--- title: 23andMe Identifies Genes for Motion Sickness description: The personal genomics company 23andMe has identified 35 gene factors tied to motion sickness. canonical: https://time.com/3695231/23andme-motion-sickness/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-04T15:41:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T04:08:21.786Z article:section: Health og:title: 23andMe Finds Genes for Motion Sickness og:description: The personal genomics company 23andMe has identified 35 gene factors tied to motion sickness. og:url: https://time.com/3695231/23andme-motion-sickness/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37463cc7ab2a7a3d/69877d8a428a9e6126cc6f41/108150023-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 108150023 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 23andMe Finds Genes for Motion Sickness twitter:description: The personal genomics company 23andMe has identified 35 gene factors tied to motion sickness. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37463cc7ab2a7a3d/69877d8a428a9e6126cc6f41/108150023-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 23andMe Finds Genes for Motion Sickness by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Feb 4, 2015 3:41 PM UTC  Merry Go-Round Spinning, Motion Blur of Background Merry Go-Round Spinning, Motion Blur of BackgroundGetty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Feb 4, 2015 3:41 PM UTC The personal genomics company 23andMe has identified 35 genetic factors tied to motion sickness, according to a new [study published](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/hmg.ddv028.full.pdf?keytype=ref&ijkey=2ntxck5YUKc8QSA) in the journal _Human Molecular Genetics_. In what the company says is the first ever genome-wide study looking at motion sickness, 23andMe was able to determine several genes that may be tied to the nausea associated with movement in a car or on a boat. Motion sickness affects around one in three people, and [prior research](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17086768) has suggested that it could be hereditary. The researchers, who are employed by 23andMe (or have been in the past) and own stock options in the company, used genetic data from more than 80,000 23andMe customers. They found that many of these genetic factors were involved in balance, eye and ear development and the nervous system. Overall, the effect appeared to be stronger in women. **Read more:** [Genetic Testing Company 23andMe Finds New Revenue With Big Pharma](http://time.com/3660174/23andme-big-pharma/) The study also found links between risk for motion sickness and a greater likelihood of having migraines, morning sickness and vertigo. It’s still unclear what the actual drivers are, and even if a person has the gene variants linked to motion sickness, it doesn’t mean they will definitely have the condition. Genome-wide association studies like the one performed by 23andMe can only find correlations, but they’re still useful strategies for finding at-risk genes. 23andMe Identifies Genes for Motion Sickness ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3695231/23andme-motion-sickness/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3695231/23andme-motion-sickness/"},"headline":"23andMe Finds Genes for Motion Sickness","datePublished":"2015-02-04T15:41:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:08:21.786Z","description":"The personal genomics company 23andMe has identified 35 gene factors tied to motion sickness.","url":"https://time.com/3695231/23andme-motion-sickness/","keywords":["Research","Genetics","Genes","genome"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37463cc7ab2a7a3d/69877d8a428a9e6126cc6f41/108150023-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37463cc7ab2a7a3d/69877d8a428a9e6126cc6f41/108150023-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"108150023","caption":"108150023","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3695231/23andme-motion-sickness/","name":"23andMe Finds Genes for Motion Sickness"}}]}] ```