less aggressive route of frequent scans and discussing family planning options, Shannon (a cancer survivor) decided to go ahead with preventative surgeries to lower her risk of developing BRCA-associated cancers.  



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="683" height="1024" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-683x1024.jpeg" alt="A phot of Kenzie and her mom Shannon." class="wp-image-31685" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-683x1024.jpeg 683w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-200x300.jpeg 200w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-587x880.jpeg 587w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-787x1180.jpeg 787w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IMG_3604-scaled.jpeg 1707w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kenzie, left, with her mom Shannon.</figcaption></figure>



The experience has taught both women how important it is to educate themselves about their health risks, to be proactive about their well-being, and to advocate for themselves to ensure they get the care they need.&nbsp;



“Kenzie’s test and me being able to find out that I was BRCA positive was lifesaving,” said Shannon.&nbsp;



As they prepare to share another holiday together, closer than ever, Kenzie couldn’t help but beam when talking about Shannon, “I&#8217;m really proud of my mom, she&#8217;s taken her health into her hands. Her life is the most important thing to me. She wanted to show me that she will survive.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI6nxWiqpGE
</div></figure>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-melissa-s-f5-story">Melissa’s F5 Story</h6>



Melissa developed symptoms of a pulmonary embolism (PE), a blood clot in the lung, after a cross-country flight from Washington to Boston for a nurses conference. As a nurse, Melissa knew her symptoms weren&#8217;t typical but knowing she had an increased likelihood to develop harmful blood clots based on a factor V Leiden variant found by her 23andMe Hereditary Thrombophilia Genetic Health Risk report* prompted her to go to the ER before taking a return flight home.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="698" height="931" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Melissa-2.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-32365" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Melissa-2.jpg 698w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Melissa-2-225x300.jpg 225w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Melissa-2-660x880.jpg 660w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 698px) 100vw, 698px" /></figure>



Trusting her nurse’s instinct, she pushed to get evaluated a PE. 



“I am not typically … insistent, but I was really insistent on this. I am absolutely sure it&#8217;s going to happen again and I may not have another chance. And I wasn&#8217;t willing to take that chance again.” They confirmed via a blood test and CAT scan that she had developed a PE.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="698" height="931" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Melissa-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-32364" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Melissa-1.jpg 698w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Melissa-1-225x300.jpg 225w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Melissa-1-660x880.jpg 660w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 698px) 100vw, 698px" /></figure>



She began taking a blood thinner right away so she could fly home. Melissa credits her knowledge of the gene with empowering her to take her health into her own hands, which means even more this time of year.  “My family is sacred to me. It truly is all that matters. I would not have been able to meet my new granddaughter. I truly believe I’m here because of 23andMe. Because I was aware of that gene, and my doctors were aware of that gene, that continues to save my life.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zLbFwbXH7c
</div></figure>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-which-gene-could-empower-you">Which gene could empower you?</h6>



As we’ve heard from these and so many more customers, prevention doesn’t have to be a burden. In fact, it shouldn’t be a burden. Prevention is about advocating for yourself, and your health, so you can continue to live an incredible life for you, your family and friends. That starts with genetic insights that could lead to early detection. We hope you find your customer story. Your gene or genes that empower you, inspire you, help you and that could potentially save your life at the time you need the information most. #prevention



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-note">Note</h6>



*The 23andMe PGS test uses qualitative genotyping to detect select clinically relevant variants in the genomic DNA of adults from saliva for the purpose of reporting and interpreting genetic health risks. It is not intended to diagnose any disease. Your ethnicity may affect the relevance of each report and how your genetic health risk results are interpreted. Each genetic health risk report describes if a person has variants associated with a higher risk of developing a disease, but does not describe a person’s overall risk of developing the disease. The test is&nbsp; not intended to tell you anything about your current state of health, or to be used to make medical decisions, including whether or not you should take a medication, how much of a medication you should take, or determine any treatment. 



