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$999 For a Complete DNA Scan, Worth it?
Posted by
CmdrTaco
on Mon Dec 03, 2007 12:03 PM
from the something-to-think-about dept.
from the something-to-think-about dept.
DoroSurfer writes "ZDNet is reporting that 23andme.com will open its doors on Monday, allowing you to send them a cheek swab and have your DNA analyzed for $999 (plus shipping, of course... ;)). So what's a thousand bucks buy you? They can tell you your ancient ancestry, They can tell you what diseases you're predisposed to, They give you a "Gene Explorer" that allows you to do a search in your genome to find out if you have a certain gene (e.g., you just heard on the news that Gene XYZ has been linked to Alzheimer's Disease)."
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California Cracks Down On Genetic Testing 165 comments
genie-out-of-the-bottle writes "California's Department of Public Health has sent cease-and-desist notices to 13 companies that market genetic testing directly to consumers. (We discussed these services when they launched.) Allegedly, under state law, California residents must submit a doctor's order to have a genetic test run. It will be interesting to see if the government will actually succeed in putting the genetic genie back in the bottle, given that all you need for testing is a few drops of saliva. The effort closely resembles US government attempts to block export of strong encryption product back in '90s." A Wired editor has up an opinion piece arguing that his DNA is his business and none of the government's.
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Recommended viewing (Score:3, Insightful)
They may have a nice privacy statement, but that doesn't mean any thing if they aren't really enforcing it. Who knows?
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
So why bother disclosing your real information? I don't know what the payment methods will be, but signup under an alias and them mail them an untraceable money order. They may have your exact genetic makeup, but if they don't know who you are, your DNA might as well be anonymous itself.
Taking it a bit further, it seems like a good way of dealing with privacy in this area is to hide thing
Re:Recommended viewing (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, if somebody finds my Netflix data, they may find out my most secret movie preferences. If insurance companies or employers link me to my DNA and discover a genetic pre-disposition to brain cancer or a debilitating disease, I'll never get health insurance again, and the misfortune will probably extend to any offspring as well. And would anybody hire you (and again, your children) if you have a genetic pre-disposition to MS or some other debilitating condition? Prospective employers are already googling for damaging Facebook information; just wait until genes enter the mix!
Until good privacy protections and anti-discriminatory legislation are in place, we're talking about a whole different level of risk. -- Paul
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Re:Recommended viewing (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Recommended viewing (Score:5, Insightful)
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In Other News (Score:3, Interesting)
Citizens, including juveniles who have been arrested for a crime(but not convicted) are being added to the governments DNA database.
Re:In Other News (Score:4, Interesting)
In addition to the fee they collect from you this company might be recieving your tax money through an outsourcing program to the help populate the government database or they may strictly maintain client confidentiality until they receive a national security letter [wikipedia.org] from the department of homeland surveillance, but the end result is the same.
In my previous post I linked to a 4 year old cnn article to show that the government has been using questionable means to populate codis [wikipedia.org] for quite some time now and I doubt that this government intrusion into personal privacy will be exposed until it is too late and the entire population is effectively mapped.
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Re:Recommended viewing (Score:4, Interesting)
After that...I wonder how long before the various branches of government will require this DNA data be turned over for the US Homeland security national DNA database?? Of course, we won't know about it...this will be required with a national security letter, which will gag the company from even mentioning the requirement.
More and more I find that Python wasn't just being funny with the skit "The Importance of not being Seen", they were prophetical.....
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Gattaca, anyone? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
And yes, I said famous. I have a quotes encyclopedia (Yale Book of Quotations?) that even lists it.
Beware early adopters (Score:5, Interesting)
After that, I'm all for it. Not even a needle prick is needed.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
So why exactly should I not expect my DNA information to be archived, cataloged an
Re:Beware early adopters (Score:4, Insightful)
I think what needs to be done on that front is an improvement in rhetoric. For Bush-ites who support such things in the war on terror, I usually gently point out that another president could abuse such laws even if Bush did not. I usually follow that up by asking them how they'd feel if Hillary had the right as president to check out their library records or conduct a warrantless search because they were deemed a "terroristic threat" for being part of the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy".
