Frequently Asked Questions

Among the companies offering DNA health insights, Xcode Life has the largest portfolio of genetic trait reports. Xcode Life's scientific team curates information from authentic research publications and presents this information as actionable wellness insights in your reports. Xcode Life also accepts a wide variety of raw data files ranging from genotyping (ancestry tests) to Whole Genome Sequencing.

Genetic reports are for informational purposes only. The results in genetic reports are not intended to be of diagnostic nature. A "high risk" in your reports may not result in trait manifestation. Genetic traits are influenced by environment and lifestyle as much as they are by genetics. The raw data files provided by ancestry genetic testing companies make up only 0.03% of your DNA. It may not include all the genetic markers in our database. DNA files from the same ancestry genetic testing company may differ in the number of markers covered.

Xcode Life gene reports are compatible with all types of formats provided by major companies such as 23andme, AncestryDNA, FTDNA, Living DNA, My Heritage DNA, and Whole Genome Sequencing files. Check out the full list of compatible data types here.

At Xcode Life user privacy and security are given the highest priority. We do not sell or share user information even anonymously with third party companies. You are in charge of your data at all times. You can delete your files and even delete your entire account.

The information contained in your report is curated from peer-reviewed scientific research studies. Our scientific team reviews the nature and strength of association and allocates appropriate weightage to each marker. The genetic predisposition is then augmented with actionable insights, where applicable, to help the user adopt beneficial dietary and lifestyle interventions.

You have full control over your data. You can delete all your information including all files and even your account can be deleted.

Please review our complete privacy statement on our Privacy page.

Ancestry tests generate approximately 800,000 gene markers. These markers not only contain your ancestry information, but also contain a large amount health related information. In fact, most ancestry companies now use a gene testing chip specifically designed for health reports, with ancestry markers added to it. So the bulk of the ancestry test data is actually health related data. At Xcode Life, we offer more than 15 different types of health and wellness reports containing more than 700 traits. We continue to add reports to our offerings on a regular basis.

DNA data or DNA raw data is the saliva test data that comes from the machine. This data looks like a sequence of alphabets like a computer code. The DNA raw data then has to be interpreted by algorithms to produce human understandable health and wellness reports. These reports are typically provided to you as PDFreports or as browsable reports in the company portal. DNA raw data is not provided until you specifically request it. Most companies will share your raw data with you on request, while some may not.

Xcode Life reports are compatible with raw data from all major ancestry, health, and sequencing services. However, if you are yet to take an ancestry test, we recommend 23andMe.

Your DNA raw data file will continue to be present in your account dashboard till you choose to delete it. You can delete your raw data and account anytime.

In the rare event that your file is not compatible, we will refund the amount in full.

The BRCA and Breast Cancer Report is not a part of our Mega Pack. The report is available for $40 and can be ordered here.

The option of uploading whole-genome files is available. There are no additional charges involved in uploading whole-genome files if you are ordering a mega pack. For all other products, an additional $20 processing fee is applicable.

COMT gene influences the metabolization of dopamine. A variant in the COMT gene results in a lower enzymatic activity, and thereby higher dopamine levels. The A allele carriers are considered to be the "Worrier" (AA) genotype. The G variant results in higher enzymatic activity, and lower dopamine levels. The GG carriers are assigned the "Warrior" genotype. Carriers of the third genotype, AG are intermediate metabolizers of Dopamine. They are assigned a status that is both a warrior or worrier and which one of these traits dominates may depend on some external factors including lifestyle and environment.

Yes, we accept tellmeGen raw data files. These files are usually downloaded in the zip format and contain a CSV file upon unzipping. You can follow the instructions here to download the correct format of your DNA raw data file.

