DNA and Me - part two

My brother and I bought DNA kits from 23 AND ME. "23 and Me"was one of the first companies offering a breakdown of your DNA for $ and a bit of your spit in a tube. "23 and Me" in the past gave their customers not only results of your DNA heritage divided by world area but a long list of medical possibilities/problems/illnesses that your particular DNA made you susceptible to. The FDA disallowed the medical results being passed on to customers. They just weren't sure if the science was quite up to snuff yet. Maybe it was not appropriate to give info that could possibly be upsetting to everyday folks. Their stock plummeted I guess and now there were also other companies offering DNA testing, jumping on the family history bandwagon. To keep the company going they dropped their prices and offered to test not only your Autosomal DNA (areas you descend from) but your Mitochondrial (mother) and Y (father) haplogroups, along with your percentage of Neanderthal genes for a much better price than the competing companies.

My brother and I, really being good frugal Scandinavians, bought our "spit kits" from them. And we got a 10% discount for buying them together. Later on I will tell you those results in detail but for now lets just say that since all four of our grandparents just got off the herring boat from Scandinavia, our results were no big surprise.

About two weeks ago I got an email from "23 and Me". The FDA had allowed them to release some of those medical mysteries hiding in my DNA and I would get the results shortly. They also doubled their price for future customers.

I was really conflicted about this. Did I want to know? My maternal grandfather had died from Parkinsons disease. One of my grandmother's had had type II diabetes, the other chronic lymphocytic leukemia. My mom died at 47 from cancer and so did her brother, my uncle. My dad had died from heart disease.

Then I got a grip on myself. Heck I'm almost 64! Of course my parents and grandparents are
dead and they had to die of something! Except a great aunt who got hit by a bus in Norway. I have already hit the jackpot as far as health is concerned. Sure I have high blood pressure (like Dad) and asthma/allergies but we live in the 21st century for Pete's sake and in the Western world with good health care. Plus I never did care for cats anyway.

Here are my DNA results

I am 79% likely to be a redhead
I likely have very fair skin and only light to moderate freckling
I likely have blue or light grey eyes
I was probably born bald
I likely don't have dimples
I likely don't have a cleft in my chin
I likely don't have a unibrow
I likely don't have a widows peak
I likely have detached earlobes
I likely have wet ear wax
My big toe is probably longer than my second toe
I am not lactose intolerant
I have the capacity to consume a large amount of caffeine
I am not likely to sneeze when exposed to bright sunlight
I likely prefer salty to sweet snacks
I don't carry the variant which causes Sickle-Cell Anemia

and my very favorite  (drum roll please)
I likely have the ability to notice the unique odor in the pee of those who have just eaten asparagus
WHAT THE ???????????????????

My husband just laughed. "So you paid good money to find out what you could see for free in the mirror?"

Yeah, I guess he is right.  I still got a kick out of it that they could tell all that from my spit. And it was right on the money.

Except for the pee thing....I really don't care to sniff someones urine to see if that is true or not. I think I will just take their word on that.

free clipart from http://phillipmartin.info/