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The sometimes-controversial company 23AndMe - which will run a battery of tests on your genome for $500 - has finally offered proof that their methods can help scientists figure out the genetic basis for everything from freckles to disease. More »
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Gene-sequencing technology is taking off, but George Church at Harvard University is taking it to the next level: he wants to sequence the genomes of 100,000 people. Right now, about 12 human genomes have been sequenced and Church's ambitious plan is likely to cost cost around $1 billion to complete. Recently Google — who in February announced its Google Health software for storing electronic medical records — agreed to foot a major part of the bill. Google gives us free email, chat, search, a shopping client, and so on and all they've ever asked is that we let them look at all over our most private information. Seems like a fair trade, but does that extend to our DNA? More »
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Everybody is buzzing about 23andme, one of many startups aiming to hit the consumer market with "read your own genome at home" kits. Most of these companies want to cross the happy-personalization language of the iPod with barely-there biotech to bring in millions of customers. People are desperate to understand themselves and looking to their genes for answers. But with genomics in its infancy as a science, and most of our knowledge of gene functionality dubious at best, what companies like 32andme are really selling is social networks based on the principles of eugenics. I show you my genome, you show me yours, then maybe we can be friends. More »
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