
<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout" style="border:1px solid #000; border-collapse:collapse;"><tbody><tr><td>
<h2>Key Takeaways</h2>
<ul><li>Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event.</li>
<li>Genetics play a role in whether someone develops PTSD after a potentially traumatic event. 23andMe&#8217;s new polygenic risk score (PRS) report incorporates more than 11,000 genetic variants to estimate the likelihood of being diagnosed with PTSD.</li>
<li>Other factors also shape PTSD risk, including previous trauma, ongoing stress, personal and family history of other mental health conditions and the availability of social support.</li>
<li>PTSD is treatable, and getting support from a mental health professional is an important part of care.</li></ul>
</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p>Around <a href="https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/common/common_adults.asp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">13 million</a> people in the U.S. have PTSD, yet stigma and lack of awareness mean many go without support. In recognition of PTSD Awareness Month this June, 23andMe has released a new Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Polygenic Risk Score report* to help <a href="https://www.23andme.com/membership/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andMe+ Premium</a>™ members understand how their genetics may influence their chances of developing PTSD, and to help all of us better understand this complicated condition.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-ptsd">What is PTSD?</h2>



<p><a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9545-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Post-traumatic stress dis</a><a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9545-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd">order (PTSD)</a> is a mental health condition that can develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, such as a serious accident, a natural disaster, assault or war. While many people experience strong emotional reactions in the days and weeks after a trauma, PTSD is diagnosed when symptoms last for at least a month and significantly interfere with daily life.</p>



<p>Symptoms of PTSD fall into <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20355967" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">four main groups</a>:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Intrusive memories</strong>, like flashbacks or nightmares</li>



<li><strong>Avoiding reminders of the event</strong>, including places, people or activities</li>



<li><strong>Negative changes in mood or thinking</strong>, such as guilt, detachment and loss of interest</li>



<li><strong>Changes in arousal</strong>, including feeling on edge, being easily startled or angered and having trouble concentrating and sleeping</li>
</ul>



<p>PTSD can affect people of all ages and backgrounds. In the U.S., <a href="https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/common/common_adults.asp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">about 5%</a> of people experience PTSD each year. Symptoms usually begin within a few months of the traumatic event but can sometimes start years later.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-role-of-genetics">The Role of Genetics</h2>



<p>After experiencing a potentially traumatic event, some people will develop PTSD and others won&#8217;t. Genetics can help explain some of this difference.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Like many other mental health conditions, genetic risk for PTSD is <em>polygenic:</em> rather than single genetic variants with a big impact on risk, the chances of developing PTSD are influenced by many genetic variants, each with a small impact. For example, a recent large-scale genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38637617/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nearly 100 locations in the genome</a> associated with PTSD. Some of these variants were in or near genes that play important roles in how brain cells communicate with each other and how the brain is physically structured, providing insights into the biological basis of PTSD and why some people are more likely to develop the condition than others.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="641" height="254" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/ptsd-hero.png" alt="" class="wp-image-35408" style="width:386px;height:auto" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/ptsd-hero.png 641w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/ptsd-hero-300x119.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 641px) 100vw, 641px" /></figure>



<p>23andMe scientists independently investigated if it was possible to build a polygenic risk score (PRS) for PTSD. A PRS is a statistical model that estimates a person&#8217;s likelihood of developing a condition based on the combined impact of thousands of small genetic variants. Thanks to the contribution of more than 3 million consented 23andMe research participants, we were able to generate a PRS that analyzes more than 11,000 genetic variants to estimate the likelihood of being diagnosed with PTSD.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-beyond-genetics">Beyond Genetics</h2>



<p>Researchers believe that genetics combine with other factors to influence how likely a person is to develop PTSD after experiencing a traumatic event. These factors include:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Previous exposure to trauma, particularly during childhood</li>



<li>Ongoing life stress, such as job loss and discrimination</li>



<li>A personal or family history of other mental health conditions like anxiety or depression</li>



<li>Having limited social support after a traumatic event</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-taking-care-of-yourself-after-trauma">Taking Care of Yourself After Trauma</h2>



<p>While PTSD is impacted by some factors that can&#8217;t be changed, it&#8217;s also impacted by some things that can. Research shows that seeking support and maintaining a healthy lifestyle after a traumatic event can help with recovery and may help prevent short-term stress reactions from developing into PTSD.</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Talk to a mental healthcare professional.</strong> Although it can take time, many cases of PTSD respond well to therapy, medication or a combination of the two.</li>



<li><strong>Try to prioritize sleep and other healthy routines.</strong> Healthy sleep habits, exercise and mindfulness activities can help reduce stress.</li>



<li><strong>Avoid using alcohol and drugs to cope.</strong> Leaning on alcohol or drugs can worsen symptoms of PTSD and can interfere with treatment.</li>



<li><strong>Stay connected.</strong> Supportive friends, family and community can provide comfort and help with recovery.</li>
</ul>



<p>Importantly, getting support from a healthcare professional is a normal and recommended part of PTSD care, and research shows that treatment can make a real difference.</p>



<p>If you or someone you know needs support, contact the <a href="https://www.nami.org/nami-helpline/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) helpline</a>, or <a href="https://findahelpline.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">find a helpline in your area</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fighting-stigma-around-ptsd">Fighting Stigma Around PTSD</h2>



<p>Many misconceptions contribute to stigma around PTSD. Some people wrongly assume that PTSD only affects certain groups, like veterans. Others assume that people with PTSD are dangerous or a threat to others.</p>



<p>The reality is that PTSD can impact anyone and can result from a wide range of life experiences. It is treatable, and many people benefit from support from a mental healthcare professional. And while PTSD is a serious health condition, it doesn&#8217;t define you.</p>



<p>PTSD Awareness Month is a perfect time to help fight stigma by learning the facts and offering kindness and support to those living with PTSD.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-learn-about-your-genetics">Learn About Your Genetics</h2>



<p>The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) PRS report was made possible thanks to millions of 23andMe customers who have consented to participate in research. Their contributions enable our scientists to make genetic discoveries that help the entire research community better understand health and disease, and allow us to develop new reports and features that deliver personalized genetic information to our members.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;re a 23andMe+ Premium member, you can now access your Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) PRS report (along with your other Health Predisposition reports) to see how your genetics may influence your chances of developing PTSD.</p>