<h6 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-warnings-amp-limitations">Warnings &amp; Limitations: </h6>



The 23andMe PGS Genetic Health Risk Report for BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) is indicated for reporting of 44 variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. The report describes if a person&#8217;s genetic result is associated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer and may be associated with an increased risk for prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, and potentially other cancers. The variants included in this report do not represent the majority of the BRCA1/BRCA2 variants in people of most ethnicities. This report does not include variants in other genes linked to hereditary cancers and the absence of variants included in this report does not rule out the presence of other genetic variants that may impact cancer risk. This report is for over-the-counter use by adults over the age of 18, and provides genetic information to inform discussions with a healthcare professional. The PGS test is not a substitute for visits to a healthcare professional for recommended screenings or appropriate follow-up. Results should be confirmed by an independent genetic test prescribed by your own healthcare provider before taking any medical action. For important information and limitations regarding each genetic health risk report, visit 23andme.com/test-info.&nbsp;

Your Hero Gene

by Destiny Gordon&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



We often blame everything on not getting enough sleep—feeling foggy, moody, exhausted, or just off. And while sleep quantity matters, what many of us don’t realize is that it’s not only about how much sleep we get—but when we get it. At the core of it all is your body’s internal clock, known as your circadian rhythm. This quiet, biological timekeeper is constantly at work, regulating everything from <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28165421/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hormone release and metabolism</a> to <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/why-your-sleep-and-wake-cycles-affect-your-mood-2020051319792" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mood and energy</a>. And when it falls out of sync—whether due to shift work, late nights, excessive screen time, or simply inconsistent routines—your health can start to feel out of balance in ways that go far beyond basic tiredness.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-circadian-rhythm">What is circadian rhythm?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/iStock-640228980-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-25757" style="width:448px;height:auto" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/iStock-640228980-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/iStock-640228980-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/iStock-640228980-768x513.jpg 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/iStock-640228980-880x587.jpg 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/iStock-640228980-1180x788.jpg 1180w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/iStock-640228980.jpg 1254w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Circadian rhythm is the natural cycle your body goes through in a 24-hour period. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36028773/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Genetics</a> plays a key role in determining circadian rhythm. In fact, the researchers who first uncovered the genetic basis of circadian rhythm won the <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/nobel-worthy-sleep-science" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2017</a>. Your circadian rhythm <a href="https://nigms.nih.gov/education/fact-sheets/Pages/circadian-rhythms" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">influences</a> when your brain is sharp, when your body digests food efficiently, and when it needs deep rest. And for women, the interaction between daily circadian rhythms and monthly hormone fluctuations creates <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35101914/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a unique layer of complexity</a>. At different points in the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17383933/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">menstrual cycle</a>, shifts in estrogen and progesterone can make your body more sensitive to sleep disruption, stress, and energy dips. So if your daily rhythm is already out of sync, those hormonal shifts can hit harder—amplifying symptoms like fatigue, mood swings, poor focus, or disrupted sleep. It’s a compounding effect that makes it even more important to stay in rhythm.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happens-when-you-re-misaligned-to-your-circadian-rhythm">What happens when you&#8217;re misaligned to your circadian rhythm?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="691" height="1024" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/circadian-rhythm-disruption-691x1024.png" alt="" class="wp-image-34017" style="width:219px;height:auto" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/circadian-rhythm-disruption-691x1024.png 691w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/circadian-rhythm-disruption-203x300.png 203w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/circadian-rhythm-disruption-594x880.png 594w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/circadian-rhythm-disruption.png 748w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 691px) 100vw, 691px" /></figure>



Research has shown that <a href="https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/circadian-rhythm-disorders/causes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">disruptions to this internal rhythm</a>—like being awake when your body naturally wants to be asleep, sleeping at inconsistent times due to shift work, or missing natural light cues—can throw off the timing of critical biological processes. This circadian misalignment can increase the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38564856/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">risk of real, long-term health issues for</a> both men and women. These shifts are linked to <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4868418/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mood disorders</a> like anxiety and depression, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21270661/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">weight gain</a>, <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6167165/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">insulin resistance</a>, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44325-024-00024-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cardiovascular issues</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945706006216" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">irregular menstrual cycle</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1556407X07001191" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">and even fertility challenges</a>. And because these symptoms often start subtly, it’s easy to miss the connection until the effects become harder to ignore.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-can-we-do-to-keep-our-lives-aligned-to-our-circadian-rhythm">What can we do to keep our lives aligned to our circadian rhythm?</h2>



The tricky part? Circadian disruption often hides in plain sight. It doesn’t always feel like a big, dramatic problem. It can look like staying up a little too late, skipping meals, waking up at inconsistent times, or scrolling in bed just a bit too long. These small habits may not seem like much, but if they happen repeatedly over time, they chip away at your body’s natural rhythm.&nbsp;



