DARWIN is the engine behind your 3X4 / GENEFIT report, translating your DNA into clear insights about how your genes influence your health.
It is 3X4 Genetics' proprietary genetic scoring system, designed to quantify your genetic impact within a specific biological pathway.
What are "pathways" and why does 3X4 use them?
A pathway is a biological system made up of multiple genes working together to perform a specific function in your body.
Instead of looking at each gene variant individually, 3X4 focuses on the combined effect of multiple variants within specified biological pathways. We don’t look at single genes in isolation — we look at how they interact within the systems that affect your health.
Pathways identify your area of highest impact, which determines the clear, actionable health, activity, and lifestyle recommendations specific to your genetics.
How does DARWIN work?
DARWIN combines rigorous scientific research with advanced modeling to translate individual genetic variants into meaningful pathway-level impact scores and personalized recommendations.
Evidence-based Scoring: Experts review scientific literature and assign SNP/allele scores based on study quality, biochemical effect, pathway role and clinical utility.
Classification & Modeling: DARWIN uses an unsupervised classification model to assess the cumulative effect of all variants in a pathway and assign impact on a pathway level.
Interpretation & Visualization: The pathways are assigned impact levels for each pathway (for example: low, medium, high, very high) to identify which biological pathways to prioritize, or which sport performance pathways to focus on.
Actionable Outputs: The pathway and their impacts/scores are translated into corresponding diet, lifestyle and performance recommendations, based on your unique genetic results.
Why 3X4 built a better genetic engine
DARWIN was invented so 3X4 could move beyond single-SNP noise or blunt aggregate scores and produce evidence-weighted, pathway-specific genetic scores that can be translated directly into personalized and actionable diet, lifestyle and nutrient recommendations.
Want to learn more about genetics? Check out our article on the how DNA samples are processed at our lab, or visit Our Science page on our website.