<p>23andMe+ Premium members also have access to several other mental health-related reports:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/health-predispositions/anxiety-and-anxiety-disorders/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anxiety</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/health-predispositions/bipolar-disorder/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bipolar Disorder</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/health-predispositions/depression/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Depression</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/health-predispositions/panic-attacks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Panic Attacks</a></li>
</ul>



<p>* <em>The 23andMe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) PRS report is based on a genetic model that includes data and insights from 23andMe consented research participants and incorporates more than 11,000 genetic variants to provide information on the likelihood of being diagnosed with PTSD. 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 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 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.</em></p>


Senior Product Scientist

Ruth Tennen

What Your Genetics Can Tell You About PTSD


<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout" style="border:1px solid #000; border-collapse:collapse;"><tbody><tr><td>
<h2>Key Takeaways</h2>
<ul><li>Through 23andMe&#8217;s Historical Matches<sup>SM</sup> feature, 23andMe+ Premium™ members can now find out if their DNA connects them to Beachy Head Woman, a Roman-era woman whose remains were discovered on the south coast of England in the 1950s.</li>
<li>Originally incorrectly identified as one of the earliest individuals of African descent in Roman Britain, a 2026 study using high-quality ancient DNA showed that her ancestry was consistent with local British and Northern European populations.</li>
<li>Ancient DNA also predicted that Beachy Head Woman likely had blue eyes, light hair and intermediate skin pigmentation, informing a new facial reconstruction of her appearance.</li></ul>
</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p>Summer is on the way, and we’d be lying if we said heading to the beach wasn’t at the top of our minds when preparing this month’s <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andmes-historic-matches" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Historical Matches</a><sup>SM</sup> update. So without further ado, we’d like to tell you the story of an aptly named Roman era woman: Beachy Head Woman. </p>



<p>She&#8217;s named after Beachy Head, a stretch of coastline on the south coast of England, and she lived during the Roman occupation of Britain. While her story doesn&#8217;t actually have anything to do with the beach (the site derives its name from the Old French for &#8216;beautiful headland&#8217;) it does involve a decade of conflicting scientific interpretations and a fascinating mystery that took until 2026 to resolve.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-skeleton-without-a-story">A Skeleton Without a Story</h2>



<p>In 2012, researchers sorting through the archaeological collections in the south of England made an unexpected find: a skeleton in a storage box in the basement of Eastbourne’s Town Hall. The only information included with the box was a label reading &#8220;Beachy Head, 1959.&#8221;</p>



<p>So the team embarked on a series of archaeological and biomolecular analyses to learn about the identity of the skeleton inside. Radiocarbon dating indicated that the individual lived between 129 and 311 CE, during the Roman occupation of Britain. An analysis of the skeleton’s morphology revealed that it likely belonged to an adult woman, estimated to be between 18 and 25 years old at the time of her death.</p>



<p>Through an initial craniofacial analysis in 2013, researchers concluded that her skull had features consistent with sub-Saharan African ancestry. This preliminary interpretation spread fast. She was described in news outlets, books and educational materials as one of the earliest individuals of African descent identified in Roman Britain, and she entered public consciousness under the name “Beachy Head Woman”.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-headline-ran-ahead-of-the-evidence">The Headline Ran Ahead of the Evidence</h2>



<p>The strontium and oxygen isotope analysis carried out around the same time told a different story. Values from her tooth enamel were consistent with a childhood spent on the south coast of Britain, not overseas. Then, in 2017, a preliminary ancient DNA study generated tentative evidence of east Mediterranean ancestry, possibly Cyprus, but the dataset was too limited to settle the question.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Despite never being formally published, these findings circulated in the media regardless. For nearly a decade, who Beachy Head Woman really was remained an unresolved mystery.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-local-woman-all-along">A Local Woman All Along</h2>



<p>In early 2026, researchers at London’s Natural History Museum finally helped to resolve this question. They <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440325002948?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> genome-wide ancient DNA data from Beachy Head Woman’s remains for the first time.<br><br>They showed that her ancestry was similar to local British and Northern European populations, with no detectable evidence of sub-Saharan African ancestry. Her mitochondrial haplogroup, K1a26, is also associated with Northern European and British populations and has been identified in individuals from rural Iron Age Britain.&nbsp;</p>



<p>They even used her DNA to try to predict what she may have looked like, concluding that she likely had blue eyes, light hair and intermediate skin pigmentation — a significant departure from the original facial reconstruction. A new reconstruction was produced in light of the DNA results.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="627" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/facial-depiction-Beachy-Head-Woman-1024x627.png" alt="" class="wp-image-35401" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/facial-depiction-Beachy-Head-Woman-1024x627.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/facial-depiction-Beachy-Head-Woman-300x184.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/facial-depiction-Beachy-Head-Woman-768x470.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/facial-depiction-Beachy-Head-Woman-880x539.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/facial-depiction-Beachy-Head-Woman-1180x723.png 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>3D scan of physical model (left) and second iteration (right) of the facial depiction of Beachy Head Woman Courtesy of Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University</em></figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-her-reassessment-reveals">What Her Reassessment Reveals</h2>



<p>Beachy Head Woman&#8217;s story has implications beyond her own origins. The craniofacial analysis that initially identified her as being of sub-Saharan African ancestry used methods that have since come under substantial scrutiny. The field of bioanthropology, like all scientific fields, is always evolving and has moved away from these kinds of ancestry estimation in recent years, in part because human skeletons are incredibly diverse; people with the same ancestry can have bone structures that look completely different from one another, making hard-and-fast classifications unreliable. The case of Beachy Head Woman is a concrete illustration of what can go wrong when those methods are applied without corroborating evidence.</p>



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



<p>Want to see if you share a genetic connection to Beachy Head Woman, or with hundreds of other historical individuals? The Historical Matches feature is available to <a href="https://www.23andme.com/membership/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andMe+ Premium</a>™ members.</p>



<p></p>


Sr. Scientist I, Population Genetics R&D

Éadaoin Harney

New Historical Matches Could Connect You to Britain’s Beachy Head Woman


<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout" style="border:1px solid #000; border-collapse:collapse;"><tbody><tr><td>
<h2>Key Takeaways</h2>
<ul><li>23andMe is introducing Cohort Comparison, a new feature available in the Beta Testing Program.</li>
<li>Cohort Comparison lets you see how your health biomarkers compare to people who share your age, sex, ancestry, and genetic disease likelihoods, not just a generic population average.</li>
<li>We’re sharing this feature now because we want your feedback to shape where it goes next.</li></ul>
</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p>Every time you get lab results back, you receive a number and a range. If the number lands inside the range, you&#8217;re &#8220;normal.&#8221; If it falls outside, something may need attention.</p>



