Everything you ever wanted to know about your genes

A couple weeks back I applied for 23andme's 'Personal Genome Service'. What that means is they send you a test tube, you fill it with your spit and send it back them. In return, they give you a complete rundown on your genes and what they mean. Ancestry, diseases, personal traits. Anything contained in the genes that's been researched already, you will know how it applies to your genes. Yesterday my results finally became available.

The amount of information you get is astonishing. I wouldn't say it was surprising, or even very useful. Definitely interesting, though. I won't go into too much details because there's plenty of information about 23and me on the internet. What interests me the most is that it's now possible for anyone to just have access to this information. It's beautiful.

On a personal level I did not encounter many surprises. I learned that my genes were susceptible for a mild medical condition that doctors had already previously confirmed I had. Other than that I had no unexpected diseases, no close relatives I never knew I had, nothing too much out of the ordinary. Oh, except one thing. Apparently there's a bunch of genes related to obesity, and I have most of them. I now have a great excuse to eat like a madman and blame it all on my genes!

One thing that did surprise was that it's not easy to predict ABO blood type based on genes. Apparently there's a whole bunch of genes that, combined together, make up for the blood type that we all know and love. There is a "Find out your probably blood type" on the site, but it doesn't really evoke a lot of confidence. I might be blood type O, but I could just as well be A.

Anyway, this is cool! I like it.

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