23andMe, C/D

So nobody here, I guess?

this is kind of what I do. SNPs are still basically worthless for any trait that involves more than a few of them (so like almost all diseases and traits). I don't know too much about 23andme, but the only thing it could possibly be very good for is telling you roughly where on earth your ancestors came from; like if you wanted to know if that 1/16th native american thing your grandma is always talking about is true this could probably tell you, but it WON'T be able to tell you exactly what American or African tribe (someone should tell Oprah this) or little town in Slovakia or whatever that they were from.

if people start talking about DRD4 or MAOA ("warrior gene" lol) or 5HTT or any other single candidate gene "for" personality or intelligence or whatever, the appropriate response is to scoff (as I and my file drawer have unfortunately found out first hand).

If you are azn it could tell you whether you carry the fucked up version of ALDH2 that makes you unable to metabolize alcohol properly. But then if you are azn and drinking gives you a splitting headache and makes your face all red you probably know that you don't like to drink already.

(it could also tell you whether you are the cuckoo's egg, but do you really want to know?)

Sorry for all the posts, but I wonder if 23andme will include a BRCA test now that the supreme court finally made the obviously-correct-to-any-non-insane-decision that genes can't be patented? that would be useful, if you have breasts.

Thanks, actually- it's good to hear from somebody who knows what the hell they're talking about. I've always been curious about this because I'm adopted, and under circumstances that make it kind of difficult to get a family history (painful miscarriage-related memories for my parents, sealed records). In addition to the standard adopted-kid curiosity I'm really thinking I should get some kind of medical history after going through weeks of blood tests and inconclusive doctor's appointments to find out a possible reason I'm tired all the damn time is Gilbert's Syndrome. Which, fortunately, is pretty much completely harmless, but it kind of makes me wonder what else I might be predisposed to...

Hey yeah, if you're adopted you might find the ethnicity-related information from 23andme to be interesting!

Here's a list of the disorders that have been associated in at least one study with the markers tested on whatever SNP chip 23andme uses: https://www.23andme.com/health/all/. The only ones that even have a CHANCE of being informative are the ones with asterisks, which probably indicate that the effects were still significant in meta-analyses.

I don't know anything about Gilbert's, but wikipedia says that the polymorphism most commonly associated with it is a dinucleotide repeat in UGT1A1. I can't find any information on the 23andme site about exactly what kinds of polymorphisms they test for, but I suspect it's only for single nucleotide polymorphisms, not for repeat polymorphisms. It could be like muscular dystrophy where there are lots of different ways that the same gene could be messed up to produce the same basic syndrome, in which case maybe your health insurance would cover the cost of having that gene sequenced for you (but I'm guessing probably not). Woah I should probably remind you at this point that I'm not your doctor! You should ask your doctor what he/she thinks of 23andme.

I'm not your doctor either but I'm not a big fan. Genetic testing is hardly ever relevant in clinical practice; when it is, the clinical context determines the tests that are indicated. Strikes me as the genetic equivalent of the "whole body MRI" some patients wish they could have, which is similarly useless and can even be harmful by triggering unnecessary concern and follow up tests.

Gilbert syndrome AFAIK is usually considered an incidental finding, not rare, asymptomatic in most people who have it, and most often diagnosed as part of a general medical workup, as is usually done for fatigue. I wouldn't think that's a reasonable explanation for your symptoms, unless they've been life long, since you've had it your whole life.

has anyone done this besides me? I just found out I am a genetic MESS.

I already know i'm a genetic mess (and a mess in general), considering it, doesn't seem too expensive for what could be useful medical info. Real curious about the drug response findings since to see if they match what i've found through real-life usage. I too would ignore most categories without astrisks though. Their site promises more than they could possibly deliver, and having a genetic predisposition for certain traits often =/= having those actual traits.