<p>But those ranges have a blind spot: they&#8217;re often built on population averages. They don&#8217;t know your ancestry. They don&#8217;t know your genetic risk profile. For many people, &#8220;normal&#8221; doesn&#8217;t reflect them.</p>



<p>What would it mean to compare your lab results to people who are genuinely similar to you? That question is one that is motivating the 23andMe Research Institute to explore how genetics can personalize your lab results.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-cohort-comparison">What is Cohort Comparison?</h2>



<p>Cohort Comparison, now available for <a href="https://www.23andme.com/membership/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andMe+ Premium</a>™ members in the <a href="https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013592713-23andMe-Beta-Testing-Program" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Beta Testing Program</a>, shows you how your health biomarkers compare to a group, or cohort, of people who resemble you: same age, sex, ancestry and genetic risk across key disease areas. You&#8217;ll see the typical distribution of biomarkers among people with characteristics like yours, and where your actual biomarkers fall relative to your cohort’s range.</p>



<p>This is what makes 23andMe different. Many reference ranges are adjusted based on age and sex, but 23andMe cohorts include your genetic ancestry and your health predispositions. When you look at your cholesterol results compared to your cohort, you&#8217;re not comparing yourself to &#8220;adults in your age range,&#8221; you&#8217;re comparing yourself to people whose bodies have similar genetic predispositions.</p>



<p>For some of your lab values, that comparison might be reassuring: you may find you&#8217;re doing better than your peers. For others, it might reveal something worth a closer look, even if your result sits technically &#8220;in range.&#8221; The goal is to give that number more meaning, not less.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-makes-your-cohort-yours">What makes your cohort yours</h2>



<p>Building a meaningful cohort requires walking a fine line. You need enough specificity to make the comparison personal. But you also need enough people to draw reliable conclusions.</p>



<p>Ideally, you&#8217;d compare yourself to people who share your age, sex, ancestral background, lifestyle, genetic risk profile, etc. not just one or two of those factors. The challenge is that the more specific the cohort, the harder it is to find enough people to populate it. Too narrow, and there&#8217;s not enough data to say anything meaningful.</p>



<p>That&#8217;s the problem 23andMe can solve. We have millions of consented research participants across diverse ancestral backgrounds many of whom have shared their real-world lab values and lifestyle data. We also have the scientific infrastructure to connect genetics, labs and health outcomes more accurately, a foundation built on over <a href="https://research.23andme.com/publications" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">300 peer-reviewed studies</a>. So when we look at your cholesterol and compare you to “people like you” we mean people who are also 55-year-old East Asian females with the same increased likelihood to have high cholesterol.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-this-is-today-and-where-it-s-going">Where this is today, and where it&#8217;s going</h2>



<p>The longer-term vision is more ambitious. We want to show you how the lab values of your cohort change over time, and what some in your cohort did to change their trend.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This is cutting-edge genetic research happening in real time, and Beta participants are a part of it. What&#8217;s clear? What&#8217;s confusing? What do you wish it could tell you? Your feedback shapes what this becomes next.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;re a 23andMe+ Premium member Cohort Comparison is available now in <a href="https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013592713-23andMe-Beta-Testing-Program" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Beta</a> on desktop and iOS via your <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/introducing-ai-health-summary" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AI Health Summary</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="660" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ai-health-hero-1024x660.png" alt="" class="wp-image-35036" style="width:372px;height:auto" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ai-health-hero-1024x660.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ai-health-hero-300x193.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ai-health-hero-768x495.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ai-health-hero-880x567.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ai-health-hero-1180x760.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ai-health-hero.png 1220w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>If you&#8217;re not already a 23andMe+ Premium member, <a href="https://www.23andme.com/membership/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">learn about all the additional features members receive</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The science behind this feature was built, in part, from data contributed by 23andMe research participants. We&#8217;re sharing this early version because we think you deserve to see what that science looks like when it&#8217;s pointed back at you, and because your feedback is how we make it better.</p>



<p><em>*Unfortunately this feature is not yet available on Android devices — we are working on it!</em></p>


Sr. Product Manager

Ana Hur

How Do You Compare


<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout" style="border:1px solid #000; border-collapse:collapse;"><tbody><tr><td>
<h2>Key Takeaways</h2>
<ul><li>The APOE gene remains the primary genetic focus for late-onset Alzheimer&#8217;s disease research. Carrying the e4 variant in this gene increases risk and is associated with symptoms earlier in life.</li>
<li>Newly approved antiamyloid medications can slow cognitive decline by 25% to 30%, but individuals with two copies of the APOE e4 variant face a higher risk of side effects.</li>
<li>Regardless of genetic risk, lifestyle changes, including physical exercise, cognitive training, a brain-healthy diet and keeping up with routine vaccines (like shingles and RSV), can help prevent cognitive decline.</li></ul>
</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p>June is Alzheimer&#8217;s and Brain Awareness Month, and there&#8217;s a lot to talk about. Around <a href="https://www.alz.org/getmedia/ef8f48f9-ad36-48ea-87f9-b74034635c1e/alzheimers-facts-and-figures.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">7.4 million</a> Americans age 65 and older are living with <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/health-predispositions/late-onset-alzheimers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alzheimer&#8217;s disease</a> and other dementias. At the same time there has been a lot of new research into the genetics of the disease and how the choices you make can help shape your risk. Here&#8217;s a closer look at what&#8217;s new.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-importance-of-apoe-nbsp">The importance of APOE&nbsp;</h2>



<p>The APOE gene remains a large focus in Alzheimer&#8217;s research. There are three common variants of the APOE gene: e2, e3 and e4. Of the three, e4 carries the highest known genetic risk for late-onset Alzheimer&#8217;s disease. However, researchers are still actively exploring the nuances of each variant, and some recent findings are prompting the field to rethink assumptions that have stood for decades.</p>



<p>A <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41522467/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recent study</a> looked at exactly how much Alzheimer&#8217;s disease can be traced back to APOE. Using those with two copies of the e2 variant as the comparison point, researchers found that more than 70% of Alzheimer&#8217;s cases were attributable to carrying at least one copy of e3 or e4. </p>



