23andMe recently received FDA approval to inform customers of its popular mail-in DNA tests about their risk for breast cancer, the Atlantic reported. 23andMe is the first company to get federal approval for a direct-to-consumer genetic cancer risk test. The FDA sanctioned 23andMe’s request to tell customers whether they have mutations on the genes BRCA-1…
One of the hottest gift items this holiday season is a plastic tube for holding your spit. Of course, it’s a little more high-tech than that. Companies like 23andMe and Ancestry.com have been making a killing this year selling home genetics tests. With high hopes of discovering their ancestry and learning more about their genetic…
Senator Chuck Schumer called for more scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission on home DNA tests on Sunday, NBC News reported. He took aim at the kinds of tests sold by 23andMe and Ancestry.com. Schumer said that consumers who are buying the gifts at slashed prices for the holiday season may end up giving their…
Anne Wojcicki, CEO of the genetic testing company 23andMe, opened up to The New York Times on Saturday about her former marriage to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, her relationship with former New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez and the role that Ivanka Trump played in helping her recover from divorce. After Brin cheated on her…
In the season premiere of the PBS’ show “Finding Your Roots,” hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Larry David and Senator Bernie Sanders are told of their respective ancestries. David gained acclaim in 2015 for doing a “spot-on” impression of the senator, a performance made easier by the widely remarked-upon fact that David shares Sanders’…
23andMe isn’t the only company that conducts mail-order DNA tests that reveal consumers’ ancestry. There’s also MyHeritage, Living DNA and GPS Origins, to name a few. But it’s 23andMe, founded in 2006, whose name is becoming a synonym for spitting in a vial and finding out what percentage of you comes from where. Now the…
For geneticists, like me, genetic testing has always been a game of trust. We can test people’s DNA to learn about their ancestries, relatives, disease predispositions and crimes. We geneticists do genetic testing after providing counseling that explores the process and outcome. In turn, we request consent to proceed. One of my common questions is,…
Researchers in California have created software for turning a person’s raw DNA data into a predictive picture of their face. Using anonymous data — the kind that genetics companies like 23andMe sell to pharmaceutical companies for research purposes — scientists from Human Longevity, Inc., a private genetics lab, have made computer generated images that resemble…
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