
Human Genetics is Now a Viable Hobby -- 23andMe Cuts its Price to $399 - Anon84
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/09/23andme-cuts-it.html
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lunchbox
$1000 to $399 is a big drop. Any insights on whether medical experts generally
regard this test to be worth the money? In theory, I'd like to know whether
I'm at a risk of various diseases so that I can take measures to reduce my
risk. The list of diseases seems substantial and has grown since the last time
I checked it out:

<https://www.23andme.com/health/all/>

However, I'm not sure how useful this information is in reality. I remember
reading an interview with a physician who said that knowing one's family
history of various diseases is probably more reliable than this test. Also, I
have no way of knowing where my personal genetic information would end up if I
used this service.

~~~
rms
Most of the truly medically actionable genes with high penetrance (a mutation
that gives you a 50% chance of developing breast cancer is high penetrance --
a mutation that increases breast cancer risk by 2% is low penetrance) are
patented. Navigenics and 23andme only test for low penetrance genes for fishy
reasons. Whatever measures you could do to reduce your risk for diseases
23andme says you are at risk of, you should probably be doing anyways. Eat
healthy. Exercise more. Get a colonoscopy every year.

However, with some hacking, and the raw dump of your 23andme scan (which may
be less useful with the new version, I think they are using a microarray
1/10th the size of the old one) you can check yourself for some patented
genes. [http://www.thinkgene.com/tell-me-everything-how-to-use-
snped...](http://www.thinkgene.com/tell-me-everything-how-to-use-snpedia-
for-23andme-and-decodeme/)

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marvin
I'm afraid of stating the obvious here, but patents on a piece of information
like this is really creepy. Especially given that it is a matter of public
safety. If treatments become available and genome sequencing becomes really
cheap, how are these patents going to be enforced? No one is going to tell you
what mutations are scary unless you pay royalties?

~~~
rms
Yeah, patents in this area are pretty bad. A gene, something that exists in
nature, should not be able to be patented. It's ridiculous.

Biotech and medical science have been greatly held back by the heavy
enforcement of patents in this area -- imagine what would have happened to
software if software patents are enforced.

And correct, no one is going to tell you scary mutations unless you pay
royalties, because the only people that aren't afraid to deal with scary
mutations are medical doctors, and they certainly pay the royalties as needed.
Probably the single most useful and popular (if you're a woman) of the
medically actionable genetic tests is the BRCA1/2 test. Myriad Genetics owns
the patent and the test costs several thousand dollars in the US. The patent
was overturned in Europe, I believe, so it is probably cheaper there.

~~~
antiismist
The idea is that a gene in isolation does not exist in nature. You get the
patent on the gene isolated from the rest of the DNA. Not saying it is
"right"...

In other words, you get a patent on using some extract of DNA for a useful
purpose like determining cancer susceptibility.

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rflrob
More comments here: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=299061>

~~~
biohacker42
The most interesting part of that discussing was here:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=299133>

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jawngee
Hypochondriacs (myself included) are going to love this!

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biohacker42
Startup idea. Dating site that matches people according to the Major
Histocompatibility Complex.

~~~
rrival
have 23date.com if anyone wants it - isn't there something documented relevant
to biological preference for genetic combinations resulting in the smallest
overlap in the union of existing sets of DNA, as such would be advantageous
within a certain range?

~~~
biohacker42
Yes, basically the more different your immune system, the better you smell.
Except that the pill seems to flip that and women on the pill prefer
genetically similar men. Perhaps because the pill mimics pregnancy and with it
a "stay near kin" response.

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ajkirwin
I do so love 23andMe and as soon as I can either A) Set aside $399 for it or
B) the price drops again, I'll be getting one of the spit kits.

Especially as I am curious as to what shows up, as I already have one genetic
disorder!

