23andMe personal genetic testing

[W2R]

Just got mine. DW's Neanderthal percentage = 2.7%. Mine, 2.8%. She's been making fun of it all day. Drat.

Could be worse - - what if it was 10%, or 20%? With my luck, that's what I would find out if I ever had my own analyzed

 

[omni550]

Just got mine. DW's Neanderthal percentage = 2.7%. Mine, 2.8%. She's been making fun of it all day. Drat.

If you reread the info on 23andme...those Neanderthal percentages are merely estimates. Perhaps that will help.

omni

 

[Bestwifeever]

And relatedly, in this week's science news:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/got-health-problems-blame-it-on-neanderthal-dna/

....Harvard Medical School geneticists have been looking at which helpful and harmful genetic material present-day humans inherited from our distant Neanderthal cousins. Their findings were published Wednesday in Nature.....

On average, people with no African ancestry can trace about two percent of their genome back to Neanderthals, a species of early human who lived in Europe and Asia 40,000 to 80,000 years ago.They found that Neanderthal DNA has an influence on keratin production, a protein that makes our hair, skin and nails thick and tough. Neanderthal’s likely adapted those traits and by passing them on, helped Homo sapiens survive colder climates. But they also found nine previously identified human genetic variants associated with specific traits from Neanderthals. These variants affect diseases that are related to immune function — including type 2 diabetes or Crohn’s disease — and behaviors, such as the ability to stop smoking....

 

[eytonxav]

DW and DD purchased their kits just before the Nov cutoff date and received their complete results a few weeks ago. Contains a ton of very interesting info.

 

[robnplunder]

DW and DD purchased their kits just before the Nov cutoff date and received their complete results a few weeks ago. Contains a ton of very interesting info.

DD is going to need your test result for more comprehensive data (so they say in 23andme.com site). If not done already, are you going to do it?

 

[robnplunder]

If you reread the info on 23andme...those Neanderthal percentages are merely estimates. Perhaps that will help.

omni

Chuckle. You don't know my DW. It won't help. The result reconfirmed her belief that I am [ fill in the blank ].


.
.
.


Perhaps, my thick legs came from Neanderthal DNA. It helped me with my soccer games when I was young.

 

[eytonxav]

DD is going to need your test result for more comprehensive data (so they say in 23andme.com site). If not done already, are you going to do it?

That's right. I'll probably wait for them to clear up the FDA issue.

 

[franco45]

I was thinking about doing the DNA deal, but think its a bit too early to get really significant results. The companies just don't have a large enough data base. If the different agencies could/would exchange info it would help. I did read a funny comment somewhere.
A guy had gotten the test and was really disappointed that it was so inaccurate . Both his parents were English, but the test showed him to be only 50%. His 86 year mother must have gotten tired of hearing him complaining , so she revealed that the man that had raised him was not his real father. His real father had been a close family friend. The news explained why he liked pasta and pizza so much.

 

[Steelart99]

I got my kit just prior to the shut off date last year and have been impressed with what can be determined ... from my spit. Who knew?

BTW franco45, as the database grows, more studies are done and any information that affects your genome is updated online. This is not just a single static report. I like that.

... 2.7% Neanderthal ... not sure what my Cro-magnon percent is ... sigh

 

[robnplunder]

I got my kit just prior to the shut off date last year and have been impressed with what can be determined ... from my spit. Who knew?

BTW franco45, as the database grows, more studies are done and any information that affects your genome is updated online. This is not just a single static report. I like that.

... 2.7% Neanderthal ... not sure what my Cro-magnon percent is ... sigh

2.9% for me, and 2.8 for DW. Neanderthal had bigger brain cavity. Ha, there!

My result came out a month ago and I had a lot of fun comparing my genetic info with others in 23andme site. Worth every penny of $99 even without health data.

 

[rodi]

We just ordered kits for the kids after learning about the MTHR genetic mutation. I was able to look up whether my husband and I have the mutations (we're both heterozygous on one of the markers). My son is having some issues that make me suspect he might have the full mutation (since he might have gotten copies from both of us.)