Please note that we do not ship out any DNA kits for genetic testing. We generate all our reports using DNA raw data files from ancestry genetic companies like 23andMe and AncestryDNA. You can order your DNA kit from one of these companies:-

23andMe: https://www.23andme.com/?mdc2=true
AncestryDNA: https://www.ancestry.com/dna/
MyHeritage DNA: https://bit.ly/2YqXXrp

Once you receive your DNA kit you will be required to send your salivary sample back to them. After you receive your reports you will be able to submit a request to download your DNA data. You can upload this DNA raw data file to our server, once you choose your reports and place an order with us.

We accept DNA raw data in .txt, .csv, .csv.gz, .tsv file and .zip file formats. This will not affect the results in any way

The price of the Mega Pack ($99) is in US dollars. The displayed price on your screen depends upon the country you are logged in from. The US$ 99 price is converted to your local currency and displayed on your screen. This is the reason you see a different value than US$ 99.

Yes, many of our users do place an order with us before they receive their raw data file.
If you don't have your raw data file with you at present, you can still buy our reports and upload it whenever you receive your test results. There is no timeline for uploading your raw data file.

Dante Labs DNA raw data files are available in various file formats that include FASTQ files, BAM files, and VCF files.
The FASTQ file is the unprocessed data in the text format that directly comes from the sequencing machine.
After the first step in the analysis, the FASTQ file is converted to the SAM (Sequence Alignment Map) file which contains additional information about the location of genes and DNA sequences (called genome mapping). SAM itself is not a storage format - SAM is converted into a BAM file (Binary Alignment Map) which is a more compact form of storage
Finally, VCF files contain information about the differences between two DNA sequences (the reference and the sample).
[BAM, FASTQ etc need to be added to vocabulary]
Downloading your DNA raw data file from Dante
Before downloading the data, it is important to keep in mind that the data are gonna have massive file sizes - ranging from around 30 GB (FASTQ and BAM files) to around 600-800 MB (VCFs).

Ensure your computer has enough free hard drive space.
Sign in to your Dante Labs account.
You can then download your data files directly from your Dante Labs account.
Downloading all the types of files could take a while. We recommend obtaining your VCF file which is the most often file used by DNA analysis apps.
This usually has the file extension .snp.vcf.gz and file size of around 300-800 MB.
Dante Labs has set each download link to expire 60 seconds after its generated. This means you have to immediately start the download and can't save the download link for future use.

We also have the option of securely importing the required Dante Labs files directly from your account. This allows you to save your whole-genome data in your Xcode Life account without having to worry about storage space or privacy. If you would like to avail of this option, kindly provide your Dante Labs account details (email ID and password) either via an email to [email protected] or through this third-party service, Quickforget to share your credentials for us to download your data.

If you are using the Quickforget too, paste your site login email ID and password into the “The secret is…” field and share the URL generated with us.

Need further assistance? Simply shoot out an email to [email protected] and we will be happy to help!

If you have your raw data file from more than one company, please follow the order of preference as 23andMe> AncestryDNA> Family Tree DNA> LivingDNA>MyHeritage. We accept files in .txt or .zip or .csv format.
We also have the option of merging two or more DNA raw data files and generating the report from the merged file at an additional cost of $5 per raw data file.
The merge file service is free of charge for the Mega Pack reports.
Please be advised that your reports may take up to 24 hours to be ready if merging is needed.
If you would like to go ahead with this option, you can send both your files to [email protected] along with your Order ID in the subject.

Why merge raw data files?
The raw data generated from ancestry testing varies from company to company.
By merging, the combined file has many more data points than the individual files.
The more the genetic markers, the better it is for genetic analysis for health and wellness reports.

Yes. If it has been more than a year since your last report generation, you can email us your raw data file, and we will re-generate the reports for you.

The MAO gene has been associated with certain personality traits like warrior personality, aggression, and anger. You can read more about this gene here:
https://www.xcode.life/23andme-raw-data/genetic-variants-mao-a-gene/

The MAO gene is not included in our analysis at present. However, it is scheduled to be a part of our next upgrade, which will happen within the next few weeks.