<p>A separate <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38710950/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> looked at people who carry two copies of the e4 variant and saw they tend to show biological signs of Alzheimer&#8217;s earlier in life, and the path the disease takes is more predictable than in those with other APOE variants. While this study has limitations (including a lack of participants from diverse ancestries), the authors make the case that having two e4 variants is a distinct genetic form of Alzheimer&#8217;s, which could mean people with this genetic result might benefit from prevention strategies, clinical trials and treatments built specifically for them. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-towards-simpler-earlier-alzheimer-s-detection">Towards simpler, earlier Alzheimer&#8217;s detection</h2>



<p>For a long time, the only way to look for biological signs of Alzheimer&#8217;s in the brain was a PET scan or a spinal tap. Both are expensive, hard to access and, in the case of a spinal tap, invasive. But last year a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40582836/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new blood test</a> was approved that changes this. </p>



<p>This blood test measures two well-known hallmarks of the disease called phosphorylated tau (p-tau; a sticky protein that builds up inside brain cells) and amyloid beta (a protein that forms plaques outside brain cells). As treatments and prevention strategies continue to improve, easier testing makes a real difference. The earlier Alzheimer&#8217;s can be identified, the more options people have.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-you-can-do-new-research-in-alzheimer-s-treatment-and-prevention">What you can do: new research in Alzheimer&#8217;s treatment and prevention</h2>



<p>For years the message around Alzheimer&#8217;s was that there was nothing you could do to prevent it. New research is changing that message.</p>



<p>First, several <a href="https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org/alzheimers/antiamyloid-medicines-may-slow-alzheimers-disease-progression/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">antiamyloid medications</a> have been approved by the FDA. These drugs can slow Alzheimer&#8217;s progression by 25% to 30% when started soon after symptoms appear. However, genetics may play a role in potential side effects from these drugs. People with two copies of the e4 variant in the APOE gene may be more likely to develop side effects including brain swelling or bleeding. Because of this, genetic testing to check for the e4 variant is recommended before starting antiamyloid medications.</p>



<p>In addition to new treatments, a growing body of research suggests that everyday choices can meaningfully shape your risk. The <a href="https://www.alz.org/us-pointer/study-results" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S. POINTER study</a> showed that physical and cognitive exercise, diet and regular check-ins on blood pressure and other routine lab results can help slow or prevent cognitive decline. </p>



<p>Diet research is moving fast, but it&#8217;s also where the science is still settling. Recent studies have linked specific foods (for example <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41854609/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">red meat</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42002260/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">eggs</a>) to lower Alzheimer&#8217;s risk. These are early findings and they don&#8217;t always agree with one another, so any single food headline is worth taking with caution. That being said, a diet with plenty of green leafy vegetables, fruits, whole grains and healthy fats such as those found in fish, nuts and olive oil is associated with <a href="https://www.alz.org/getmedia/ef8f48f9-ad36-48ea-87f9-b74034635c1e/alzheimers-facts-and-figures.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease</a>.</p>



<p>Some of the stronger recent findings are around vaccines. Large studies have now linked the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41338191/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">shingles</a> vaccine, the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40562756/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RSV</a> vaccine and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41859113/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">other vaccines</a> to lower dementia risk. Researchers think the protective effect may come less from the specific virus the vaccine targets and more from how these newer vaccines engage the immune system overall. If you&#8217;re 50 or older, it may be worth talking to your doctor about whether the shingles or RSV vaccines are right for you.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-bottom-line">The bottom line</h2>



<p>Alzheimer&#8217;s research has hit an inflection point. We understand genes like <em>APOE</em> better than ever. We can detect hallmarks of the disease earlier and less invasively. And we have growing evidence that lifestyle and even routine vaccines may help shape your risk. The story of Alzheimer&#8217;s is now one of momentum and hope. Understanding your APOE result can connect you to that story and to the research helping shape what comes next.</p>



<div style="float: right; text-align: justified; background-color: #eee; padding: 15px; margin-left: 10px;">
<p> 

<em>While 23andMe does offer APOE e4 testing*, we believe that deciding whether or not you want to learn about genetic information that relates to health risks is a personal choice. 23andMe customers have the option to opt-in or opt-out of receiving health information, and have the further option of opting in or out of the Late-Onset Alzheimer&#8217;s Disease Report specifically. If you’re a 23andMe customer and you do not opt in to seeing this information you will not see a Late-Onset Alzheimer&#8217;s Disease Report in your account. You can change your decision at any time in your account settings.</p>

<p>We encourage everyone to think carefully about whether to view their Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease Report—ultimately, it’s up to the individual to decide. While many 23andMe customers want this information and find it helpful in their health journey, we know that not everyone feels this way. We provide access to this information for those who want it, but also provide mechanisms to ensure those who do not want this information do not have to see it.</em></p>

</div>



<p><em>* 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.</em></p>



<p><em>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.</em></p>


Sr. Manager, Product Science

Jamaica Perry

Alzheimer’s Awareness Month: The Science Is Moving Fast


<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout" style="border:1px solid #000; border-collapse:collapse;"><tbody><tr><td>
<h2>Key Takeaways</h2>
<ul><li>A new study analyzed genomes from 105,869 endometriosis cases, including over 30,000 23andMe consented research participants, nearly doubling the data from previous studies.</li>
<li>Researchers uncovered 80 genetic variants linked to endometriosis, 37 of them never reported before.</li>
<li>Genetically informed analyses pointed to five existing drugs that may be candidates for treating endometriosis.</li></ul>
</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p>Imagine living with pain so severe it reshapes your calendar, your career and your sense of what your body can do, then <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39373298/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">waiting up to 12 years</a> to learn why. That is the reality for many people with <a href="https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/endometri/conditioninfo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">endometriosis</a>, a condition in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus and can cause severe pelvic pain, heavy periods and infertility. As many as one in 10 women live with it, yet its biology has remained stubbornly difficult to untangle. A <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42056605/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new study</a> is helping change that.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-bigger-more-diverse-look-at-endometriosis-genetics">A Bigger, More Diverse Look at Endometriosis Genetics</h2>