The good news? Once you start to tune in, you can make <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/circadian-rhythm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">small, manageable changes</a> to help bring your body back into sync. Things like going to bed and waking up at the same time every day (yes, even on weekends), getting exposure to natural light in the morning, limiting caffeine later in the day, and avoiding screens at least an hour before bed can all support a healthier rhythm. It’s not about being perfect—it’s about creating enough consistency that your body knows when to rise, when to rest, and everything in between.&nbsp;



Because when your body runs in rhythm, everything works better. Your mind feels clearer. Your energy lasts longer. Your health feels like it’s working with you, not against you. So maybe it’s not just about getting more sleep. Maybe it’s time to get back in sync.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



About Destiny:&nbsp; Destiny Gordon is a rising second-year medical student at Morehouse School of Medicine, originally from Jacksonville, Florida. She is the founder of InnerLight ATL, a youth mental health initiative focused on building safe, supportive spaces for emotional wellness. With over three years of experience in cancer research and a passion for community-centered care, Destiny is dedicated to blending science, advocacy, and storytelling to inform and inspire.

Your Body Clock Is Talking—Are You Listening?

Thyroid disease is surprisingly common. Studies have estimated that around 1 in 20 people in the U.S. have hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, some of the most common thyroid conditions.[1,2] Yet despite how prevalent thyroid disease is, it&#8217;s also frequently missed. According to the American Thyroid Association, up to 60% of people with a thyroid condition are unaware of it.[3]



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-thyroid-101">Thyroid 101</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="422" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/hashimotos-report-icon-1024x422.png" alt="" class="wp-image-33934" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/hashimotos-report-icon-1024x422.png 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/hashimotos-report-icon-300x124.png 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/hashimotos-report-icon-768x316.png 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/hashimotos-report-icon-880x362.png 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/hashimotos-report-icon-1180x486.png 1180w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/hashimotos-report-icon.png 1224w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped organ in the neck, just in front of the trachea, that <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/health-predispositions/hashimotos-disease/?srsltid=AfmBOoqCPT1mfxaBMpCBrjlJJP_jB7OXbGh7CJ03xS9Njaw1R4tjhA-H" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">despite its small size plays an important role</a> in a range of physiological functions. It produces thyroid hormone, which circulates throughout the body and impacts metabolism, energy levels, and more. If the thyroid is underactive (<a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hypothyroidism/symptoms-causes/syc-20350284" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hypothyroidism</a>), it doesn&#8217;t produce enough thyroid hormone. Conversely, if it&#8217;s overactive (<a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyperthyroidism/symptoms-causes/syc-20373659" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hyperthyroidism</a>), it produces too much.&nbsp;



The most common causes of both conditions are autoimmune disorders,[4] where the body&#8217;s immune system mistakenly attacks cells in the thyroid.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-makes-thyroid-diseases-difficult-to-diagnose-nbsp">What makes thyroid diseases difficult to diagnose?&nbsp;</h2>



One factor is that symptoms can be non-specific. With autoimmune hypothyroidism, for instance, <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17665-hashimotos-disease" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">symptoms</a> can include things like weight gain, low energy, joint stiffness, and depression — which can easily be mistaken as the result of stress or too much time behind a computer, for example. Plus, symptoms can come on gradually over time. Or symptoms may come and go.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sometimes-it-s-more-than-just-stress">Sometimes it&#8217;s more than just stress</h2>



A common scenario for someone with undiagnosed Hashimoto&#8217;s: you start to notice gradual but unexplained weight gain along with unshakeable fatigue, and decide to double down on diet and exercise. Yet you see little impact of these efforts. That&#8217;s such a common experience — even for those with normal thyroid function — that it might not occur to you, or your doctor, to get a blood test to rule out potential thyroid problems.



The good news is that once they&#8217;re diagnosed, both hypothyroidism and its counterpart, hyperthyroidism, are treatable, though they may demand lifelong attention to managing them.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-exploring-the-role-of-genetics">Exploring the role of genetics</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="845" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DNA-Discovery-1024x845.png" alt="" class="wp-image-26142" style="width:224px;height:auto" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DNA-Discovery-1024x845.png 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DNA-Discovery-300x248.png 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DNA-Discovery-768x634.png 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DNA-Discovery-880x726.png 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DNA-Discovery-1180x974.png 1180w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DNA-Discovery.png 1270w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Like other autoimmune conditions, Hashimoto&#8217;s disease and autoimmune hyperthyroidism (Graves&#8217; disease) have a strong genetic component. It&#8217;s been observed that individuals have a &#8220;set point&#8221; or characteristic level of thyroid hormone,[5] and genetics may explain up to two-thirds of the variation between individuals in this set point.[6]



