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Independent directors of 23andMe resign from board

investors.23andme.com

261–270 of 372 posts

Re: Independent directors of 23andMe resign from board

#261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 23andme has basically given up on this part of the business. The routine emails I get about them allegedly finding new DNA relatives suggest otherwise. The DNA relatives feature is also still pretty prominent in their UI (at least on desktop browsers; haven't looked at the app yet). That said, it certainly doesn't offer much beyond "these are your relatives; send 'em some messages or something lol". Ancestry probab…

I wonder, do the "relatives" know and agree that their information is sent to other person?

Yes. You must opt in. When you opt in, you can elect to show your full name, or just initals (may be other options but I opted in long ago).

Re: Independent directors of 23andMe resign from board

#262
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Closest competitor does a lot of heavy lifting in this situation. Ancestry is the overwhelming leader in the find long lost relative space/your "roots" space. Look at https://www.ancestry.com/ and https://www.23andme.com/ 23andme has basically given up on this part of the business. Their pitch is health. But that pitch is murky with no good hook to keep you hooked for a monthly subscription. So after they get the ini…

> 23andme has basically given up on this part of the business. The routine emails I get about them allegedly finding new DNA relatives suggest otherwise. The DNA relatives feature is also still pretty prominent in their UI (at least on desktop browsers; haven't looked at the app yet). That said, it certainly doesn't offer much beyond "these are your relatives; send 'em some messages or something lol". Ancestry probab…

The new-DNA-relatives feature is one of the few "growth" things they can continue to bother you with, outside of newly-discovered genome-based indicators for diseases.

I get/got spammed by them about new relatives on the order of "6th cousin who shares 0.3% of your DNA." Thanks, but who cares...

Re: Independent directors of 23andMe resign from board

#263
post #118
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

high time preference thinking

Only gotta last 80 years, it's pretty rational given the constraints. The what-ifs are unlikely to materialize at all, low probability to happen to you, and avoiding them if they do materialize requires that neither you nor any of your relatives submit their dna or have any contact with the justice system ever. DNA is already protected from use by insurance companies so that's a future harm that already got squashed.

That's ethical egoism, not rationalism.

Considering the second- and third-order effects of one's own decisions is obligatory in civilized society.

Re: Independent directors of 23andMe resign from board

#264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She (the CEO) has a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the company and its shareholders. Intentionally driving a company into bankruptcy for personal gain is a massive breach of that duty and opens her up to all kinds of legal trouble. So I would think that's a very bad idea.

reminds me of Elizabeth Holmes, of Theranos fame. I wonder what will happen...How big or hyped up is 23andme?

nah. 23andMe actually works. they use real science to do genome sequencing, and that's provable. Theranos never worked, and was nothing but lies and hype.

But having working science does not make a successful business plan.

Re: Independent directors of 23andMe resign from board

#265
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Closest competitor does a lot of heavy lifting in this situation. Ancestry is the overwhelming leader in the find long lost relative space/your "roots" space. Look at https://www.ancestry.com/ and https://www.23andme.com/ 23andme has basically given up on this part of the business. Their pitch is health. But that pitch is murky with no good hook to keep you hooked for a monthly subscription. So after they get the ini…

> leader in the find long lost relative space/your "roots" space. Acknowledging Ancestry.com are well ahead of the market here, but I never got their appeal of finding some long-lost second cousins... basically strangers, and saying, "hey, isn't it fascinating that we share some arbitrary level of common genetic makeup". If some randomer reached out via email to me doing this big reveal I'd be "thanks, but into the s…

One of my parents was adopted creating a much higher incentive and an increased likelihood of finding nearer relatives.

She would not pursue out of respect to her adopted mother. Outside of this I would be in the same boat as you.

Re: Independent directors of 23andMe resign from board

#266
post #77
post #2

Literally just one day after 23andMe presented positive phase 2 clinical results for two anti-cancer drugs: https://therapeutics.23andme.com/news-and-research/ The board of directors of 23andMe just resigned in protest. The CEO, Anne Wojcicki (who's sister Susan died of lung cancer last month, and was the former CEO of YouTube) had tried to low ball take the company private at only $0.40 a share -- a more than 96% dr…

Closest competitor does a lot of heavy lifting in this situation. Ancestry is the overwhelming leader in the find long lost relative space/your "roots" space. Look at https://www.ancestry.com/ and https://www.23andme.com/ 23andme has basically given up on this part of the business. Their pitch is health. But that pitch is murky with no good hook to keep you hooked for a monthly subscription. So after they get the ini…

They should do a social media AI play where they just friend everyone for you.

Re: Independent directors of 23andMe resign from board

#267
post #263
post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only gotta last 80 years, it's pretty rational given the constraints. The what-ifs are unlikely to materialize at all, low probability to happen to you, and avoiding them if they do materialize requires that neither you nor any of your relatives submit their dna or have any contact with the justice system ever. DNA is already protected from use by insurance companies so that's a future harm that already got squashed.

That's ethical egoism, not rationalism. Considering the second- and third-order effects of one's own decisions is obligatory in civilized society.

Of course, how could I forget. My DNA is also used for medical research so I'm helping develop novel treatments to all manners of genetic diseases, and helping my future relatives uncover health risks.

Re: Independent directors of 23andMe resign from board

#268
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Closest competitor does a lot of heavy lifting in this situation. Ancestry is the overwhelming leader in the find long lost relative space/your "roots" space. Look at https://www.ancestry.com/ and https://www.23andme.com/ 23andme has basically given up on this part of the business. Their pitch is health. But that pitch is murky with no good hook to keep you hooked for a monthly subscription. So after they get the ini…

> leader in the find long lost relative space/your "roots" space. Acknowledging Ancestry.com are well ahead of the market here, but I never got their appeal of finding some long-lost second cousins... basically strangers, and saying, "hey, isn't it fascinating that we share some arbitrary level of common genetic makeup". If some randomer reached out via email to me doing this big reveal I'd be "thanks, but into the s…

just because you are anti-social, doesn't mean the general public are

Re: Independent directors of 23andMe resign from board

#269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This fixes the issue with leaks. But it creates a much worse issue: anyone can now sequence anyone else's DNA with zero oversight or privacy controls. The film Gattaca covers how this could lead to a sort of night are society pretty well, I highly recommend it. It also makes it much much harder to use the data for clinical research.

What prevents anyone from sequencing anyone else's DNA with the current system?

aye. fake emails aren't hard to come across. create a fake username and ID, and then claim the sample is you or your kid.

Re: Independent directors of 23andMe resign from board

#270

I used to work at 23andMe, AMA

Thanks for the AMA.

I want to get my genetic data, but, like obviously I don't want to go through one of these services where they ingest all that data and keep it around forever. Honestly, I'd like to be the only person with access to it and I can destroy it at will.

Tough requirements, I know.

Anyways, do you know of any services that meet those reqs? Any good DIY ideas?

Again, thanks for the AMA

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