23andme

I’m a DNA addict. I love finding learning about my ancestry, but I don’t have the time or patience to do the hard work of tracking down historic records, visiting cemeteries, spending weeks in the library’s microfiche archives. Nor do I have the money to hire a professional to do the work for me. So I’ve participated had my brother swab his cheek for National Geographic’s DNA project. And I swabbed my cheek for my DNA info from Family Tree. And, now, I’m spitting into a test tube for 23andme. The feedback my brother received from National Geographic was interesting, but very general about our ancestors 20,000 or so years ago. I was wanting to know more about folks in the middle ages, maybe, or even ancient Roman times, but it’s hard to relate to 20,000 years ago. The Family Tree was more detailed but I find it very hard to understand. And I had dinner with a 23andme fan recently so I decided it was worth the $99 to check it out. This time I get not only geneology information but health information as well. After carefully following the directions on the box, I started spitting away. Fortunately I’m not very good at it, and filling up the tube looked as if it was going to take all day, so I stopped to open up and read the more detailed directions inside (as opposed to on the box itself). Discovering that I wasn’t to spit within 30 minutes of eating, drinking or chewing gum. And I’d just thrown out my gum. So my advice if you choose 23andme is to read ALL of the directions before beginning!

Related articles

• Why 23andMe Is About More Than You And Me (portal.lillycoi.com)
• Personal Genetics With 23andMe (alexinleeds.com)