The labs want $160 to test for just these markers. 23 and me is $99.
Since I now know how to look at specific markers in the raw data - I can look at his data if I log into his account.

We got the full health risk assessment because we did the 23andMe before the FDA got involved. I'm assuming that I can look at my data - determine the SNP markers - and look up those same markers in my kids... so basically - a labor intensive way of determining the same data.

To browse the raw data - log into your 23andMe account, then click on
https://www.23andme.com/you/explorer/snp/

If you know the SNP name - you can look it up in the raw data.

 

[Hermit]

This thread got me energized to get a DNA analysis done. My sisters have been asking me to do it for a couple of years. I e-mailed my sister (the family genealogist) and asked her if 23andme was the right one. She said that she had heard of it but the one from Family Tree with 37 markers is what she needed. Cost $150. Just sent the sample off this morning.

 

[zinger1457]

Since 23andme stopped providing their health report, but still provides the raw data, has anyone tried using Promethease https://promethease.com/ to intrepret their raw data. It cost $5 and takes the raw data from 23andme to develop a report. Curious if the report is similar to what 23andme use to report before the FDA got involved.

 

[rodi]

Since 23andme stopped providing their health report, but still provides the raw data, has anyone tried using Promethease https://promethease.com/ to intrepret their raw data. It cost $5 and takes the raw data from 23andme to develop a report. Curious if the report is similar to what 23andme use to report before the FDA got involved.

I did, as a way of confirming the raw data browsing as well as to look at some of the other health risks that my husband or I have - to see if they have the same risks.

As I mentioned a few posts up, we suspected my son had a mutation of the MTHFR gene. We confirmed this via promethease and via the raw data. He's now on methylized B vitamins to address the mutation's issue (doesn't produce the correct enzyme to break down folate.)

One of the nice things is that it's all stored on your computer, rather than the cloud. So I have the raw 23andMe data, the promethease interpretation, and can use SNPedia to interpret or learn some more.

 

[robnplunder]

Since 23andme stopped providing their health report, but still provides the raw data, has anyone tried using Promethease https://promethease.com/ to intrepret their raw data. It cost $5 and takes the raw data from 23andme to develop a report. Curious if the report is similar to what 23andme use to report before the FDA got involved.

Just did now after reading your post. It's completely worth $5. Thanks for the post.

 

[braumeister]

I signed up for 23andme back in January 2013. Both DW and I got kits, and grumbled mightily about all the spit we had to contribute, but we did it.

The health information was interesting, albeit not really useful.

But the genetic information has worked out to be worth every cent.

From time to time, they send me an email about new "family members" they have found for me. I look at the list, and if I see any that are marked as 4th cousin or closer, I send them an invitation to share genomes (not health info).

Most of the time, this has been useless, but recently I got a message from someone in this category, and after trading some info back and forth we discovered that we are third cousins. No big deal, but the kicker was that this opened up a branch of the family that had always been a brick wall for me. It turns out that she is descended from a sibling of my "dead end" ancestor, and now I have way more information -- exactly what I have wanted for years.

So, bottom line, spitting into a test tube can be way more useful than you might expect!

 

[omni550]

SECOND UPDATE: I've been having a lively email correspondence with my newly-found second cousin in Germany. She sounds delightful. I'm planning on visiting her in September.

Connecting with her energized my sister, BIL and me to work on updating the family tree (created in 1939 by my grandfather for his father's 80th birthday). It's been absolutely fascinating to discover what can be found online today.

There are still a few branches of the family for which we have no new information. Perhaps I should follow braumeister's lead and start sending emails to everyone identified by 23andme as a 4th cousin and closer.

omni

 

[sengsational]

the kicker was that this opened up a branch of the family that had always been a brick wall for me. It turns out that she is descended from a sibling of my "dead end" ancestor, and now I have way more information -- exactly what I have wanted for years.

So, bottom line, spitting into a test tube can be way more useful than you might expect!

I did 23 and me a while back, but have not taken the time to get any real value from it. That's probably because I don't know what cool stuff I could learn. Like you, the health stuff was just 'gee wiz' to me, but it didn't generate anything actionable.