The headline says it all: "The 23andMe Data Breach Keeps Spiraling
https://www.wired.com/story/23andme-breach-sec-update/

"After hack, 23andMe gives users 30 days to opt out of class-action waiver"
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/12/23andme-changes-arbitration-terms-after-hack-impacting-millions/

Shortly after 23andMe confirmed that hackers stole ancestry data of 6.9 million users, 23andMe has updated its terms of service, seemingly cutting off a path previously granted to users seeking public accountability when resolving disputes.

According to a post on Hacker News, the "23andMe Team" notified users in an email that "important updates were made to the Dispute Resolution and Arbitration section" of 23andMe's terms of service on November 30. This was done, 23andMe told users, "to include procedures that will encourage a prompt resolution of any disputes and to streamline arbitration proceedings where multiple similar claims are filed."

In the email, 23andMe told users that they had 30 days to notify the ancestry site that they disagree with the new terms. Otherwise, 23andMe users "will be deemed to have agreed to the new terms."

23 and me told me that i am part indian (gujarati) and i loved that it also says that i have 0% german even though my mom's maiden name is german.

if hackers want to know this, they can knock themselves out

They weren't using MFA for genetic data? Good god.

Some of the gnarliest database work I've done has been for medical companies where HIPAA complance is front-and-center. The more I read about 23andMe's attitude to all this, I'm fine if they're sued out of existence and their headquarters sown with radioactive salt.

I had this come up recently in an estate where we needed to find out whether someone was the decedent's child. Her lawyer wanted to use the results from 23 and Me. They were completely useless, nearly random associations. I guess that's not surprising; I don't think they purport to offer results precise enough for a court of law.

I did not find it accurate based on what I know of my family. My wife’s was more accurate.

Mine said I’m very-Irish and genealogically I am only a little-Irish. I wonder if combinations of genes create new accords of genes— being part Swede and part Ukrainian will give a Turkish result, for example

I've found at least one actual somewhat distant relative thru 23andMe - we confirmed it by working out exactly how we were related. There was one mildly surprising part of my genealogy report but I could not prove it's wrong. I think a lot of people go around thinking "I'm French" or whatever when they maybe have one line of lineage going back to France that's since been diluted with lots of other genes so it shows up muted or not at all in the genealogy report.

I am likely over 3/4 irish but it said i was completely irish with a little gujarati (?). I thought it might be hard for them to distinguish different parts of northern europe. I know I have scandinavian and german heritage but it just didn’t pick it up.

23 agus mé, clearly

That’s v cool, Josefa

I'm not into 23&me for a variety of reasons, chief among them being that perhaps we shouldn't necessarily be celebrating ethnicity all that much, looks where that's gotten us

That said: my cousin did it, and we share a set of grandparents, and she found out that there's a lot of Finnish on that side of the family (my mother's) which I had not anticipated but found interesting.. I thought it was mostly Norwegian

That's cool! My dad's mom was born in the U.S., her parents came from Finland. She spoke Finnish as fluently as English till the day she died. I'm guessing I would get a strong Finnish component (especially since I look like her), but who knows, maybe it would be Swedish or Norwegian.

Good luck hoping the worst possible people don’t buy this

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/mar/24/dna-testing-firm-23andme-bankruptcy-ceo-anne-wojcicki-data

I am very glad I never did this

i got pressured into doing it by my family over 10 years ago. it was a big "christmas gift" and we all had to do it together. what a great time that was!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(deleted my data)

xp Hooo yeah. Torn between how interesting it would be and also, something like this was always the danger, wasn't it?

like tinypic.com, we all just assumed that the data integrity of 23andme.com would be safe forever

Yeah. Just completed the deletion process.

I was going to do this, but now I'm glad I didn't.

nobody should do any of these, ever

Never did this. Never will.

Americans love race science but there are hidden drawbacks

I wonder how effective 'deleting your data' is, it's hard to believe that they don't still have it stored in some respect.