So could genetics help identify people more likely to experience thyroid conditions? In recent years, research has explored how genetics can be used to predict risk for diseases like Hashimoto&#8217;s using polygenic risk scores, or PRS. Someone with the highest <a href="https://permalinks.23andme.com/pdf/23_21-PRSMethodologyAppendix_2022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">genetic likelihood for Hashimoto&#8217;s disease based on a PRS calculated by 23andMe</a> has a <a href="https://permalinks.23andme.com/pdf/23_21-PRSMethodologyAppendix_2022.pdf">3-6 times higher odds</a> of being diagnosed with this condition than someone with an average genetic likelihood.[7]&nbsp;



Polygenic scores also have promising applications for <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32132206/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">predicting risk of thyroid cancer</a>, predicting <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37453101/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subtypes of thyroid cancer</a>, and even improving <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37683082/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AI tools for predicting</a> which thyroid nodules are malignant.&nbsp;



And genomics can help tease apart the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38291025/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biological mechanisms</a> of thyroid function that underlie all these conditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetics-as-a-tool-for-awareness-and-early-action">Genetics as a tool for awareness and early action</h2>



Genetic insights can reveal an increased susceptibility to thyroid conditions, empowering individuals to be more proactive about their health. This heightened awareness could pave the way for faster diagnoses and earlier treatments. And that translates to more years of good health.



_____________________________________________________________________



References:



[1]Doubleday AR et al. (2020). &#8220;Hyperthyroidism.&#8221; Gland Surg. 9(1):124-135. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32206604/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32206604/</a>&nbsp;



[2]Patil N et al. (2024). &#8220;Hypothyroidism&#8221;. StatPearls [Internet]. Accessed May 19, 2025, from <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519536/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519536/</a>.



[3]American Thyroid Association. &#8220;General Information/Press Room.&#8221; Accessed May 19, 2025, from <a href="https://www.thyroid.org/media-main/press-room/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.thyroid.org/media-main/press-room/</a>.&nbsp;



[4]Vanderpump MP. (2011). &#8220;The epidemiology of thyroid disease.&#8221; Br Med Bull. 99:39-51. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21893493/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21893493/</a>&nbsp;



[5]Andersen S et al. (2002). &#8220;Narrow individual variations in serum T(4) and T(3) in normal subjects: a clue to the understanding of subclinical thyroid disease.&#8221; J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 87(3):1068-72. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11889165/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11889165/</a>



[6]Panicker V. (2011). &#8220;Genetics of thyroid function and disease.&#8221; Clin Biochem Rev. 32(4):165-75. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22147956/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22147956/</a>



[7]Ashenhurst JR et al. (2025). &#8220;White Paper 23-21: A generalized method for the creation and evaluation of polygenic scores.&#8221; 23andMe. Accessed May 19, 2025, from <a href="https://permalinks.23andme.com/pdf/23_21-PRSMethodology_May2020.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://permalinks.23andme.com/pdf/23_21-PRSMethodology_May2020.pdf</a>.

Today Is World Thyroid Day and Genomics Is Here for It

By Tomi Oyedeji-Olaniyan



As part of a new collaboration, the California Northstate University College of Medicine worked with 23andMe to improve their pre-existing genetics curriculum for medical students by integrating components of 23andMe’s genetics education program.&nbsp;



This enhanced curriculum addresses known gaps in genetics education in US medical schools and is based on recommendations from the Association of Professors of Human and Medical Genetics.3&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The truth is that genetics does impact all areas of medicine, and we know that now much more than we did a decade ago or five years ago,” said Noura Abul-Husn, MD, PhD, Vice President of Genomic Health at 23andMe. “I’m excited that we’re making a difference through our education initiatives, where we can offer information to healthcare providers outside of our ecosystem to learn more about genetic testing, genetic health results, and how to use them.”



