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To achieve this, our scientific team continually reviews the latest research in genomics and follows which studies hit our quality bar before translating into meaningful genomic insights for you and your future children.
It’s not enough for results to be reported by a single author or institution. We look for reproducible case-control studies before putting any results into our products.
No results on our reports have a population size under 10,000 individuals
Your results are processed in a CLIA/CAP certified laboratory, the same standards trusted by the largest academic medical centers and physicians.
Each report is reviewed by a genetics expert before delivery to you.
Advances in computational and molecular biology allow us to characterize the genetic basis of common conditions such as heart disease or cancers more accurately than ever before. Two decades after sequencing the first human genome, we finally have enough data available on hundreds of thousands of sequenced individuals, to quantify genetic susceptibility to disease.
We use multiple markers across the genome known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to calculate you and your future child’s chances of developing several common conditions. While individually, each of these SNPs has a small impact on disease risk, their combined effect, calculated as a genetic risk score, is larger than any single gene, or family history alone.
The specific SNPs used in the genetic risk scores for each condition were curated by observing which SNPs are found more often in individuals with a condition compared to individuals without the condition. SNPs included in our risk calculations have been consistently demonstrated and validated through aggregated data from hundreds of thousands of individuals.
Our approach allows us to provide genetic predisposition results to common conditions that can happen to anyone - not just rare genetic diseases found in a small group of people.
When considering more than one gene at a time, estimating the chance of a genetic predisposition to a condition being passed onto the next generation gets complicated. We run many simulations of the ways you and your partners’ DNA (and associated genetic risks) can combine. This gives us a sense of which disease risks might be elevated in your potential child or children. This sophisticated modeling technique allows us to model complex inheritance patterns previously not possible due to its large statistical computing requirements.
Results are reported as a range because each person’s genetic risk score is personalized and no two family members - siblings included - may have the same exact genetic risk to a common condition.
Central to the simulation is modeling when matching regions on matching chromosomes break and reconnect to the other chromosome. This is known as recombination, which happens during the formation of sperm and egg cells to introduce additional genetic diversity.
Our simulation model is based on key papers demonstrating it is possible to model the potential genomes that you and your partner are likely to create:
American Journal of Human Genetics, 66(6), 1911–1926.
Recombination happens more often at the ends of the chromosomes and less often when there has already been a recombination event nearby.
Broman, K. W., & Weber, J. L. (2000).
Read MoreAmerican Journal of Human Genetics, 66(6), 1911–1926.
Recombination happens more often at the ends of the chromosomes and less often when there has already been a recombination event nearby.
Broman, K. W., & Weber, J. L. (2000).
Read MoreAmerican Journal of Human Genetics, 66(6), 1911–1926.
Recombination happens more often at the ends of the chromosomes and less often when there has already been a recombination event nearby.
Broman, K. W., & Weber, J. L. (2000).
Read MoreIn addition to statistical modeling and forecasting in our preconception report, if you are considering in vitro fertilization (IVF), we use whole genome next-generation sequencing to assess the specific genetic risks for each embryo. This allows you to potentially reduce your child’s genetic risks during in vitro fertilization (IVF). We apply the same rigorous science used in analyzing your DNA to embryo biopsy samples at our CLIA-certified laboratory. The embryo report allows you to make an informed decision about which embryo to consider prioritizing for transfer.
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Review some landmark studies we used to help generate our genetic risk scores:
PLoS Medicine, 14(3), e1002258.
Using data from over 70,000 individuals, genetic risk scoring for Alzheimer’s disease can now predict both the chance of developing Alzheimer’s and the estimated age of onset. Individuals with elevated genetic risk are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s at an earlier age, even among individuals with a normal ApoE genotype (E3/E3).
Desikan, R. S., et al., (2017).
Read MorePLoS Medicine, 14(3), e1002258.
Using data from over 70,000 individuals, genetic risk scoring for Alzheimer’s disease can now predict both the chance of developing Alzheimer’s and the estimated age of onset. Individuals with elevated genetic risk are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s at an earlier age, even among individuals with a normal ApoE genotype (E3/E3).
Desikan, R. S., et al., (2017).
Read MorePLoS Medicine, 14(3), e1002258.
Using data from over 70,000 individuals, genetic risk scoring for Alzheimer’s disease can now predict both the chance of developing Alzheimer’s and the estimated age of onset. Individuals with elevated genetic risk are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s at an earlier age, even among individuals with a normal ApoE genotype (E3/E3).
Desikan, R. S., et al., (2017).
Read MorePLoS Medicine, 14(3), e1002258.
Using data from over 70,000 individuals, genetic risk scoring for Alzheimer’s disease can now predict both the chance of developing Alzheimer’s and the estimated age of onset. Individuals with elevated genetic risk are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s at an earlier age, even among individuals with a normal ApoE genotype (E3/E3).
Desikan, R. S., et al., (2017).
Read MorePLoS Medicine, 14(3), e1002258.
Using data from over 70,000 individuals, genetic risk scoring for Alzheimer’s disease can now predict both the chance of developing Alzheimer’s and the estimated age of onset. Individuals with elevated genetic risk are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s at an earlier age, even among individuals with a normal ApoE genotype (E3/E3).
Desikan, R. S., et al., (2017).
Read MorePLoS Medicine, 14(3), e1002258.
Using data from over 70,000 individuals, genetic risk scoring for Alzheimer’s disease can now predict both the chance of developing Alzheimer’s and the estimated age of onset. Individuals with elevated genetic risk are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s at an earlier age, even among individuals with a normal ApoE genotype (E3/E3).
Desikan, R. S., et al., (2017).
Read More
