May 08 2012
A few of us from 23andMe attended the 6th Annual Conference for Women Living with Metastatic Breast Cancer two weekends ago in Philadelphia. This national conference is put on by a patient advocacy organization called Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) that empowers women affected by breast cancer to live longer, healthier lives. The conference provided [...]
Apr 27 2012
Michael J. Fox is a great actor, but his smiles and good humor during a visit to 23andMe headquarters in Mountain View this week were fully sincere. “What excites me is what the Fox Foundation is doing with 23andMe,” he said. “Especially after today…it’s crucial work that you’re doing.”
Apr 25 2012
If you were facing a daunting diagnosis you would want the news to come from someone like Dr. J. William Langston. Engaged and intelligent, he has the kind of optimism you don’t expect from a physician who has spent decades working to unravel the complexities of Parkinson’s disease. Langston, who was recently honored with a prestigious award for his contributions to Parkinson’s research, stopped by our office to talk about the state of the science of Parkinson’s and share a little about his career in the process.
Apr 16 2012
Astronaut Rich Clifford spent his life facing huge challenges but the biggest challenge would come in the form of Parkinson’s disease. His story is the subject of a soon-to-be completed documentary, “The Astronaut’s Secret”.
Apr 05 2012
Recently, we invited a local support group for men with early onset Parkinson’s to come to our office. The idea was to give these guys a chance to learn about about 23andMe and our Parkinson’s Research Community, but we probably learned as much if not more from them then they did from us.
Mar 28 2012
In the lead up to this week’s arguments at the Supreme Court over the health care reform law, 23andMe got the opinion of two distinguished doctors on what’s ailing the country’s medical system.
Mar 19 2012
As a PBS cameraman recorded the scene, 23andMe scientist Mike Macpherson drew lines connecting photographs of about two dozen celebrities to one another while Henry Louis Gates Jr. riffed on what those links all mean. The connections were sometimes direct family relations but more often than not each celebrity was connected through one, or two, or [...]
Mar 16 2012
Nearly 37 million Americans claim to have Irish heritage according to a national survey conducted in 2009. That’s over eight times the number of people living in Ireland today. Although it’s remarkable that nearly 1 in 10 Americans might say “Kiss Me I’m Irish!” on St. Patrick’s day, it’s not clear if all these people [...]
Mar 12 2012
On a recent visit to 23andMe George Demetri —a physician and scientist who is an unpaid advisor to our Sarcoma research initiative — sat down for a short interview after talking to our team. Demetri, who is also director of the Dana-Farber Center for Sarcoma and Bone Oncology, said he has a lot to be [...]
Mar 09 2012
In August of last year, I wrote with hope and excitement about the launch of the 23andMe MPN Research Initiative because my father, Harvey, suffers from myelofibrosis. On March 5, 23andMe scientist Bethann Hromatka posted a SNPWatch report about the association between the JAK2 gene and MPNs. 23andMe customers can view their own data at [...]
