By 23andMe Co-Founder Linda Avey
Over the past several months the press has reported a steady stream of breakthroughs in genetics. In what the New York Times has called “a continuing wave of discoveries about the genes underlying common diseases,” studies have found genetic links to breast cancer, diabetes, Crohn’s disease, restless legs syndrome, glaucoma and [...]

By 23andMe Co-Founder Anne Wojcicki
We started 23andMe to enable individuals to get access to their genetic information. Our DNA is a fascinating aspect of who we are, and we feel strongly that anyone who wants their genetic data should be able to get access to it. But we also started 23andMe [...]

SNPwatch gives you the latest news about research linking various traits and conditions to individual genetic variations. These studies are exciting because they offer a glimpse into how genetics may affect our bodies and health; but in most cases, more work is needed before this research can provide information of value to individuals. For that [...]

According to a study by an independent panel of medical and scientific professionals, there is “insufficient evidence to support a recommendation for or against use of CYP450 testing in adults beginning SSRI treatment for non-psychotic depression.” Although the study discourages current use of CYP450 testing, they wrote that further clinical trials should be completed before [...]

Credit: Moncrief
It’s well established that at the DNA level, humans are about 99.9% identical. But the slight genetic differences that account for the remaining 0.1% can have significant consequences when it comes to genetic research.
In genome-wide association (GWA) studies, scientists look at hundreds of thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to find which ones occur [...]

At the end of last year (2007) you may have seen reports claiming that scientists in Israel discovered the “gene for altruism.”
What they actually found was that a variation in a gene called AVPR1a influences how much money students give to others in the “dictator game,” an experiment where subjects make unilateral decisions about how [...]

A few years back, archaeologist Anna Dhody was thinking about how amazing it is that DNA forensic scientists can collect DNA evidence from nothing more than a discarded cigarette butt or paper cup. If there is enough DNA clinging to those modern-day objects to identify the people who used them, she reasoned, maybe some of [...]

Spit has DNA? Well, not exactly. Spit has cells in it, and the cells have DNA.
For everything except bacteria (and some other types of single-celled organisms), DNA is wound up tightly inside a cellular structure called the “nucleus”. It’s actually pretty amazing how well it’s packed - the DNA of a single [...]

When Mr. and Mrs. George Fry arrived in the New World nearly four centuries ago, they brought with them not just dreams of a better life, but a curse – a genetic mutation that has caused thousands of their descendants to develop cancer.
Scientists reported on Wednesday that they had tracked a mutation that increases the [...]