While the scientific community has made significant advances in the clinical applications of genetics, many patients still do not have easy access to clinicians with genetics training. As a result, patients rely heavily on primary care physicians to address their genetic concerns.1 Despite this, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10872981.2022.2143920#abstract">a 2022 study</a> revealed that most healthcare providers (HCPs) do not feel prepared to use genetic information in patient care or to address direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic test results.2&nbsp;



This gap in genetics education starts during medical school, where genetics is often only taught during the preclinical years and is virtually non-existent during the clinical years.3 &nbsp;The collaboration between 23andMe and California Northstate University College of Medicine aims to help address this gap in genetics education and offer medical students an expanded and more comprehensive genetics curriculum.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="512" height="222" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/California-Northstate-University.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-33327" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/California-Northstate-University.jpg 512w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/California-Northstate-University-300x130.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-curriculum">The Curriculum</h2>



As part of this new curriculum, first-year medical students studying genetics will be watching a series of micro-learning videos this fall. These educational videos result from a collaboration between<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/resources-for-healthcare"> 23andMe and Osmosis</a>, an online educational platform for students and clinicians. The videos cover topics including<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crsxdOnJg1I&amp;list=PLY33uf2n4e6MZpssct5f5416EuZxzfYUA&amp;index=2"> </a><a href="https://medical.23andme.com/videos/genetic-variation-and-disease/">genetic variation and disease</a>, <a href="https://medical.23andme.com/videos/complex-conditions-polygenic-risk-scores/">complex disease and polygenic risk scores</a>, <a href="https://medical.23andme.com/videos/using-your-patients-family-health-history-to-guide-their-care/">family health history</a>,<a href="https://medical.23andme.com/videos/interpreting-results/"> interpreting genetic test results, </a>and <a href="https://medical.23andme.com/videos/understanding-pharmacogenetics/">pharmacogenomics</a>. Upon completing the course, students will be assessed for improved knowledge content and asked for feedback on the enhanced course.&nbsp;



California Northstate University College of Medicine&#8217;s first-year medical curriculum requires students to take courses that focus on the fundamental principles of the basic sciences, such as genetics. This collaboration will equip the school’s first-year students with clinically-informed genetics education, allowing them to apply their academic knowledge to real-world clinical practice. Additionally, the medical school offers research opportunities, allowing students with an interest in exploring innovative approaches to genetics education to delve deeper, further supporting our efforts.&nbsp;



“As the future of medicine increasingly relies on genomics, it is essential for physicians to develop expertise in this field,” said Richard Isaacs, MD, FACS, Dean and Senior Vice-President of Medical Affairs and Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at California Northstate University College of Medicine. “We must equip physicians and staff with the tools and knowledge to lead in this dynamic area.”&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-is-it-essential-for-doctors-to-have-this-training">Why is it essential for doctors to have this training?</h2>



With the rise of direct-to-consumer genetic testing, it is becoming increasingly important that healthcare providers can interpret and discuss results with their patients. Genetic testing provides tools that can aid healthcare providers in personalizing care for their patients. Many clinics are also starting to adopt precision medicine — an approach, as defined by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to “tailoring disease prevention that accounts for differences in people’s genes, environments, and lifestyles.” Genetics plays a major role in helping HCPs make the right care decisions for their patients and, ultimately, improving clinical outcomes.&nbsp;



Patients are also becoming more proactive about their health. With more awareness surrounding the genetic association with diseases such as breast cancer, Alzheimer’s, and colorectal cancer, patients are choosing to undergo screening and take preventive action where possible. For many patients, this could include DTC testing, which they might then bring to their HCP. Therefore, genetics education and training remain a critical skill set for HCPs.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="512" height="246" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/DTC-Genetic-Testing-Slide.png" alt="" class="wp-image-33328" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/DTC-Genetic-Testing-Slide.png 512w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/DTC-Genetic-Testing-Slide-300x144.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-ongoing-effort-nbsp">An Ongoing Effort&nbsp;</h2>



A leading consumer genetics and research company, 23andMe, has been working to improve <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/medical-education-at-23andme">genetics education for customers and clinicians</a>. Our Personal Genome Service was the first genetic service authorized by the FDA to provide direct-to-consumer Genetic Health Risk*, Carrier Status*, and Pharmacogenetic reports**. With genetic education at the forefront of customer interaction, 23andMe continues to expand this mission into improved genetics training for HCPs.&nbsp;



In 2021, 23andMe acquired Lemonaid Health, a telehealth service focused on affordable and accessible healthcare. Since the acquisition, Lemonaid Health clinicians have also undergone a 23andMe-developed training program in genetics-informed care, and patients can schedule <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/genetic-report-consults">clinical consultations to discuss their genetic results.</a> Studies done by 23andMe have shown positive learning outcomes after clinicians have completed the training.&nbsp;



“Healthcare providers are facing a wide variety of questions about genetic testing from patients, especially about the genetic aspects of common diseases such as cancer, heart diseases, and mental illness,” explains Anne Greb, MS, CGC, Director of Genomic Health Education at 23andMe. Anne, a trained genetic counselor, has dedicated her career to teaching, improving, and developing genetics education curricula for HCPs the last three decades. “Now, there is an urgent need to modernize genetics education with engaging, scalable activities and resources so HCPs can integrate genetics into the care of their patients.”



