ReCrunch

[TC] Step 1: I Purchased A 23AndMe DNA Test:

Tonight I bit the bullet and bought a DNA test from 23andMe’s new Personal Genome Service. This wasn’t an easy thing to do. Quite frankly I fear what may be disclosed to me after spitting in that plastic cup and sending it off for analysis. … What if this information becomes public? What if I can’t get health care because of the results? Call me a luddite, but this is a whole new class of private information that previous generations didn’t have to deal with. Our laws are waaaaay behind the curve here when it comes to protecting us. … 23andMe has strong security features in place to keep my information fairly secure. But there’s a big hole in the plan - what if I simply send in someone else’s spit? What if it’s someone I’m thinking about marrying? What if someone does that to me? There’s no way to stop people from spending $1,000 and getting a full genetic download of ME, in all my flawed glory.

First of all, no one is forced to do this. Maybe if you are so concerned about this, maybe you shouldn’t spit into the cup. Guess what? The results won’t make your life easier or more fun.

Can we maybe do a little bit of research before writing gibberish? Our laws are not behind the curve (although I know someone who is) and you will not be denied health care (I think he meant health insurance here, but I’ll let that slide). There is the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act of 2007 (GINA) to prohibit discrimination on the basis of genetic information with respect to health insurance and employment. You can even be all web 2.0 about it and read about it on Wikipedia.

There may be a big hole in the plan, but there is one in your understanding of the test even is. No one is getting a full genetic download of you. 23andMe clearly mentions, “the chip used in our process is the Illumina HumanHap550+ BeadChip, which reads more than 550,000 SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) plus a 23andMe custom-designed set that analyzes more than 30,000 additional SNPs”. There are 3 billion base pairs in the human genome. There are over 30 million known SNPs alone and that figure is growing. What you get with 23andMe is just a small fraction of that.

Comments for the post are great as well. Let’s take a look at some.

I will bet you $100 bucks, (e-mail me - I am serious), that a month after you get the results you will wish you had never done this. One can guarantee that there is something wrong with you, or that you have something that is not perfect and if you plan on having children you will say to yourself the whole time - ahh man I am passing this terrible thing on.

This would be a valid point, except that this has been done for years and no one has complained yet. It’s called genetic counseling. For years, couples considering having a baby have been able to get tested for a number of genetic disorders. Some hospitals even have special units dedicated to this type of testing.

Once you know your profile, keep an eye on the advances on gene therapy, which will allow you to change your genetic destiny.

Gene therapy has been around for while. The first human trial was in 1990. It’s still far from perfect, but more importantly has very little to do with the results you get from 23andMe.

you missed out on the leader in the field. http://www.genetree.com/ they were profiled on ABC last night and have dna info on 6 million ancestors. btw they have a facebook and myspace social networking angle too. the cost is also a lot better from $99-$149

They are one of many DNA ancestry testing services and definitely not the leader. However, they offer a completely different service. As stated in their FAQ, “GeneTree offers mitochondrial DNA tests (which examine genetic information passed on by mother to child)”. 23andMe uses nuclear DNA, which provides other insights.

As a biologist who has worked in genetics and genomics for most of my career, I can tell you that the information you get will be interesting and fun to think about- but mostly irrelevant to your actual life. … The human chromosome from your mother and father consists of FAR more than just DNA (and this only looks at a tiny slice of that!). … 23andMe is setting you up for their ‘Proteome’ service that in 2020 will look at your protein expression profile, and combine that with your genetics profile

This is a biologist? Since when is the chromosome more than DNA? Sure it interacts with various proteins, but those are separate entities. When the Human Genome Project refers to the chromosome, they mean just the genetic sequence. I think we can live with their definition. Also, no one is being set up for the “proteome service” because that will never be possible in a do-it-at-home kit. The current service uses DNA, which is shared by all cells. Anyone can spit into a cup. For proteomic studies you need samples from the tissue you are interested in. Try collecting brain or liver cells at home.

TechCrunch and Michael Arrington need to do everyone a service and stick to what they does best — hyping tech companies. Propagating misleading medical information is bad journalism (they are pretending to be journalists, right?) and simply irresponsible.