<p>The study published recently in <em>Nature Genetics</em> is the largest multi-ancestry endometriosis genome-wide association study, or GWAS, ever conducted. A GWAS scans the genomes of large groups of people to find genetic variants that occur more often in people with a given condition.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This study analyzed data from 105,869 people with endometriosis, including more than 30,000 23andMe consented research participants with the condition, nearly doubling the number of cases studied in previous endometriosis GWAS. Researchers identified 80 genetic variants associated with endometriosis, 37 of which are new discoveries.</p>



<p>The analysis also showed that the genetics of endometriosis may differ depending on your ancestry. Seven of the 80 genetic variants had different effects in different populations. For example, variants near the <em>HMGN1P19</em> and <em>SYN3</em> genes were more strongly associated with endometriosis in people of East Asian and European ancestry. This research is starting to show that endometriosis may share a common genetic story across populations, but the genetics appear to shape the picture differently in those from different parts of the world.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-data-source-reveals-about-the-disease">What the Data Source Reveals About the Disease</h2>



<p>Many people in the study self-reported if they had endometriosis or not. Self-reporting is reasonably reliable, with people correctly identifying their endometriosis diagnosis about <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33595055/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">84% of the time</a>, but how the data is collected can influence which genetic signals come into focus.</p>



<p>To investigate this, the researchers looked at people who had clinically confirmed endometriosis, meaning a diagnosis documented in medical records, separately from people who self-reported the condition. Even with a smaller sample, five genetic variants were associated with endometriosis in the clinically confirmed group, including a previously known signal near the <em>ZHX3</em> gene, that were not found in the larger analysis. By looking at just the subgroup of people with clinically confirmed endometriosis the researchers were able to uncover more genetic variants that could reflect more severe, or more symptomatic forms of the disease.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-genes-to-potential-therapies">From Genes to Potential Therapies</h2>



<p>This study also looked into potential treatments for endometriosis. By using GWAS results to predict whether existing drugs might target endometriosis, the researchers flagged five candidates for repurposing.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Drug repurposing may help shorten the long path from discovery to clinical use because these compounds already have safety data and known dosing. For a condition with few targeted treatment options, that kind of head start matters.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-inclusive-research-still-has-work-to-do">Why Inclusive Research Still Has Work to Do</h2>



<p>This study included people from six different ancestry groups, which allowed researchers to find variants that smaller, less diverse studies could not. However, when researchers developed a <a href="https://www.genome.gov/Health/Genomics-and-Medicine/Polygenic-risk-scores" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">polygenic risk score</a> (a way of combining the effect of many genetic variants to predict the likelihood of having or developing a condition) based on data from people of European descent it did not perform equally well across ancestries.</p>



<p>Genetics research has historically underrepresented many communities, and that gap shapes what these models can do for whom. Closing it will require continued investment in ancestry-informed risk models and broader participation in research.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-23andme-endometriosis-report">The 23andMe Endometriosis Report</h2>



<p>23andMe offers an <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/could-your-painful-periods-be-endometriosis-heres-what-you-should-know" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Endometriosis PRS report</a>* to <a href="https://www.23andme.com/membership/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andMe+ Premium</a>™ members, drawing on more than 13,000 genetic variants to estimate a person&#8217;s likelihood of developing the condition. The report is one way the science emerging from studies like this one can reach people directly.</p>



<p></p>



<p>* <em>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.</em></p>



<p><em>NOTE: Within this blog post, we use the word “women” to refer to people whose sex assigned at birth is female. However, we recognize that not everyone who experiences endometriosis will identify as a woman, 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 </em><a href="https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/360010964373-How-23andMe-Uses-Your-Genetic-Sex-Birth-Sex-and-Gender"><em>help article</em></a><em>.</em></p>


Alisa Lehman

Inside the Largest Genetic Study of Endometriosis Ever Done


<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout" style="border:1px solid #000; border-collapse:collapse;"><tbody><tr><td>
<h2>Key Takeaways</h2>
<ul><li>By analyzing data from millions of consented participants, 23andMe research has identified hundreds of genetic variants linked to conditions like depression, OCD and bipolar disorder.</li>
<li>Some of these studies have shown that several psychiatric conditions share genetic connections with each other and with physical health issues like chronic pain and endometriosis.</li>
<li>Beyond publishing 40+ papers on these topics, 23andMe translates complex genetic data into actionable mental health reports for its members.</li></ul>
</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p>Did you know <a href="https://research.23andme.com/publications" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andMe has published</a> over 40 research papers on mental health? This Mental Health Awareness Month, we&#8217;re taking the opportunity to share some of what we have found.</p>



<p>We&#8217;ve spent years studying the DNA of millions of consented research participants, and with this powerful dataset we’ve been able to identify genetic variants linked to conditions like <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39814019/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">depression</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39843750/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bipolar disorder</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40360802/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">obsessive-compulsive disorder</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-rugged-genetic-landscape"><strong>A rugged genetic landscape</strong></h2>



<p>The genetic underpinnings of mental health are complex, to say the least. There are potentially hundreds or thousands of genetic variants linked to any given condition, and it takes a huge community of research participants to uncover just a fraction of them.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Over the years, as our research community has grown, it has enabled us and our academic collaborators to identify <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27479909/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">more</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34045744/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">and</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39814019/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">more</a> genetic associations with psychiatric conditions. Those findings not only shed light on the biology of these conditions, but also pave the way for research seeking better treatments.</p>



<p>We&#8217;ve been working to ensure these <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39014000/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38177345/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">include</a> <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2666915320300287" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">people</a> of diverse ancestries, too, something that&#8217;s not only important to enable the development of treatments that work for everyone but has also been shown to power <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39843750/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">more</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38177345/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">better</a> genetic discoveries.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-breaking-down-silos"><strong>Breaking down silos</strong></h2>



<p>Our research has also gone beyond looking at single conditions to understand how the genetics of different mental health conditions may be related. Researchers have found that many psychiatric conditions have substantial genetic <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41372416/">ove</a><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41372416/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rlap</a> with each other, and even with other kinds of health conditions. For example, studies of 23andMe consented research participants found that genetic variants linked to psychiatric conditions were also linked to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27529168/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">chronic pain</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30482948/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">alcohol use disorder</a> and even <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32959083/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">endometriosis</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The reasons for that are an ongoing topic of investigation, but one reason is that a single gene often has many roles in the body.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-filling-in-the-broader-picture"><strong>Filling in the broader picture</strong></h2>



