23andMe slashes price on personal genetics test

September 9th, 2008 By MARCUS WOHLSEN , Associated Press Writer

(AP) -- A Google-backed startup that analyzes customers' genetic makeup to predict health risks and provide ancestry information has slashed the price on its personal DNA test, the company announced Tuesday.

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• Lord_jag - Sep 09, 2008
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  Huh. That's getting quite affordable. I might just try that out.
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• googleplex - Sep 09, 2008
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  One wonders about the security of the genetic blue prints. Let's say you have a genotype for health problems or criminal tendency then who gets to find out? Is the data stored in a database with individuals names/SSNs or an anonymous ID#. This is really powerful information. Once your data has been compromised there is no going back. One imagines that the insurance industry would do anything to get their hands on such data.
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• bmcghie - Sep 09, 2008
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  googleplex: You'll have much larger problems than insurance companies getting info FROM these vaults. If you drink a glass of water, or maybe open a door to an office at an insurance company, chances are they will be able to pick up a great deal of genetic information on you. Do you think they would hesitate to pay the $400 to find out if it's a safe bet to cover you? I'm just saying I don't think the relationship between the gene tech company and the customer is going to be the breaking point here.
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• superhuman - Sep 10, 2008
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  23andMe co-founder Anne Wojcicki [...] is married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

  
  
  No wonder Google is backing it up.
  
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• googleplex - Sep 11, 2008
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  Good point. This company probably protects its data. There are other less ethical companies ready to exploit the DNA data. No doubt it will be introduced by health insurance firms here in the US under the guise of preventative care.
  
  

  googleplex: You'll have much larger problems than insurance companies getting info FROM these vaults. If you drink a glass of water, or maybe open a door to an office at an insurance company, chances are they will be able to pick up a great deal of genetic information on you. Do you think they would hesitate to pay the $400 to find out if it's a safe bet to cover you? I'm just saying I don't think the relationship between the gene tech company and the customer is going to be the breaking point here.

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