Jul 03 2008
Last month I had the opportunity to go to the Society of Molecular Biology and Evolution conference in the striking city of Barcelona. This is the premiere conference for geneticists studying evolution in everything from bacteria to fruit flies, weeds, worms and our favorite model organism, humans! This is a highly interactive conference: almost everyone [...]
Jul 02 2008
You may have already read about 23andWe and the ”Power of We” in earlier blog posts. As the research arm of 23andMe, we’re hoping 23andWe can produce valuable discoveries about the genetic roots of diseases, conditions and traits that are little-studied due to funding limitations, logistical obstacles or simple lack of interest among scientists. 23andMe’s [...]
Jul 01 2008
Last month I had the opportunity to go to the Society of Molecular Biology and Evolution conference in the striking city of Barcelona. This is the premiere conference for geneticists studying evolution in everything from bacteria to fruit flies, weeds, worms and our favorite model organism, humans! This is a highly interactive conference: almost everyone [...]
Jun 27 2008
This month I had the opportunity to go to the Society of Molecular Biology and Evolution conference in the striking city of Barcelona. This is the premiere conference for geneticists studying evolution in everything from bacteria to fruit flies, weeds, worms and our favorite model organism, humans! This is a highly interactive conference: almost everyone [...]
Jun 20 2008
What can we learn from studying how variations of human genes are spread out around the world?
A lot, said population geneticist and Harvard junior fellow Sohini Ramachandran, who spoke at 23andMe this week.
Ramachandran focused on how genes spread from one continent to another, and how they vary within each region as well.
As an example, she [...]
Apr 24 2008
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) has made it through Congress, more than a decade after first being introduced as a means of protecting individuals from discrimination based on their genetic risk for disease.
Though we don’t believe the law is a panacea, it does lay the groundwork for a sensible approach to protecting people from [...]
Apr 17 2008
If you were adopted, conceived through sperm donation or don’t know your parents for some other reason, 23andMe can give you a glimpse into your genetic legacy. Our service can’t help you locate your biological parents or reveal their medical histories – but it can provide some information about their heritage, and maybe even offer [...]
Mar 13 2008
Those of you who have delved into our Gene Journal feature may have noticed that many of the traits only give genetic data “assuming European ethnicity”. Why is that? It certainly isn’t because people with African or Asian ancestry aren’t susceptible to heart attacks or colorectal cancer.
The fact of the matter is that much [...]
Mar 04 2008
Last Sunday’s New York Times had an interesting story by Amy Harmon about people who choose not to undergo genetic diagnostic testing, or try to keep their results a secret, out of fear that they will lose their health coverage.
But the letters in response to that story, published in this Sunday’s paper, may be even [...]
Feb 27 2008
By 23andMe Director Esther Dyson
One of 23andMe’s goals is to help people understand how their own genetics influences who they are – what they look like, the diseases they’re prone to, maybe even how they behave.
The problem is, right now most of that is just unknown. Though the genetic data in your 23andMe account is [...]
