Jul 04 2008
The question: What does DNA look like?
While many of the 23andMe scientists have purified DNA more times than we’d like to remember, there are a fair number of people here (on the science team and on the engineering and business teams) who’ve never spent any time at the lab bench. We love all things DNA [...]
Jun 21 2008
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 [...]
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 13 2008
Roy King is a clinical psychiatrist at Stanford University. He’s also a scholar who uses genetics and archaeology to figure out how agriculture spread through Anatolia and the Mediterranean region of Europe more than 10,000 years ago.
Now Roy has another genetic puzzle to consider – himself. With the help of 23andMe, he can now see [...]
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 [...]
May 02 2008
Ever since the social media site Facebook allowed users to develop third-party applications, there has been an explosion of various quizzes, icons, and virtual gifts that users can add to each others’ profiles. In addition to the various LOLcats, zombies, and werewolves that permeate Facebook these days, users of the site can now send [...]
Apr 18 2008
You may have seen our recent posts about DNA-themed activities and events for DNA Day. But what is DNA Day all about anyway?
DNA Day was created in 2003 by concurrent (Senate and House) congressional resolution to celebrate two important milestones in the study of genetics: the 50th anniversary of the description of the [...]
Apr 14 2008
DNA Day is being celebrated around the country on April 25, one week from Friday! To help you participate, we’ve compiled a list of DNA Day happenings. Drop us a line if you know of any we’ve missed.
Chat Online with a Geneticist
The National Human Genome Research Institute will host an online chat room [...]
Mar 14 2008
Fascinated by genetics? Curious about what the future of science will bring? Looking for a way to celebrate DNA Day on April 25? Here’s a list of museums from around the country with genetics themed exhibits. Drop us a line if there is one you know of one that we’ve missed!
The Health Museum, [...]
Feb 19 2008
It’s a question we’re getting used to: “Why are you called 23andMe?”
Many of you know the answer by now: our name refers to the 23 pairs of chromosomes usually found in humans.
But a question you may not know the answer to is “Why do humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes? Why not 13? Or [...]
