Deoxyribonucleic acid, that is. My genes are awash with the stuff. And now it has the stain fighting power of bleach!

No, not really – but it felt like the appropriate title for this article which is the second in my “What’s in Heath’s Genes?” series.

A month ago I spit in a cup and sent it off to be tested – if you don’t recall that you can read more about it in What’s in your genes? Well my results are in and I have already spent several hours learning all sorts of interesting things about myself. It’s tough to be even more interesting than I already am, but now I’m interesting at the genetic level. So let’s see what I’ve learned…

*** Disclaimer ***

Finding out what’s in your genes can be a scary / exciting / enlightening process – not to be entered into lightly. You may discover things that you don’t want to know, or you might be pleasantly surprised to discover that you’re free and clear in some areas. It’s just one more interesting data point to review, along with your environmental factors – don’t let it change who you are, because really, you can’t change your genes, just your jeans.

* Image from Wikipedia

OK let’s get into this and see what interesting things are in my strands.

The results are in two major sections: Health, and Ancestry. Health provides you with a wide variety of data on diseases/ailments/stuff that you might be at risk for, have decreased risk for, or have a typical risk for. You will also learn about some basic traits you have related to your health/body based on your genetic makeup. Ancestry provides information on where you came from – both from a maternal and paternal side. You can even find other people on the site who have similar genetic patterns as you. They might turn out to be relatives you didn’t know you had!

Let’s start with Heath’s Health. I’m not going to share too much here (because there is a LOT to explore), but here were some of the more interesting things:

  • My genes offer me a decreased risk for Type 1 Diabetes, but a standard level of risk for Type 2 Diabetes.
  • I do not carry the necessary mutations to be at risk for Phenylketonuria (you know that stuff that you’re warned about on the back of soda cans)
  • I do not carry the necessary mutations to be at risk for Maple Syrup Urine Disease Type 1B. Seriously – there’s a disease with that name.
  • When I drink alcohol, my genes prevent my face from blushing/flushing.
  • My earwax type is “wet” vs. “dry”.
  • I am 27% likely to have green eyes (which I do) and only 1% likely to have brown eyes (which I don’t).
  • I am likely to be lactose tolerant (genetically) – but there could be environmental factors that alter that.
  • I do not have genetic-based resistance to the stomach flu.
  • I have slightly lower odds of being schizophrenic or bipolar. (whew!)
  • My non-verbal IQ is genetically 3 points higher on average.
  • I metabolize caffeine quickly (which means I can drink a lot of soda/coffee and not get the jitters).

Moving on to Ancestry. Let’s see where I came from…

On mom’s side I’m in haplogroup H5a1, which is typically associated with Lebanese, Polish, and Irish. Here’s a map of where the haplogroup originated oh so many years ago:

I really don’t have much information about my maternal line, but I can say that way back when I am distantly related to Marie Antoinette.

When it comes to the paternal line we have:

As you can see it’s got a lot of similarities to the maternal line, although more “European” in nature. I do know a bit more about this side of the family, and in fact some Buckmaster’s have traced their origins back to Sir Francis Drake and beyond.

What does this all mean? Basically both sides of my DNA strands are European in origin. I have absolutely no Native American, no Asian, and no African genes.

I am 67.88% genetically similar to people living in Northern Europe. I am 63.37% genetically similar to people living in Africa. The numbers are pretty darn close together – because human are more than 99% genetically similar no matter where they are. That’s right – we’re all genetically “identical” :-) .

Through this process I’ve also discovered 286 3rd, 4th, and 5th cousins. Well – at some point everyone becomes a cousin if they share even a scrap of genetics with you.

It’s been an insightful process and I learn more every time I look at the data. Some things I will want to talk to my doctor about – other things are just interesting data points to know about myself. And I have to remind myself that just because my genes say something might happen, it doesn’t mean they really will.

But just in case I think I will lay off the maple syrup.