<a href="https://medical.23andme.com/genomic-health-team/">23andMe’s Genomic Health team</a> continues to engage with physicians, genetic counselors, pharmacists, and other HCPs to provide resources for interpreting and discussing 23andMe genetic reports. These resources include <a href="https://medical.23andme.com/stories/">HCP-led educational videos</a>, <a href="https://medical.23andme.com/reports/">sample reports</a>, <a href="https://medical.23andme.com/videos/">bite-sized open-source educational videos</a>, and much more. Visit <a href="https://medical.23andme.com/">our website for healthcare professionals</a> to learn more about how 23andMe is supporting HCPs 



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-references">References:</h2>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://app.readcube.com/library/?style=Genetics%20in%20Medicine+%7B%22language%22:%22en-US%22%7D">Chou AF, et.al. Barriers and strategies to integrate medical genetics and primary care in underserved populations: a scoping review. J Community Genet. 2021;12(3):291-309.&nbsp;</a></li>



<li><a href="https://app.readcube.com/library/?style=Genetics%20in%20Medicine+%7B%22language%22:%22en-US%22%7D">French EL, et.al. Physician Perception of the Importance of Medical Genetics and Genomics in Medical Education and Clinical Practice. Med Educ Online. Vol. 28. 2023</a></li>



<li>Haspel RL, et.al. Call for improvement in medical school training in genetics: results of a national survey. Genet Med. 2021 Jun; 23(6): 1151–1157</li>



<li>Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “Precision Medicine.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, <a href="http://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/in-vitro-diagnostics/precision-medicine">www.fda.gov/medical-devices/in-vitro-diagnostics/precision-medicine</a> (Accessed 16 Aug. 2024).&nbsp;</li>
</ol>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-note">Note:</h2>



*The 23andMe PGS test includes health predisposition and carrier status reports. Health predisposition reports include both reports that meet FDA requirements for genetic health risks and reports that are based on 23andMe research and have not been reviewed by the FDA. The test uses qualitative genotyping to detect select clinically relevant variants in the genomic DNA of adults from saliva to report and interpret genetic health risks and report carrier status. It is not intended to diagnose any disease. Your ethnicity may affect the relevance of each report and how your genetic health risk results are interpreted. Each genetic health risk report describes if a person has variants associated with a higher risk of developing a disease but does not describe a person’s overall risk of developing the disease. The test is not intended to tell you anything about your current state of health or to be used to make medical decisions, including whether or not you should take a medication, how much of a medication you should take, or determine any treatment. Our carrier status reports can be used to determine carrier status but cannot determine if you have two copies of any genetic variant. These carrier reports are not intended to tell you anything about your risk for developing a disease in the future, the health of your fetus, or your newborn child&#8217;s risk of developing a particular disease later in life. For certain conditions, we provide a single report that includes information on both carrier status and genetic health risk. Results should be confirmed in a clinical setting before taking any medical action. For important information and limitations regarding each genetic health risk and carrier status report, visit <a href="http://23andme.com/test-info/">23andme.com/test-info/</a>



 **23andMe PGS Pharmacogenetics reports: The 23andMe test uses qualitative genotyping to detect 3 variants in the CYP2C19 gene, 2 variants in the DPYD gene and 1 variant in the SLCO1B1 gene in the genomic DNA of adults from saliva to report and interpret information about the processing of certain therapeutics to inform discussions with a healthcare professional. It does not describe if a person will or will not respond to a particular therapeutic. Our CYP2C19 Pharmacogenetics report provides certain information about variants associated with metabolism of some therapeutics and provides interpretive drug information regarding the potential effect of citalopram and clopidogrel therapy. Our SLCO1B1 Pharmacogenetics report provides certain information about variants associated with the processing of some therapeutics and provides interpretive drug information regarding the potential effect of simvastatin therapy. Our DPYD Pharmacogenetics report does not describe the association between detected variants and any specific therapeutic. Results for DPYD and certain CYP2C19 results should be confirmed by an independent genetic test prescribed by your own healthcare provider before taking any medical action. Warning: Test information should not be used to start, stop, or change any course of treatment and does not test for all possible variants that may affect metabolism or protein function. The PGS test is not a substitute for visits to a healthcare professional. Making changes to your current regimen can lead to harmful side effects or reduced intended benefits of your medication, therefore consult with your healthcare professional before taking any medical action. For important information and limitations regarding Pharmacogenetic reports, visit <a href="http://23andme.com/test-info/pharmacogenetics/">23andme.com/test-info/pharmacogenetics/</a>

