From my understanding of the article, the research they're referring to has to do with biomarkers (which aren't always genetic) and brain scans. If you go to the ADNI site (link: http://www.adni-info.org/Scientists/LinksForDataCollection.a...) you'll see that it is indeed possible to download some anonymized data and scans with less stringent approval. So, maybe basement hacks are indeed possible.
I'm always wanting really open data, but it seems that the people that have this a) aren't really as data-savvy as the rest of us with regards to actually supporting what openness would mean b) kinda want to know how it is being used in case you come up with something interesting or c) they do such domain-specific stuff that'd you'd almost have to be in the field full time to really get a hang for what it all means and what the common tools are.
Edit: Looks like we can't exactly just hack on this in our basement
http://alois.med.upenn.edu/niagads/how_access1.htm
http://bit.ly/dgbmmk