23andMe, Phase 2: The Results Are In
A few weeks ago I posted about my decision to partake in personal genotyping courtesy of a the new start-up 23andMe, and my brother-in-law. Only two weeks after mailing my spit-kit back to the lab, I opened my email and (behold!) my results were in. My heart started pounding as I logged into the website to get a glimpse of my fate. All of a sudden, I started to feel ill and wondered…is there a gene for nausea? As I clicked and read, my anxiety subsided. Here are the highlights of what I learned:
Part 1: The Gene Journal: I am categorized as European (not a big surprise), so as compared to the “average” European, my risks for a heart attack, pulmonary embolism, diabetes, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, obesity, restless leg syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis are a bit lower than when compared to the average European. I was psyched about that, especially the obesity part! I also found out that I am part of the select few who have the sprinter’s gene! My earwax is wet instead of dry (yuck, either way), I cannot taste certain bitter flavors (so brussel sprouts taste good to me) and I am lactose intolerant and have a “normal” reaction to alcohol.
Part 2: Ancestry: So, my largest marker was in the Far East with Northern and Eastern European areas coming in at a close tie for second. There are sprinklings of my ancestry in Africa, Asia, Russia and North America, and I share the same haplogroup as Jesse James, Marie Antionette, Warren & Jimmy Buffett and Bono.
Part 3: Genome Labs: This is where I can compare myself to my family and other participants. I need to wait a little while to take advantage of this.
So, that’s about it for now. All 23 pairs of chromosomes were sequenced, and I can sift through the hundreds of thousands of pages of information that they have for me if I want to learn more, but it doesn’t really make a lot of sense at this point. I need a good genetics refresher to take full advantage of all of the information, I guess. And with that, I wish everyone a happy and healthy 2008!
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Comments (4 Responses)
[...] I put out a call to other saliva-spitting bloggers about three weeks ago. Bloggers like Mark Fletcher, Lara at LaunchSquad and Kevin Kelly. We are all trying these new personal genome services and its interesting to get multiple viewpoints. [...]
[...] Lara blogs about her test results. I like the heart pounding part when opening… Hell, everyone must be scared of eventual bad news! [...]
[...] Also, I want to hear how long it took all the other saliva-spitting bloggers to fill their tubes. You hear me Arrington, Gary Wolf, Mark Fletcher and Lara at LaunchSquad? [...]
Jason
Posted on December 30th, 2007 at 5:29 pm.
congrats on taking the plunge, sounds interesting, even given these early days!