23andMe Collaborates with California Northstate University to Introduce Enhanced Genetics Curriculum for Medical Students

By Anne Greb, MS, CGC, 23andMe Lead, Medical Education
For Genetic Counselor Awareness Day this year, we want to celebrate the important role genetic counselors play in healthcare, but we also want to educate people about how genetic counselors can help them sort through their test results and family health history in making important medical decisions.
<div id="attachment_26688" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26688" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Anne-Greb-300x259.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-26688 size-medium" width="300" height="259" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Anne-Greb-300x259.jpg 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Anne-Greb.jpg 629w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Anne Greb, MS, CGC, 23andMe Lead, Medical Education</div>
A future in which genetic and genomic health information is part of clinical care is around the corner, offering hope for more personalized medicine and disease prevention. It will be genetic counselors who help us get there. 
<h6>What We Do</h6>
The simplest description of what we do (I’m a genetic counselor) is to help people assess risk in making critical decisions about their health. These could be decisions about such things as cancer treatment, or pregnancy, or rare disease interventions. While genetics is part of the equation, it’s by no means the only thing a genetic counselor considers. We are often involved before a genetic test is done. Even helping a person decide whether testing is right for them. Often a genetic counselor is needed right at a critical decision point in a person’s life. A genetic counselor has the training and understanding to meet the gravity of those moments. 
Unfortunately, there are too few genetic counselors to meet this growing demand. Over the next decade that demand is only going to get bigger. A recent estimate projects the field is going to grow by <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/genetic-counselors.htm">more than 25 percent,</a> according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 
<h6>What&#8217;s to Come</h6>
In many ways, this big increase in demand is what we anticipated long ago with the mapping of the human genome. Now more than ever genetic discoveries and new technologies are being used to diagnose rare diseases, or help tailor pharmaceutical approaches to treatment, or identify disease risk. On top of that, the widespread use of direct-to-consumer genetic testing has encouraged more and more people to learn about their own genetic predispositions, prompting discussions with their healthcare providers. 
While we await current efforts to build the ranks of genetic counselors, it’s these healthcare providers who are left to discuss genetic issues with patients. Right now, a lack of knowledge and training for those providers is often an obstacle, so providing genetic education and resources specifically for medical professionals is vital to help ensure that genetics becomes a part of clinical care.
<h6>Medical Education</h6>
That’s part of my role as a genetic counselor and lead of medical education at 23andMe both within the company, but also externally. I’m often engaging with other healthcare professionals to figure out the best way to incorporate genetics into clinical care. 
I’m not alone. Indeed, in a recent National Society of Genetic Counselors Professional Status <a href="https://www.nsgc.org/Portals/0/Docs/Policy/PSS%20Executive%20Summary%202020%20FINAL%2005-03-20.pdf">Survey</a>, 45 percent of genetic counselors reported that education and training played a significant role in their job-related activities. While education is by no means the only thing we do as genetic counselors, it’s an important part of the work. And as a genetic counselor at 23andMe, I can see how this surge in direct-to-consumer genetic testing presents a teachable moment. We know from studies that about 30 percent of direct-to-consumer genetic testing customers ask their healthcare providers about their results.<a id="f1" href="#a1">[1]</a>,<a id="f2" href="#a2">[2]</a> This offers those providers an opportunity to engage with their patients in important discussions, and use these moments to update and discuss family health information. Primary care providers who often have long-standing relationships with patients may be best positioned to offer support when patients discover unexpected findings as a result of one of these tests, and they can refer them to genetic counselors to help navigate the next steps.
So in recognition of Genetic Counselor Awareness Day this year, let&#8217;s consider the work that genetic counselors do to support not just consumers of direct-to-consumer genetic testing, but healthcare providers as well. 
<h6 class="footnotes">References:</h6>
<footer class="footnotes"><code style="display: none;"> </code><code style="display: none;"> </code> <a id="f1" href="#a1">[1]</a> van der Wouden CH, et al. <a href="https://www.genomes2people.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Van-Der-Wouden-et-al-2016.pdf">&#8220;Consumer Perceptions of Interactions With Primary Care Providers&#8221; </a> Ann Intern Med (2016)
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<footer class="footnotes"><code style="display: none;"></code> <a id="f2" href="#a2">[2] </a> Vassey JL, et al. <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/scitranslmed.aaa2401">&#8220;How to know when physicians are ready for genomic medicine&#8221;</a> Science Translational Medicine (2015) </footer>

