He Checked His Date's DNA Before Agreeing to a Second One
She had tried it before with someone else. They were both totally into it, especially the check for red hair.
20VC with Harry Stebbings · We Built Our Own Salesforce in Months. Here's Why We're Cancelling the $600K Contract | Curative CEOAfter his first date with the woman who would become his wife, Fred Turner, the co-founder and CEO of Curative, suggested they swap their genomes before deciding on a second date.
They each shared a VCF, the file they used to exchange genome data, to compare and check that they were compatible. She told him she had done this before and the other man had thought it was strange. Turner said they were both totally into the idea.
Turner's career was in DNA testing. His first company, called TL Biolabs, tested cattle to forecast traits from an early age, including musculature in beef cows, where too much muscle can cause trouble giving birth.
The date compatibility check had a specific concern. Turner's brother has red hair, so Turner said he carries the red hair gene. Turner said, "if she had carried the ginger gene, that would have been a deep concern." She luckily did not carry it.
That cleared the way. They agreed they were compatible by genome, and Turner said, "We knew it was meant to be." They went on a second date.
They now have two children. Turner says they are very well matched and basically never argue. As he put it, "we're always on the same page about things." Turner called that gene check "one of the key tests," and said, "we made it to the second date."
Questions people ask
What is a genome file, or VCF?
A VCF, or Variant Call Format file, is a standard text file that lists where your DNA differs from a reference human genome. Direct to consumer tests and lab sequencing can both export one, and researchers trade them because they are much smaller and easier to compare than raw sequencing data.
Can two brown-haired parents have a red-haired child?
It is possible only when both parents carry a variant tied to red hair, such as in the gene MC1R. That combination is uncommon, so most brown-haired couples will not have a red-haired child.
Can you actually test romantic compatibility from DNA?
Only in a narrow sense. Genome files can flag shared carrier status for some recessive traits, which matters more for rare diseases than for dating. They cannot predict chemistry, kindness, or whether you will argue about money, dishes, and in-laws.