That usually makes them think a bit. Then I start to talk about Ron Paul.
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Re:Beware early adopters (Score:4, Insightful)
Never really understood why people consider knowing they're going to die 15 years from now of something specific more terrible than finding out you have six months to live after a year or two of medical prodding and poking.
As far as I'm concerned, I'd like to know. The sooner the better.
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Re:Beware early adopters (Score:5, Insightful)
For that reasons the medical profession train folk for years to deliver this information - to explain what it really means, for you and for your family. To discuss your options. The data should be available,should be affordable, and should be delivered by a professional, not by an email.
Screw that. Our society has viewed doctors as a combination of voodoo and god for too long. From what I've seen, the average doctor's 'bedside manner' is pathetic enough that an email can't be that much worse.
As someone who's had to diagnose my own medical problems after 8 doctors failed for a decade, I'll take the information and use it myself, thanks.
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I'll wait for the Chinese version (Score:5, Funny)
You come from monkeys
In short no... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:In short no... (Score:4, Funny)
I'll say! I just LOVE a strong, assertive woman!
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Hmm (Score:5, Funny)
Need information yoda does.
Only if... (Score:5, Funny)
...it reveals my latent mutant abilities. I'm personally hoping to find out I can generate fire.
Re:Only if... (Score:4, Interesting)
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And then sell it to who? (Score:5, Interesting)
Also given that the CEO is Sergey Brins wife, I wonder whether Google will get involved at one point?
Relations between Google and 23andme (Score:4, Interesting)
I can't find who the CEO of 23andme is (after only 30 sec of research), but Anne Wojcicki is indeed at least co-founder of the company and member of the Board of Directors: https://www.23andmeobjects.com/res/1570/pdf/factsheet.pdf [23andmeobjects.com]
Oh and Google is already involved in this company, they are an investor: https://www.23andme.com/about/corporate [23andme.com]
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Somewhat dupey... (Score:4, Informative)
I'd love to hear about the results, though.
Add it to the Christmas list (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Add it to the Christmas list (Score:5, Insightful)
For instance, high-resolution full-body scans [wikipedia.org] (a CT scan of every inch of your body) are frequently criticized because they are so accurate and exhaustive that they will nearly always find something. Even a perfectly healthy individual will have a variety of benign masses of tissues which will show up on CT. Some experts have even estimated that a full-body scan will statistically reduce your health (or chance of survival or whatever) since it increases your risk due to unnecessary secondary tests more than it reduces your risk due to early detection.
Yet many (overly rich?) people want full-body scans because they want to make sure that any possible disease is caught... not realizing that you expose yourself to risk with each medical test.
I worry this kind of gene-sequencing will do the same thing: many people will see their results, not properly interpret the risks, and go rushing out for secondary tests (some of which have a small danger associated with them). Worse, some people may read their results and change their lifestyle without medical consultation, in order to "manage" a condition that they have not actually expressed yet. (And, again, you can do more harm than good when you try to manage a condition you don't have, at the expense of doing things that would actually make you more healthy.)
Obviously it's a personal choice if you want to gather this extra information about yourself. I just hope that the companies offering this service make the risks clear and help the customers actually understand the data and probabilities.
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Re:Add it to the Christmas list (Score:5, Insightful)
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Gene Sequencing Options (Score:5, Informative)
Very much worth it if one is interested in learning about and working to minimize one's genetic risks.
Misspelling (Score:5, Funny)
The word is "scam", not
"scan".
So what's a thousand bucks buy you? (Score:5, Insightful)
A nice call from your insurance company informing you that they are dropping your coverage due to a genetic predisposition for X disease.
Cost of early adoption (Score:3, Interesting)
That's a lot of money for a relatively new technology. While I think the idea is cool, I'd rather wait a few years when it's cheaper, works better, and there's more competition in the field. Let the early adopters pay the high fee and the rest of us can reap the benefits when the costs come down.
And of course, every year we'll have a better idea of what the results actually mean.
Maybe one day it will be as simple as a home blood-sugar test - "use this combination finger pricker/USB drive to get an instant scan of your DNA!"
