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Review of 23andMe’s GrandTree Feature

Ever wonder whether you get your red hair from your grandmother or grandfather? Is it grandma’s fault that you are likely to go bald?

The GrandTree feature on 23andMe allows you to link together three generations to see what a grandchild inherited from their grandparents. This seems to be the ultimate way to know who to blame.

The GrandTree feature starts off by giving a great explanation of how inheritance works – and why grandchildren don’t necessarily have exactly 25% of their grandparent’s DNA.

Part of the explanation of recombination from 23andMe’s GrandTree

 

 

 

 

Once you have everyone sharing their reports with each other, it is easy to go in and select who occupies each branch of the tree.  The Total DNA Inheritance option shows how much DNA each grandchild shares with a grandparent. For example, this ranges, in the case of my kids, between 21 and 31%.

If you have the health reports for everyone included in the sharing, you can also see some fun health and trait sharing information. Highly important information can be gained — such as who to blame for your unibrow genes or from whom your cheek dimples are likely to have come.

None of the traits are highly impactful or vitally important, but it is fun to see how inheritance works in a nice visual format.  One nice feature is to be able to trace a particular gene; if there is one particular gene that interests you, you can trace it back to see which grandparent it came from.

 


Related Articles and Genes:

 

Intriguing Genes: Differences in how we smell things
This article takes a look into the genetic variants in the odor receptor genes and how they influence one’s response to their environment.

The ‘redhead’ gene
The genetic variant that causes red shades of hair impacts other aspects of our health as well. Carrying the variant can cause an increased risk of melanoma as well as possibly impacting the way you respond to certain analgesics.

 


About the Author:
Debbie Moon is the founder of Genetic Lifehacks. Fascinated by the connections between genes, diet, and health, her goal is to help you understand how to apply genetics to your diet and lifestyle decisions. Debbie has a BS in engineering from Colorado School of Mines and an MSc in biological sciences from Clemson University. Debbie combines an engineering mindset with a biological systems approach to help you understand how genetic differences impact your optimal health.