(not that I've ever done this)

my stepmom did it and was excited to find out she was like 2% neanderthal

I've never had any interest

I was lucky thanks to my mom's interest in genealogy and enough Mormons back in the family tree even more interested that we have a pretty clear idea about all of us all this time, so when this started being a thing, my reaction was twofold: 1) "Don't need it" and 2) "Give YOU randos all that info? Fuck off."

I was curious about genetic markers for Alzheimers and such but I don’t know that knowing I have a 80% chance would improve my life.

I had an email a few years ago from a guy who was researching his biological father and who believed he and I might be related. We had a long phone conversation that convinced me he'd put a lot of effort into his quest before stumbling on my contact information. Based on some information he had collected and what I was able to tell him, it seemed almost certain that his father was a long-deceased first cousin of mine. I was glad to be able to send him some photos of his great-grandparents and grandfather. He was very appreciative and polite, but I think he was a bit disappointed by my not wanting to do a DNA test at his expense; that would have resolved all doubts about his father's identity. Happily, a few months later he was able to connect with some of his father's other kids and got genetic confirmation from them. At the time I felt bad about refusing, but I'm glad I did.

My sister has the genetic marker for Alzheimer's and I was curious, as was my daughter, since my mom is now well down the Alzheimer's path as are two of her sisters. We were also curious about the BRCA mutation for breast cancer, since another of my mom's sisters and her mother died of it.

isn't there a way to find that out without posting your DNA/Genealogy to the entire planet? I would hope so

There is the question of whether your medical insurance would pay for the test or if you would get stuck with an unexpected bill as a result

I had a close relative do one of these, meaning most of my genetic markers are out there. It's their saliva, they can do what they want with it, but it feels like it's an invasion of my privacy.

But on an individual level, anyone who wanted to could easily take a sample of your DNA and put it online. I realize having all of this in info in one massive database is more dangerous though (I deleted my 23andMe account today, so thanks for the warning).

DJP is correct. Of course you can be tested for genetic markers through other means, but not for $100 if you are curious about your status and have zero symptoms.

isn't there a way to find that out without posting your DNA/Genealogy to the entire planet? I would hope so

I haven't been to a doctor since 2015, man. The office visit to the minor emergency clinic (trying to imagine telling them I'm fine but I'd like some genetic testing) would cost more than 23andme.

I never could get excited about my personal genealogy, but have known people whose entire social media identity became “yo I just made another breakthrough in this history of my family”

Totally curious about it. Wouldnt do it, sisters did it tho, close enough.

I do enjoy the digging in the e-crates of ancestry for fun tho. I have learned some truly astonishing mind-blowing interesting shit about ancestors that nobody else in my family knew about. That’s all I really want outta that shit, and it don’t come in dna.

LOL the company is at .8% of its peak valuation that’s impressive.

spoke with a friend just this morning who had vanished suddenly a couple weeks ago... her and some cousins did 23andMe for fun and boom, she had zero genetic relationship to any of the cousins. life totally upended, has been dealing with the fallout since then.

wow

that sounds awful, hope it's not too weird to say i'm dying to know more.

basically either 23andMe made a mistake or her dad is not her biological father

Or her parent's sibling was adopted

It'd just mean that someone in the chain isn't biologically related to the grandparents, really, assuming the cousins are all from one side of the family

The best google hit for 23 and Me imo was "23andMe partners with 'Despicable Me 3' for first movie ..." in 2017.

surprising number of people with Minion ancestry

more details exist that narrow down the possibilities but... no need to overshare on a public forum

sent in some spit to a chinese 23 and me type comoany a few days ago. waiting eagely for the results

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/25/the-family-fallout-of-dna-surprises

I will admit that I am just not sentimental about family history and legacy, etc, but I find the business of crazed curiosity about one’s family tree to be grotesquely prurient and ultimately a major invasion of privacy and corrosive to the social fabric when these tests are commercially available. they should be illegal imo

like confronting your mom about banging her boss on some work trip…grow up

yeah good take

How will we know who will inherit the baronetcy