Genetic Counselor Awareness Day, A Perspective

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-288" style="float: right;" title="ruraliceland" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/ruraliceland.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="231" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/ruraliceland.jpg 350w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/ruraliceland-300x198.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" />For the past 100 years, there has been a mysterious disease afflicting Icelanders. Called Hereditary Cystatin C Amyloid Angiopathy (or HCCAA), it causes severe brain hemorrhages and dementia in young adults. For those individuals who have the disease, life expectancy is usually no higher than 30 years. Scientists have determined that this disease is caused by a single mutation in the cystatin C gene. But until now, they had not yet discovered how this mutation arose, why it afflicts only Icelanders, and why it suddenly appeared within the last 150 years. A new collaboration between American and Icelandic scientists has helped to answer these puzzling questions about the origins of HCCAA by using Iceland’s Genealogical Database, which includes more than 80% of all Icelandic people who have ever lived. It also sheds light on the last 200 years of Iceland’s population history, and offers clues to understanding the interplay between genes and environment.  The researchers’ original goal — to use genetic and genealogical information to trace the common ancestor of every Icelander with HCCAA — proved unfeasible due to lack of data. But researchers did find a man born in 1684 north of Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, who was an ancestor to most carriers of the disease. Because the lineages of so many people with HCCAA converged on that person, it can be inferred that he also carried the deadly mutation in the cystatin C gene. Yet census records show he did not have a shortened life span. In fact, through the 18th century the average life span for a person with the HCCAA mutation was in the neighborhood of 65 years, about average for the period. In addition, there are no historical records of Icelanders suffering from this disease throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. So if the mutation existed in 1684, why did no one show any symptoms until the mid-19th century? The researchers&#8217; next task was to find out when in Iceland’s history people did start showing symptoms of HCCAA. By again using Iceland’s extensive genealogical database, researchers found a significant change in life expectancy for those carrying the mutation, starting in the 19th century. It appears that individuals with the disease who were born after 1825 began to have significantly shorter life spans. By the year 1900, the average life span for HCCAA carriers had dropped to 30 years, where it remains today. But why did life spans not start decreasing until the early to mid-19th century, when records show that this mutation had been present among Icelanders since the 17th century? What changed for the people of Iceland? The answer may lie in their diet. The researchers noticed that, prior to the 19th century, the diet of Icelanders consisted mostly of whey-preserved offal (animal entrails and organs) as well as meat, dried fish, and butter. In other words, a diet low in carbohydrates and salt. However, post-19th century, imports from mainland Europe increased dramatically, and a typical Icelandic diet began incorporating processed carbohydrates and salt (to preserve food). The researchers argue that the movement of imports from Reykjavik to more isolated regions in Iceland throughout the 19th century mirrors the appearance and spread of HCCAA symptoms. As these new kinds of foods spread from the capital to smaller towns and villages, the deadly symptoms of HCCAA did as well. Therefore, it appears that the traditional Icelandic diet ‘masked’ the deadly symptoms of HCCAA, and it wasn’t until they began to eat more processed foods, higher in carbohydrates and salt, that these ‘masking’ effects diminished. The researchers did not speculate on the mechanism by which diet may be triggering the symptoms of HCCAA; but his study is significant for a variety of reasons. First, it is a fascinating example of how environment — in this case, diet — can affect a genetic mutation. In addition, this study is important due to a possible connection between the cystatin C gene and Alzheimer’s disease. Knowing more about the effects of a single mutation in this gene brings us another step toward understanding the complex genetics of Alzheimer’s. The mystery of HCCAA&#8217;s origins was tackled jointly by scientists in Iceland and at Johns Hopkins in the United States. It is reported in June 26 issue of <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pgen.1000099" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">PLOS Genetics</a>

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