Nov 19 2009
Get ready — there’s a whole new way to do genealogy.
You may have already heard about a new feature 23andMe is offering its customers, called Relative Finder. With the launch of our new Ancestry Edition, we wanted to tell you more about it.
Don’t just settle for two branches of your family tree…
Relative Finder is [...]
Nov 18 2009
The following is a joint letter addressing the Opinion piece by Pauline C. Ng, Sarah S. Murray, Samuel Levy and J. Craig Venter that appeared in the October 8, 2009 issue of Nature (coverage here, here, here, and here). Unfortunately, Nature could not publish the letter because of space restrictions, so 23andMe and Navigenics decided [...]
Nov 17 2009
PET scans showing dopamine activity in a normal brain and a Parkinson’s patient’s before and after treatment with a therapeutic implant.
More than a million Americans have Parkinson’s disease, and another 50,000 are diagnosed each year. Scientists know that many of the characteristic symptoms of Parkinson’s — tremors, rigid muscles and movement problems — can [...]
Nov 13 2009
Some people want to know everything their genetics can tell them, while others are interested in only part of the story. That’s why starting next week, on Thursday November 19th , we will begin offering our service as two distinct products to better meet the needs of our customers: The 23andMe Ancestry Edition and The [...]
Nov 11 2009
The most common type of arthritis, osteoarthritis, occurs due to accumulated wear and tear – welcome to old age! – or from repetitive movements or injury. Rheumatoid arthritis, on the other hand, is caused by an autoimmune attack on the lining of the joints, resulting in stiffness, muscle aches, and general fatigue. Approximately two million [...]
Nov 10 2009
Cisplatin, a cancer chemotherapy drug first approved by the FDA in 1978, revolutionized the treatment of many types of cancer. Despite its effectiveness, in many cases doctors are forced to reduce the drug’s dose, or abandon it altogether, due to serious side effects on patients’ hearing.
Between 10-25% of adults and up to 60% of children [...]
Nov 04 2009
The Kaiser Permanente Research Program on Genes, Environment and Health (RPGEH) is an exceptional study that has the potential to transform medicine. As someone who proudly spent over 25 years as a patient with Kaiser, I would be excited to see my family’s medical records used for such a worthy cause. I was disappointed, however, [...]
Nov 03 2009
The “stomach flu” isn’t really the flu at all. It’s actually viral gastroenteritis, and its most common cause is a group of viruses called noroviruses. No matter what you call it, the illness is highly contagious and very unpleasant — symptoms include abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. In close quarters, a norovirus outbreak can quickly [...]