<p>While genetics plays an important role in mental health, it&#8217;s by no means the only factor. Elements like one&#8217;s environment and stressful life experiences are important too. Of course, we&#8217;ve tackled this topic as well. 23andMe research participants respond to surveys on life experiences, health history and more, enabling studies like one that looked for <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/759753v1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ways individuals can lower their risk of depression</a> and others seeking to understand who will experience <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41028019/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">treatment-resistant</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31207454/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">depression</a>.</p>



<p>We&#8217;ve also been looking at how genetics can impact the body&#8217;s response to certain medications and lead to <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.20.24319269v1.full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">more side effects</a> for some people. Researchers hope that this kind of information could help people find the best treatment for them, faster.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-research-insights-for-real-life"><strong>Research insights for real life</strong></h2>



<p>We also are working to return these genetic insights to our members. <a href="https://www.23andme.com/membership/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andMe+ Premium</a>™ members receive genetic reports that provide insight into the likelihood of being diagnosed with <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/health-predispositions/depression/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">depression</a>, <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/health-predispositions/anxiety-and-anxiety-disorders/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">anxiety</a>, <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/health-predispositions/bipolar-disorder/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bipolar disorder</a> and more, based on the complex genetic associations uncovered in our research. Members can also learn whether they have genetic variants that can impact how their body processes certain medications, including certain antidepressants.</p>



<p>For many people, learning about all the factors that impact our and our families&#8217; mental health — the combination of past and current stressors on a background of our unique genetics — can help illuminate a path forward to better well-being. In our research, we&#8217;ve found that learning of a genetic predisposition to depression <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41367094/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">doesn&#8217;t exacerbate symptoms</a> of anxiety or depression, and our experience of communicating this information has shown us that many individuals find it both validating and empowering.</p>



<p>Today, it can take far too long to find an effective strategy for managing mental health symptoms, and the treatments that are available remain imperfect at best. It&#8217;s central to 23andMe Research Institute&#8217;s mission not only to enable research that moves the mental health field forward, but also to make insights from that research directly accessible to individuals.&nbsp;</p>


Sr. Product Scientist I

Becca Berns

Mental Health Has a Genetic Story. 23andMe Is Helping Write It.


<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout" style="border:1px solid #000; border-collapse:collapse;"><tbody><tr><td>
<h2>Key Takeaways</h2>
<ul><li>Through 23andMe’s Historical Matches<sup>SM</sup> feature, 23andMe+ Premium™ members can now compare their DNA against 35 newly sequenced individuals from a 2026 study.</li>
<li>Genomic sequencing of 2nd-4th century CE individuals in Poland aligns with the proposed roots of the Goths in Scandinavia while revealing a surprisingly cosmopolitan community that integrated diverse Mediterranean and Baltic lineages.</li>
<li>Genetic analysis suggests Gothic burial traditions may have been based on social bonds and community ties rather than direct family relationships, offering a rare look at Late Iron Age social structures.</li></ul>
</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p>World Goth Day, celebrated every May 22nd, is typically a chance for fans of darkwave music, dramatic eyeliner and Victorian-inspired fashion to celebrate a subculture that has been going strong since the 1980s. This year, we&#8217;re marking the occasion with a slightly different kind of Goth story — one that predates the black lipstick by about 1,800 years.</p>



<p>This May, 23andMe is adding 35 individuals from a 2026 study to our <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andmes-historic-matches" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Historical Matches</a><sup>SM</sup> feature. These are not your weekend-festival Goths. These are <em>the</em> Goths, the actual Germanic people whose migrations and conflicts helped shape the final centuries of the Roman Empire.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-not-the-same-goths-but-just-as-interesting">Not the Same Goths (But Just as Interesting)</h2>



<p>The modern goth subculture takes its name from the ancient Goths, though the connection is mostly aesthetic. The real Goths were a Germanic people who likely originated in Scandinavia and, over several centuries, migrated south through the Baltic region, eventually establishing themselves across a vast stretch of central and eastern Europe. By the 2nd century CE, Gothic communities occupied a dynamic frontier zone at the edge of the Roman Empire, trading with merchants to the south, maintaining ties with Baltic peoples to the north and absorbing influences from across an enormous geographic range.</p>



<p>Far from the brooding loners of pop culture imagination, the ancient Goths appear to have been remarkably cosmopolitan.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-community-at-the-edge-of-the-roman-world">A Community at the Edge of the Roman World</h2>



<p>The individuals we added to Historical Matches this month were buried at a cluster of cemeteries in the Hrubieszów Basin of eastern Poland, belonging to what archaeologists call the Mas&#322;om&#281;cz group, a well-documented Gothic community of the Late Iron Age. The site was an ideal candidate for ancient DNA analysis in part because an unusually high proportion of its burials were inhumations (intact body burials rather than cremations), providing enough preserved skeletal material for genome-wide sequencing.</p>



<p>The study, published in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41606683/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Genome Biology</em></a> earlier this year, analyzed 43 individuals buried across several of these cemeteries, dating from approximately the late 2nd to the mid-4th century CE. Of these individuals, 35 had high-quality DNA sequences, and they have now been added to the Historical Matches feature.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="681" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/reconstructed-gothic-longhouse-1024x681.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-35331" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/reconstructed-gothic-longhouse-1024x681.jpeg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/reconstructed-gothic-longhouse-300x199.jpeg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/reconstructed-gothic-longhouse-768x511.jpeg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/reconstructed-gothic-longhouse-880x585.jpeg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/reconstructed-gothic-longhouse-1180x785.jpeg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Gothic long house in Mas&#322;om&#281;cz, designed and made based on the results of archaeological research in Hrubieszów-Podgórze. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rekonstrukcja_gockiego_d%C5%82ugiego_domu_w_Mas%C5%82om%C4%99czu.JPG" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MSWG</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-dna-cosmopolitan-from-the-start">The DNA: Cosmopolitan from the Start</h2>



<p>The genetic results confirmed that the community&#8217;s ancestry was primarily derived from a Scandinavian-like source population, consistent with the Goths&#8217; proposed northern origins. But that&#8217;s where any expectation of uniformity ends.</p>



<p>A striking proportion of individuals carried genetic signatures characteristic of populations from the eastern Baltic, the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean, and there were more than 30 distinct mitochondrial haplogroups represented among this small group of individuals. This shows that the community was actively absorbing outsiders from across a wide geographic range.</p>



