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I am 3.1% Neanderthal

After a long wait, I received an email from 23andMe saying that my first DNA result had arrived. According to the first result, I am 3.1% Neanderthal. Wow! I knew I wasn’t 100% modern human. I can now feel comfortable eating dinosaur all day everyday!

So what? Am I a caveman? Actually yes, but that has little to do with the percentage of Neanderthal DNA in your genome. Our perception of Neanderthals as big oafs is clouded by our own notion of superiority and pop culture caricatures. How we are different and why modern humans survived and Neanderthals didn’t is still mostly a mystery.

The results keep coming. I figure out more about the genetic markup of my parents and the specific locations where my gene originates. It shows that I’m not 100% Asian, which means my ancestors mingled around the world before we know America existed.

I was very interested in knowing my genetic health interpretation base on my genetic code. However, due to 23andme’s truggle with FDA’s approval for generating health reports base on the genome code, they are not authorized to give out those information anymore. Luckily, I found this website which let me import my 23andme raw data and retrieve interpreted health report for $5. It is very interesting, but it is also very detailed and will take a long time to come to any conclusion. The most obvious health condition that I have is Asian Flush, which is the condition that my face turns red while consuming alcohol. The upside on that is I’m less likely to have any alcoholic, smoking nor drug addiction.

So is it right for you?

I think 23andme and Promethese are perfect for me. It’s like knowing more about your genetic code for a little over $100. However, it might not be for everyone. Some people might have fear of knowing, some people are simply not interested. One of the really great things about 23andMe is the fact that they provide a sea of useful information for those who are interested in learning more about their genome and the interpretation of specific genes. You can check out their Youtube videos and make an informed decision on whether or not it is right for you.

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