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Ask HN: What did you find in your DNA using 23andme?

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Re: Ask HN: What did you find in your DNA using 23andme?

#42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You violate the terms of their service when you use a fake name. Is that really so horrible? There's no compelling reason they should even be asking for a name, other than to provide cross-references to law-enforcement.

I'm sure insurance companies would also be interested in matching names to genetic data.

https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/testing/discrimination

> Several laws at the federal and state levels help protect people against genetic discrimination. In particular, a federal law called the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) is designed to protect people from this form of discrimination.

> GINA has two parts: Title I, which prohibits genetic discrimination in health insurance, and Title II, which prohibits genetic discrimination in employment. Title I makes it illegal for health insurance providers to use or require genetic information to make decisions about a person's insurance eligibility or coverage. This part of the law went into effect on May 21, 2009. Title II makes it illegal for employers to use a person's genetic information when making decisions about hiring, promotion, and several other terms of employment. This part of the law went into effect on November 21, 2009.

> GINA and other laws do not protect people from genetic discrimination in every circumstance. For example, GINA does not apply when an employer has fewer than 15 employees. It does not cover people in the U.S. military or those receiving health benefits through the Veterans Health Administration or Indian Health Service. GINA also does not protect against genetic discrimination in forms of insurance other than health insurance, such as life, disability, or long-term care insurance.

With regards to law enforcement, they can already perform a familial search in CODIS that will hit on related family members if present in the dataset [1]. One would assume the CODIS dataset will expand a greater rate than 23andme's, considering law enforcement resources.

[1] https://www.fbi.gov/services/laboratory/biometric-analysis/c...

Re: Ask HN: What did you find in your DNA using 23andme?

#43

I highly recommend uploading your 23andme data to Promethease, which dramatically increases the amount of research matched to your genome and provides a better interface: https://promethease.com/ I discovered that I have one copy of the Delta 32 mutation. Two copies provides nearly complete immunity to AIDs, but being lucky enough to have just one copy means that it will take significantly longer to get AIDS should I…

Word of warning. Take promethease with a grain of salt.

For example, promethease predicted a deletion in my genome (didn't actually observe a call, just inferred the deletion from linked sites) for a highly pathogenic disease in my data. However upon further inspection of the loci (I've done deep deep sequencing of my genome) it was a false positive.

Promethease is very very useful, but it shows you all the data including some of the more hairy sites. It is a great starting place but if you find a deleterious variant that may impact your health, follow up with your health care provider.

Re: Ask HN: What did you find in your DNA using 23andme?

#46
I downloaded the "raw" data and by looking up the right genes, discovered I'm a "supertaster" (they have since added this as a trait in their own regular results). This confirmed something I've felt for a long time - almost all green vegetables and things like beer taste absolutely vile to me.. but now I know it's "real" and not just me being fussy.

Re: Ask HN: What did you find in your DNA using 23andme?

#47

I am a South Asian. It told me I was of South Asian ancestry. Was hoping for something more specific than that. I love me some coffee (drink more than 3 cups a day), and it said I am very likely to consume less caffeine. It also told me I have a high chance of having smooth hair, but I have extremely curly hair. And I am extremely skeptical of their traits in general. Some of the traits include: "cilantro taste avers…

My friend is a PhD in quantitative genetics and says that 23andMe is basically a shitty horoscope that costs some of your money and all of your privacy.

Re: Ask HN: What did you find in your DNA using 23andme?

#48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure insurance companies would also be interested in matching names to genetic data.

https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/testing/discrimination > Several laws at the federal and state levels help protect people against genetic discrimination. In particular, a federal law called the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) is designed to protect people from this form of discrimination. > GINA has two parts: Title I, which prohibits genetic discrimination in health insurance, and Title II, which pro…

How can I verify whether these laws are being followed?

Re: Ask HN: What did you find in your DNA using 23andme?

#49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/testing/discrimination > Several laws at the federal and state levels help protect people against genetic discrimination. In particular, a federal law called the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) is designed to protect people from this form of discrimination. > GINA has two parts: Title I, which prohibits genetic discrimination in health insurance, and Title II, which pro…

How can I verify whether these laws are being followed?

If you suspect they are not, you would file a complaint with your state's insurance regulatory body (the name is different in each state, but easily obtainable through a search) and provide your evidence with the complaint.

Re: Ask HN: What did you find in your DNA using 23andme?

#50
I found the information about haplogroups interesting. It shows the migration paths out of Africa for both your mother's and father's ancestors (only men show the father's haplogroup). Not only was the background information about human migration very interesting, but the results also tallied well with our own speculations about parents' heritage.
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