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23andMe Wins a Second Life, Raises $115M

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Re: 23andMe Wins a Second Life, Raises $115M

#101

Post by dekhn »

refurb wrote: post #98
dekhn wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their disclaimer said: The genotyping services of 23andMe are performed in LabCorp’s CLIA-certified laboratory. The tests have not been cleared or approved by the FDA but have been analytically validated according to CLIA standards. The information on this page is intended for research and educational purposes only, and is not for diagnostic use.

Thanks for pulling that. As I said, I would be fine with it. The FDA isn't.

I think you're missing an important point. The FDA was executing the laws of the united states. 23&Me refused to even respond when FDA sent them a C&D. Then the FDA shut down their work. 23&Me had every chance to negotiate terms with the FDA, but didn't, until they were forced to.

Re: 23andMe Wins a Second Life, Raises $115M

#102

Post by robohamburger »

jamesblonde wrote: post #52
robohamburger wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I ended up learning I supposedly have a 40.1% chance of getting Alzheimer's Disease. It hid the result and asked me if I really wanted to know. I am not sure who in their right mind would not want to know (though maybe that is my Alzheimer's talking). Such a thing would drive someone crazy. I have just kept living my life the way I have been. It was scary at first. At least I know I ought to eat right etc... I think…

But there's lots you can do to reduce your risk for Alzheimers. It's good that you know! (1) Exercise (2) Take lots of curcumin. Capsules - not just curries (it's an extract from turmeric). References: http://alzheimer.neurology.ucla.edu/Curcumin.html http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20182027

Thanks for the info! I will keep and eye on those studies and hit the gym :)

Re: 23andMe Wins a Second Life, Raises $115M

#103

Post by a_bonobo »

throwaway_xgqtr wrote: post #67
tashoecraft wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

brother-in-law was signed up and he got a message saying his niece was on the service. He doesn't have any nieces. They chatted and he figured it must have been his brother and it was. Pretty crazy.

I'm sorry, could you explain in a bit more detail? It sounds like what you're saying is that your sister's husband signed up for 23andMe and sent in his DNA sample. Then, 23andMe said "based on your DNA, we believe another of our members is likely your niece, here is her contact info...". Then, your sister's husband contacted this person (the potential niece), and after some chatting it seemed likely that your sister…

>If this is in fact the story, doesn't this seem like an invasion of privacy on the part of 23andMe?

You have to opt in for the "Relative Finder"

>In rare cases, participation in DNA Relatives may reveal that you are related to someone whom you didn’t expect, or that you are not related to someone in the way that you expected. Consider this before you opt in to this feature.

https://www.23andme.com/ancestry/

Re: 23andMe Wins a Second Life, Raises $115M

#104

Post by ethbro »

dekhn wrote: post #91
Karunamon wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm so happy the FDA was there to prevent this company from doing the things with my genetic information that I asked them to do. Thank god for government.

Nobody prevented me from having Illumina sequence my genome (they gave me a hard drive with all the files along with medical interpretation). The difference is that Illumina did things legally (including hiring clinical genetics analysts who pored over the details and made a number of calls about what was significant). 23&Me did not. They were doing something that they would have known was illegal. The FDA explained…

Out of interest, did you use the "TruGenome Predisposition Screen" offering? (Just looked up Illumina: I've been interested, but the 23&Me pricing/privacy concerns squicked me out)

Re: 23andMe Wins a Second Life, Raises $115M

#105

Post by robohamburger »

hugh4 wrote: post #62
jamesblonde wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But there's lots you can do to reduce your risk for Alzheimers. It's good that you know! (1) Exercise (2) Take lots of curcumin. Capsules - not just curries (it's an extract from turmeric). References: http://alzheimer.neurology.ucla.edu/Curcumin.html http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20182027

Alternatively, eat lots of cake so that you die of something else first.

I could make turmeric/circumin cakes and try for one or the other.

Re: 23andMe Wins a Second Life, Raises $115M

#106

Post by Karunamon »

throwaway_xgqtr wrote: post #74
Karunamon wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Invasion of privacy? Considering that you can't even get the health information now, ancestry matching is literally the only reason to use the service. Why would you sign up and go through the whole spitting in a cup song and dance if you didn't want to find relatives?

Oh, wow, I am out of date. I didn't realize they had pivoted in that way. Sorry for the distraction :)

More like were forced to pivot that way by government fiat :(

Re: 23andMe Wins a Second Life, Raises $115M

#107

Post by TrevorJ »

dekhn wrote: post #15
mmanfrin wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Other than that, all the things I've seen are marginally useful at best. Part of it is that the FDA successfully sued 23AM from showing things like health risks.

That's not correct. The FDA made them stop doing something they were doing illegally. Their genetic test is a medical device and they didn't have federal approval. Further, when the FDA informed them they needed approval, they didn't respond. The FDA finally had to invoke the law. Also, I don't think 23&Me's test results have enough medical value to be used for evaluating health risks. Further, 23&me's database has s…

I think it's kinda bullshit that there seems to be no limit on the information that the government, Facebook et. al. can gather on me, but somehow I can't be trusted with information about my own genetic code unless it's been vetted by the FDA. It's not like I could go have a medical procedure solely on the basis of this information. Yet supplements and diet pills can make all kinds of bogus claims with impunity.

Re: 23andMe Wins a Second Life, Raises $115M

#108

Post by jamesblonde »

SapphireSun wrote: post #88
jamesblonde wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mentioned this to another person in the thread. Worth repeating. Take lots of curcumin every day for the rest of your life. It has been shown to bind to a-beta protein and get cleared from the brain. The overproduction of a-beta causes alzheimers. India, where they consume lots of turmeric (curcumin is an extract from turmeric) has significantly lower incidence (very very low) of alzheimers. You'll be fine.

When dispensing medical advice that's this actionable, not well known, and promising miracles, please link to the research. If someone sees this and follows your advice to the exclusion of conventional treatment, and you're wrong, that would be very bad. Downvoted.

I linked earlier in the thread. Thanks for the downvote.

Re: 23andMe Wins a Second Life, Raises $115M

#109

Post by dekhn »

ethbro wrote: post #104
dekhn wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nobody prevented me from having Illumina sequence my genome (they gave me a hard drive with all the files along with medical interpretation). The difference is that Illumina did things legally (including hiring clinical genetics analysts who pored over the details and made a number of calls about what was significant). 23&Me did not. They were doing something that they would have known was illegal. The FDA explained…

Out of interest, did you use the "TruGenome Predisposition Screen" offering? (Just looked up Illumina: I've been interested, but the 23&Me pricing/privacy concerns squicked me out)

I did Understanding Your Genome http://www.illumina.com/company/events/understand-your-genom... and I'm not 100% sure it's the same thing.

Then I promptly uploaded my genome including the VCF files they used for risk screening, https://my.pgp-hms.org/profile/hu80855C

Anybody on the internet is free to analyze my genome.

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