<p>One individual stood out above all. Rather than the Scandinavian ancestry typical of his community, roughly half of his DNA traced to populations associated with the Iberian Peninsula, about a third to populations from Imperial Roman Italy and the remainder to the Carpathian Basin of present-day Hungary and Slovakia, with no detectable Scandinavian ancestry at all. That an individual with such distinctly southern European roots appears among the very earliest burials at the site is a remarkable testament to just how cosmopolitan this Gothic community was from its very beginnings.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-social-bonds-over-family-ties">Social Bonds Over Family Ties</h2>



<p>Perhaps the most unexpected finding concerned how individuals were buried. Despite sharing graves, co-buried individuals showed no evidence of close kinship with one another. This finding suggests that in this community, burial groupings may have reflected social bonds rather than family relationships. It&#8217;s a rare glimpse into how Gothic social life may have been organized beyond the household.</p>



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



<p><a href="https://www.23andme.com/membership/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andMe+ Premium</a>™ members can explore whether they share a genetic link to these ancient Goths, and hundreds of other historical individuals, through the Historical Matches feature.</p>



<p></p>


New Historical Matches Could Connect You to the Original Goths


<p><strong><em>Update May 20, 2026</em></strong><em>: The Health Summary is getting more powerful. Through a new partnership rolling out with </em><a href="https://healthex.io" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>HealthEx</em></a><em>, select Beta Testing Program members will be able to securely connect their medical records to their Health Summary, so your genetics, labs, lifestyle data and medical history can work together towards more personalized and powerful health insights and better prevention. </em><a href="https://mediacenter.23andme.com/press-releases/23andme-partners-with-healthex-to-connect-medical-records-with-your-dna-for-the-future-of-personalized-medicine/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Read the announcement</em></a>.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout" style="border:1px solid #000; border-collapse:collapse;"><tbody><tr><td>
<h2>Key Takeaways</h2>
<ul><li>23andMe is releasing a new AI Health Summary feature in the Beta Testing Program.</li>
<li>The Health Summary integrates your unique genetics with lifestyle and biomarker data to provide personalized, accurate, and actionable recommendations.</li>
<li>The proprietary AI framework is designed, developed, and monitored by scientific and clinical experts at the 23andMe Research Institute for truly personalized health insights.</li></ul>
</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p>The 23andMe Health Summary is now available to customers participating in the <a href="https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013592713-23andMe-Beta-Testing-Program" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Beta Testing Program</a>*. 23andMe&#8217;s Health Summary uses AI to connect your genetics, blood labs, and lifestyle data to give you a clear, real-time picture of your health. Powered by 23andMe&#8217;s scientifically-backed AI model, it actively connects your genetic findings with your real-time lab results, surfacing the signals most worth paying attention to and discussing with your doctor. The result is a set of personalized, evidence-based recommendations giving you what you need to move from reactive to truly personalized preventative healthcare.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-average-ai-falls-short">Why &#8220;Average&#8221; AI Falls Short</h2>



<p>The potential of AI in healthcare is staggering, offering a future where disease is predicted rather than just treated. But to get there, we must answer this fundamental question: How can an AI truly “know” your health, if it doesn’t know your biology? Most health recommendations today still rely on “average” standards and protocols. But “average” increasingly doesn’t cut it in healthcare.&nbsp;</p>



<p>At 23andMe, we believe the next era of medicine isn’t just about tracking your steps or one-off blood tests — it’s about closing the loop between your labs, lifestyle, and your genetics. Health data without genetic context is just numbers.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-23andme-perspective-on-health-ai">The 23andMe perspective on Health AI</h2>



<p>Today&#8217;s AI health tools are trained on everyone. They know what&#8217;s true for most people. But your genetics determine how much of that actually applies to you, and that gap is where 23andMe lives. Our approach is different. 23andMe benchmarks your health against your genetic peers — not just people with shared age and gender, but also ancestry and genetic risks.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Dumping your data into a chatbot might tell you that walking 10,000 steps today is great. But if it is lacking your genetic data and the research insights for how to combine genetics and other kinds of data, those 10,000 steps might not be enough to move the needle on your specific risk.&nbsp;</p>



<p>23andMe’s AI takes into account both your current biomarker signals and unique genetic tendencies to tell you where you are on your journey relative to the instructions your body was born with.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Cut through the “data overload”</h3>



<p>The Health Summary doesn’t just show your data, it tells you what levers to pull now to improve your health, given all of your data points combined. We focus on systems that greatly impact longevity and healthspan including heart health, metabolic health, and brain health.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Science-backed innovation</h3>



<p>We know that accuracy and credibility are paramount in healthcare. That’s why our Health Summary is grounded in a proprietary framework developed by our scientific and clinical experts. This framework guides our AI in considering relevant sets of genetic results, lab values, and lifestyle data and interpreting them together appropriately. Based on this holistic picture, our AI will help you understand what areas warrant attention and how to stay on top of them. We’ve also developed specific safeguards to monitor that our AI stays true to the framework and is basing your Health Summary on established evidence.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Join our Beta Program</h2>



<p>This is just the beginning. We will continue layering more health insights, and real-world context into your Health Summary, and will get more targeted with our insights (imagine a world where we define the exact lab value ranges you should target based on your genetics rather than relying on generic lab “normals”). Looking ahead, we see our Health Summary visualizing your health potential, showing you how much power you have to decrease your risk. We don’t just want to tell you you’re at risk, we tell you how much power you have to change that risk.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The future of health isn’t just a chatbot where you dump information in and hope for new ideas. It’s a sophisticated synthesis of your unique biological code and real-world data, guided by experts. Your genes gave you the map, we’re here to help you lead the way.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Join the <a href="https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013592713-23andMe-Beta-Testing-Program" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andMe Beta program</a> today to test the Health Summary. By sharing your feedback, you are helping us co-create a future where your health data becomes more understood, personalized, and actionable.</p>



<p>*Unfortunately this feature is not yet available on Android devices — we are working on it!</p>



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Help Shape the Future of Healthcare: Why We’re Connecting Genetics and AI