I have linked up with some cousins I know, and one or two more distant cousins that contacted me. I hope I set 'the right' sharing settings!

How does a dead end ancestor manifest on the web site output? In other words, how would I recognize if I had one of those doors to open? Why did you want the info that you got by dicovering this new information? Is it just curiosity?

 

[jerome len]

Many years, ago, when my Mom was sick the Doctor advised us we could test against a similar illness. My Aunt and GodMother was in the room and she said absolutely not. Her reason was "all I would do is worry, I'd rather not know" Now, my Mother loved bread and butter, gravy on her potatoes, pies and cakes......and was fairly overweight.

Today, I've outlived my Mother, I'm heavy on salads, veggies, lean fish and chicken and never eat pies or cakes. I excercise, my mother didn't. What's my point? I do what it takes for a long life....I don't know if I'll have one but all testing would do is make me worry. I guess that if there was something very important that a new drug would help I'd test and take it. So far, my formula has worked....I feel great, know I'm aging but am healthy and credit my lifestyle for it.

 

[braumeister]

How does a dead end ancestor manifest on the web site output? In other words, how would I recognize if I had one of those doors to open? Why did you want the info that you got by dicovering this new information? Is it just curiosity?

I haven't spent any appreciable time on their website, so I'm the wrong person to ask about its capabilities. I've dabbled in my family's genealogy for many years, and I was always stuck on on particular branch (my mother's father ). All the other branches had some good information available through all the many sources I used, but not that one. I had family stories about him and his background, but could never find any documentation.

So when someone with both shared genetic information and also that same name in her family contacted me, it was easy to compare notes. She had a fair amount of documented information on that branch, so I learned a lot.

And yes, just curiosity.

 

[Free To Canoe]

Just sent in my test kit. Wanting to know my percentage Neanderthal but not too interested in the health info but the raw data will be available to me.

 

[donheff]

Just sent in my test kit. Wanting to know my percentage Neanderthal but not too interested in the health info but the raw data will be available to me.

The science is in: Europeans and Asians have a significant percentage of Neanderthal DNA, Africans don't. Will white supremacists have to start claiming Neanderthals were supermen?

 

[razztazz]

Just sent in my test kit. Wanting to know my percentage Neanderthal but not too interested in the health info but the raw data will be available to me.

That's the kind of thing I wanted to know. There was some evidence floating around in the family that I was substantially Native American. Debunked.

Found out I am even more Mediterranean than I thought I was even with all the light hair and eyes in the family.

Slightly more Neanderthal than regular humans which surprised me because I am not a naturally all muscled up guy, don't have a big hairy chest, and I listen to opera.

 

[braumeister]

Slightly more Neanderthal than regular humans which surprised me because I am not a naturally all muscled up guy, don't have a big hairy chest, and I listen to opera.

Be careful with those stereotypes:

Neanderthals sang opera, British archaeologist Steven Mithen, originator of the theory that music was used as a form of pre-linguistic communication by these pre-historic people, told EFE.
“The musicality of the Neanderthals can be identified more with opera than with rap because in addition to music, these hominids also used dance and body language as forms of communication,” said Mithen, author of “The Singing Neanderthals”.
“Rap is associated with a particular type of music based on words and phrases, something the Neanderthals lacked,” Mithen said.

Neanderthal Opera | oboeinsight

 

[razztazz]

Originally Posted by razztazz View Post
Slightly more Neanderthal than regular humans which surprised me because I am not a naturally all muscled up guy, don't have a big hairy chest, and I listen to opera.


Be careful with those stereotypes:

Quote:
Neanderthals sang opera, British archaeologist Steven Mithen, originator of the theory that music was used as a form of pre-linguistic communication by these pre-historic people, told EFE.
“The musicality of the Neanderthals can be identified more with opera than with rap because in addition to music, these hominids also used dance and body language as forms of communication,” said Mithen, author of “The Singing Neanderthals”.
“Rap is associated with a particular type of music based on words and phrases, something the Neanderthals lacked,” Mithen said.


Interesting! So, maybe that why I listen to opera...?