Sleep Genes Update + Uploading Genetic Data to AI

Weekly newsletter for Genetic Lifehacks

Updates and Bookmarks:
The Genetic Lifehacks website has gotten a subtle overhaul on colors and design - plus, a new feature. Members can now bookmark pages. You will see a little bookmark button at the top of articles, and a dropdown menu to find your favorites on the right sidebar.

The sleep genes overview and thyroid hormone articles have been with with new information and better organization.

I also wanted to give everyone a heads-up that I'm going to raise the monthly price for new members a little bit. This won't affect current members - your price is locked in for as long as you have the subscription. However, if you cancel your membership and then want to renew later at your original price, just email me for a coupon code.

AI for your genes?
Over the last few months, I've received several emails from people who have uploaded their genetic raw data files to various AI options to chat about their genes. The emails I got were usually along the lines of, "Why does your article say X when ChatGPT says Y?"

I find this trend of uploading raw data to an AI intriguing. So I took a section of my raw data, anonymized it by changing some of the genotypes, and fed it into the machines to see what the "AI" has to say about my genes.

Gemini (Google's AI) said interpreting genetic raw data is complex and similar to giving medical advice, which it can't do. It recommended consulting a healthcare professional, and just left it at that.

In contrast, ChatGPT was eager to help, telling me about SNPs associated with health conditions. It explained my FADS2 genetic variants and recommended that I eat fish or take algal oil supplements. This was good advice, so I asked for references to the information. ChatGPT provided several nicely formatted references with links; however, the links did not go to the cited sources. The first study didn't even exist when I searched for it by title, and the second reference title did exist, but it was off-topic.

Then, ChatGPT offered a summary of my FADS variants' clinical traits. That's when things got a little wonky! It created a nice chart of SNPs, alleles, and clinical impact. However, it explained that I had both faster and lower FADS2 expression, which didn't make much sense. I double-checked the SNPs, and the rs IDs mapped to completely different genes that were totally unrelated to FADS2. (The chart looked great, and I would have believed it if I hadn't checked the rs ids.)

Moving on to Claude - it offered me insight on my TCN2 variants. It gave a good explanation of TCN2 and vitamin B12 transport first, and then went into my SNPs. While it correctly listed a couple of the rs IDs and my genotypes, it didn't provide specifics on what my genotype meant. Instead, it said that TCN2 SNPs can cause low B12, altered homocysteine, and neurological problems. My SNPs there were actually the common genotype and not linked to low B12. When I asked Claude for sources for this information, I received the following reply: "I don't have the ability to cite specific papers or provide bibliographic references for the information I shared."

Grok started off well and provided a list of four SNPs along with their genes, the significance, my genotype, and the meaning of each SNP. It looked really good! However, out of the four SNPs, two were not in the gene it listed and were not associated with the disease for which I was supposedly at risk. If I had believed Grok, I would be off to the doctor to talk about my serious risk for chronic kidney disease. Yes, I spent 20 minutes looking at research on the gene that Grok identified before realizing that the rs id wasn't associated with that gene at all - or kidney disease.

My takeaway: It's a cool idea to upload some genetic data and chat about all the potential diseases and nutrition advice. However -- incorrect genes, 100% incorrect disease associations, and made-up references make the AI agents dangerous to use unless you double and triple check everything.

The way the AI information is given is so confident and smooth that I wanted to believe it all - even the stuff that I knew was completely wrong.

I'm going to stick with using AI tools for what they are good at, such as getting editing suggestions for articles I've written. Language models are really good at suggesting edits and organizing information. I've been using Perplexity to update old articles by reorganizing the content based on its suggestions, giving me more time to dig into research studies and new topics the old-fashioned way.

Stay curious,

~ Debbie

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Thyroid Hormones: Genes, Hypothyroidism, and T4/T3 Conversion

Key takeaways:
~ The thyroid is a master regulator that controls many of your body’s systems, including metabolism, body temperature, heart rate, breathing, and body weight.[ref]
~ There are two major forms of thyroid hormone: T₄ and T₃. T₄ is the pro-hormone, and T₃ is the active hormone that turns on and off other genes throughout the body.
~ Your thyroid-related genes impact how your body converts T₄ to T₃, regulates TSH levels, and your susceptibility to autoimmune thyroid problems.

Read the full article...

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Problems sleeping? Your genes can point to individualized solutions

Key takeaways:
~ Many sleep disorders, including insomnia and restless leg syndrome, have a strong genetic component. Specific gene variants can affect sleep quality, timing, and duration.
~ Deep sleep and REM sleep are essential for memory, emotional regulation, and physical health. Sleep deprivation is linked to impaired cognition, cardiovascular problems, and obesity.
~ Adenosine builds up during the day to induce sleep pressure, while neuropeptide S and neurotransmitters like GABA and serotonin influence sleep stages and quality.
~ Exposure to blue light at night disrupts melatonin production and circadian rhythms. Reducing light exposure in the evening can improve sleep.

Read the full article...

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What I've been reading:

1. Reduced Alzheimer's risk with HIV drugs

This is a very interesting study on the reduced risk of dementia in people taking nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors for HIV or hepatitis B. Researchers used data from the VA and an insurance database and compared it with matched controls. They found that nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors significantly reduced the risk of Alzheimer's. These HIV drugs also tamp down the NLRP3 inflammasome response, which is thought to drive their protection against Alzheimer's.

I'm going to write a Longevity Lifehacks article on this soon... In the meantime, you can read up on NLRP3 and check your genes here.

2. Changes in the aging gut microbiome triggering senescence

An increase in cellular senescence is one of the hallmarks of aging. Researchers have found that an increase in a gut bacterial metabolite that occurs with aging also causes endothelial senescence.