Jul 02 2008
You may have already read about 23andWe and the ”Power of We” in earlier blog posts. As the research arm of 23andMe, we’re hoping 23andWe can produce valuable discoveries about the genetic roots of diseases, conditions and traits that are little-studied due to funding limitations, logistical obstacles or simple lack of interest among scientists. 23andMe’s [...]
Jun 26 2008
Barack Obama, Angelina Jolie and Ned Flanders all belong to a group whose members have been referred to as weak, gauche and even downright sinister. These terms are used, in various parts of the world, to describe left-handed people.
Since right-handers outnumber southpaws by approximately 9 to 1, it’s not hard to imagine why there’s a [...]
Jun 20 2008
What can we learn from studying how variations of human genes are spread out around the world?
A lot, said population geneticist and Harvard junior fellow Sohini Ramachandran, who spoke at 23andMe this week.
Ramachandran focused on how genes spread from one continent to another, and how they vary within each region as well.
As an example, she [...]
Jun 16 2008
Jesse James
One of the most engaging features of 23andMe’s Personal Genome Service is a customer’s ability to trace his or her genetic ancestry using the mitochondrial DNA and the Y-chromosome. Once customers learn their own ancestry, the Genome Sharing feature allows them to see how they compare with friends and family.
However, the ancestry section of [...]
Jun 06 2008
If you could only do one thing to this sentence, what would it be?
Can you explain why there’s no gene for Crohn’s disease?
If you know the answers to these questions, we want you to know this: 23andMe is looking to hire an editor who is adept with scientific copy and concepts. The Science Editor will [...]
May 29 2008
23andMe founders Anne Wojcicki (right) and Linda Avey on stage at D6 with hosts Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher
This morning 23andMe founders Anne Wojcicki and Linda Avey unveiled our new research effort, 23andWe, at the sixth All Things Digital Conference in Carlsbad, California.
23andWe gives our customers a new way to explore genetics while simultaneously contributing [...]
May 14 2008
Could this be Lilly Mendel?
The judges have met and a winner has been chosen.
In the first 23andMe Win Your Genome Contest, the challenge was to describe Lilly Mendel – a real person whose data are presented in the 23andMe demo account – based on her genetic information alone. As we declared in the announcement of [...]
May 07 2008
One of the most exciting parts of 23andMe’s Personal Genome Service™ is discovering your genetic ancestry. Suddenly your family tree has branches that reach back thousands of years into the prehistoric past.
At present, 23andMe customers can trace two branches of their genetic family tree – one that follows the all-female line on the maternal side [...]
Apr 29 2008
This woman shares 99.5% of her DNA with Lilly Mendel.
Team 23andMe likes games – Wii tennis and Segway polo are big here. So are friendly wagers over a new employee’s ACTN3 genotype, or whether a given Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation will converge during our lifetimes.
So in the spirit of friendly competition, we’re starting the [...]
Apr 17 2008
If you were adopted, conceived through sperm donation or don’t know your parents for some other reason, 23andMe can give you a glimpse into your genetic legacy. Our service can’t help you locate your biological parents or reveal their medical histories – but it can provide some information about their heritage, and maybe even offer [...]