<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout" style="border:1px solid #000; border-collapse:collapse;"><tbody><tr><td>
<h2>Key Takeaways</h2>
<ul><li>23andMe has expanded its Ancestry Composition feature to include 31 new Genetic Groups across Vietnam, from the Mekong Delta to the Red River Delta.</li>
<li>These Vietnamese Genetic Groups use shared DNA patterns to pinpoint regional ancestry, going beyond a broad &#8220;Vietnamese&#8221; label to reflect the deep-rooted family histories shaped by the country&#8217;s distinct landscapes and migration routes.</li>
<li>23andMe also offers reports on conditions particularly relevant to people of Asian descent, including insights into genetic variants that influence hearing loss, drug metabolism and alcohol flush reaction.</li></ul>
</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p>May is <a href="https://asianpacificheritage.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month</a>, a time to celebrate the histories, cultures and contributions of communities whose roots span the Pacific. To mark the occasion, 23andMe is adding 31 new Vietnamese Genetic Groups to its Ancestry Composition feature, offering members with Vietnamese heritage their most detailed view yet of where in Vietnam their ancestors likely came from.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-closer-look-at-vietnamese-ancestry">A Closer Look at Vietnamese Ancestry</h2>



<p>Vietnam&#8217;s geography has long shaped its people. The country stretches more than 1,000 miles along the eastern edge of Southeast Asia, threading through highlands, river valleys and two great deltas. For centuries, those landscapes have channeled migration, trade and family ties, and they may show up in your DNA, too.</p>



<p>Genetic Groups are clusters of people who share more recent DNA with one another than with the broader population, often because their families lived in the same region for many generations. By analyzing patterns of shared DNA across thousands of 23andMe members of Vietnamese descent, our clustering algorithm identifies regional signatures finer than a single &#8220;Vietnamese&#8221; label can capture. If you have Vietnamese roots, you may now see groups anywhere from the Mekong Delta in the south to the Red River Delta in the north. These groups reflect the long shared history of families and communities, not modern political boundaries.</p>



<p>Most members with Vietnamese ancestry will receive at least one of these Genetic Groups, and <a href="https://www.23andme.com/membership/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">23andMe+ Premium</a>™ members also get the ability to see groups they may have more distant matches to, opening a wider view of regional connections.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="628" height="1024" src="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/vietnam-628x1024.png" alt="" class="wp-image-35303" style="width:375px;height:auto" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/vietnam-628x1024.png 628w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/vietnam-184x300.png 184w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/vietnam-768x1253.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/vietnam-540x880.png 540w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/vietnam-723x1180.png 723w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/vietnam-scaled.png 1569w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 628px) 100vw, 628px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-growing-picture-of-asia">A Growing Picture of Asia</h2>



<p>Vietnam joins a growing set of Asian representation in 23andMe&#8217;s Ancestry Composition. In recent years, 23andMe has added Genetic Groups in the <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/discover-new-filipino-genetic-groups-with-23andme" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Philippines</a>, <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/new-genetic-groups-in-china-korea-mongolia" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">China, Korea and Mongolia</a>, <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/new-genetic-groups-for-japan-and-scandinavia" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Japan</a> and <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/genetic-groups-south-asia" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">South Asia</a>. </p>



<p>More groups across Southeast Asia and the Pacific are on the way.&nbsp;</p>



<p>There are also connections throughout Asia in the <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andmes-historic-matches" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Historical Matches</a><sup>SM</sup> feature, which compares your DNA to people who lived hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Recent additions include ancient individuals from <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/new-historical-matches-in-southwest-china" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">southwest China</a> and <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/historical-matches-ancient-china" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ancient China</a>, a <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/new-historical-matches-could-link-you-to-this-6th-century-cross-border-couple" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">6th-century cross-border couple</a> and <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/new-historical-matches-the-mysterious-skeletons-of-roopkund-lake" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the mysterious skeletons of Roopkund Lake</a> in the Himalayas. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-connecting-to-your-health-journey">Connecting to Your Health Journey</h2>



<p>Your ancestry is one part of the picture. 23andMe also offers reports on many health conditions relevant to people of Asian heritage, such as coronary artery disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. In addition, several 23andMe health reports examine specific genetic variants that are more common in certain Asian populations.</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>The <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/dfnb1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Nonsyndromic Hearing Loss and Deafness, DFNB1 (GJB2-Related) Carrier Status report</a>* looks at variants in the <em>GJB2</em> gene that can cause one of the most common inherited forms of hearing loss. Up to 1 in 4 people of East or Southeast Asian descent are carriers for this condition, and this report includes variants that are more common for them as well as those of South Asian descent.</li>



<li>The <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/pharmacogenetics/cyp2c19/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CYP2C19 Drug Metabolism report</a>** can tell you about genetic variants that can affect how your body processes certain medications for heart disease, depression, acid reflux, and other conditions. Some of these variants are more common in people of East Asian descent than in other populations. </li>



<li>The <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/wellness/alcohol-flush-reaction/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alcohol Flush Reaction report</a> examines a variant in the <em>ALDH2</em> gene that&#8217;s common across East Asia and affects how the body breaks down a toxic byproduct of alcohol.</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-expanding-the-map-of-asian-heritage-and-health">Expanding the Map of Asian Heritage and Health</h2>



<p>The future of genetics depends on the diversity of stories powering it. This Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, explore your Genetic Groups (new and old), Historical Matches and personalized reports, and see what your heritage reveals. 23andMe members who choose to participate help build a product that reflects the full breadth of the human experience. Already a 23andMe member? <a href="https://you.23andme.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sign in</a> to discover your new regional connections, and celebrate your unique story.</p>



<p><em>* The 23andMe PGS test uses qualitative genotyping to detect select clinically relevant variants in the genomic DNA of adults for the purpose of reporting 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 or anything about 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. The Nonsyndromic Hearing Loss and Deafness, DFNB1 (GJB2-Related) carrier status report is indicated for the detection of eight variants in the GJB2 gene. The report can tell you if you have two copies of some tested variants, and if you are at risk of having hearing loss related to DFNB1, but does not describe your overall risk of having DFNB1-related hearing loss. This test is relevant for people of many, but not all, ethnicities.</em></p>



<p><em>** 23andMe PGS Pharmacogenetics reports: The 23andMe test uses qualitative genotyping to detect 3 variants in the CYP2C19 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 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 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 </em><a href="http://23andme.com/test-info/pharmacogenetics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>23andme.com/test-info/pharmacogenetics/</em></a></p>



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