Source site (Score:3)
NOT a Complete DNA Scan (Score:5, Informative)
Beware health insurance implications (Score:5, Interesting)
good news for bio grads (Score:4, Interesting)
My hope is that services like this will start to provide jobs for our current Bio grads, pushing the salaries up to a level that makes the choice of a Biology major much more desirable. Only then will the genetic revolution really start to take off.
Worth it? Absolutely (Score:3, Insightful)
You can claim ignorance is bliss, but seeking to be willfully ignorant of a subject is the height of irresponsibility.
On the question of whether or not it is worth it for $1000... well I think so. Look at things in the long run - you'll have in inside track on those insurance companies.
I wouldn't want to know... (Score:3, Insightful)
I would rather have it surprise me and then live every day for what it's worth. Else you might think you sick and run up a bunch of bills you can't pay when you find out you're fine.
There are some cool DNA projects out there already (Score:5, Informative)
The team behind the project has already collected thousands of samples from people worldwide who have interesting lineages (Indiginous people in xyz area) and found out some REALLY cool stuff.
The $1k thing seems like a privacy nightmare though.
How do they know it's my DNA? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:No! (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I'd rather know sooner than later if I am going to have a terminal illness.
For one, preventative measures might make me live long enough for a cure if caught early on.
Secondly, I wouldn't worry so much saving for retirement or paying off bills. Seriously, it would suck to finally have all this money and then get too sick to enjoy life and die shortly the
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
It sounds like you're the kind of guy this would be perfect for. Send it in, find out you've got some disease that's going to kill you when you're 45... well fuck that healthy lifestyle! Time to smoke, eat trans-fats, lots of red meat, hookers, high risk activities... all the good stuff!
Re:No. (Score:5, Informative)
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Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:No. (Score:5, Insightful)
One could much more easily go in later and interpret the sequence, than have to do it a second time to fill in the missing gaps.
Personally, I'm going to pass at least until I can have my entire DNA sequenced. I may even then wait depending upon the level of concern I have for what is done with the information.
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Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Blatant Misuse of the English Language (Score:5, Insightful)
1. If you are below a certain level of intelligence and you think it looks cool, do it. Example: Can u read this?
2. The rules of standard English are kind of stodgy and don't really hold up well in polls. Just use whatever you think works and most people will know what you mean even if you don't write it correctly. Also make sure to embrace Appalachionics since it has a warm and homey feel that makes you seem like someone people would want to have a beer with: My warshing machine needs fixed. Or... The nukyelar family is important above else all!
3. Make sure to avoid using more than one or two sentences per paragraph and no more than four paragraphs when writing stuff unless you want someone to think you're boring. Example:
a. Good writing:
"That guy's a troll. He sucks donkey dicks
It's a good thing we're on Digg. None of those crappy Slashdotters.
Go back to Slashdot you asshat."
b. Bad writing:
"Please don't feed the trolls. If you pay more attention to them, they'll keep coming back and lower the tone. The other fallout, is that we have more noise vs. signal if you insist on engaging the trolls. This has been a truism since the beginning of Usenet. I should know, I was there..." (Goes on for ten paragraphs with endless words that are boring, like "truism". WTF is a truism and why should we know?)
4. Make sure to nip any kind of conversation in the bud that isn't beer drinker friendly. The best way to do that is to instantly refer to the poster as a troll if they say something you don't like. The second best way is to invoke Godwin's law even if it doesn't really fit. The main is to keep people from talking about stuff that sucks. Remember, if it won't play on Spike TV, The SciFi Channel, or G4, then it shouldn't be on line either.
5. Always ALWAYS A-L-W-A-Y-S use pictures of videos instead of writing. It's so much cleaner and easier to understand than all that messy and archaic mucking about with text. All you need is a photo or video the presents what you want it to say, then a subject like "Amazing thing!!!!" and you're all set. You'll be communicating in the 21st century in ways that would have had Gutenberg himself breaking out into a cold sweat over.
Welcome to the intarweb tubes. Don't forget to tip heavily!
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Re:Blatant Misuse of the English Language (Score:4, Funny)
Alanis Morisette. That damn "Ironic" song isn't even ironic. It is the damn Murphys law!
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