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23andMe licenses its own drug compound to Spanish firm Almirall

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Re: 23andMe licenses its own drug compound to Spanish firm Almirall

#61

Post by tathougies »

pvaldes wrote: post #6
BitwiseFool wrote: post #2

This is great. I had a 23andMe test done years ago and one of the reasons why I chose to do it was because my genetic data might be helpful for others. I personally don't feel like I 'own' my genetic code and I'm quite happy to let scientists analyze it. However I understand while many people do not feel the same way.

Saying that you do not own your unique genetic code is not much different than saying that your ears, eyes or kidneys are not yours, and might be helpful form others, so anybody could take them. Think about it.

Given that I literally gave half my genetic code to my daughter and she does not actually have any portion of my literal ears, kidneys, or eyes, I think you're overdramatizing.

Re: 23andMe licenses its own drug compound to Spanish firm Almirall

#62

Post by Real_S »

klipt wrote: post #58
Real_S wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here is a study on the genetics of political belief[0]. In summary, there is a large genetic component. [0] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4038932/

Causal or just correlation? It's easy to imagine spurious correlation. Eg Italian Catholic populations may be more right wing than British Protestant populations. But that doesn't mean it's Italian genes making then right wing.

These twin studies control for ethnicity and cultural heritage.

Side note, I personally know one of the researchers on this paper and can vouch for his talent and credibility.

Re: 23andMe licenses its own drug compound to Spanish firm Almirall

#63

Post by mapcars »

pvaldes wrote: post #26
gpm wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one is using the physical objects for their research. They sequenced it (at your request) and are only using the information for research...

This information can be easily used to regenerate partially the physical object.

Easily? Any proof that it had been done?

Re: 23andMe licenses its own drug compound to Spanish firm Almirall

#64

Post by Real_S »

cabaalis wrote: post #39
Analemma_ wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might start feeling differently when a new test is developed for existing genetic conditions that it turns out you have, and since your DNA is already public suddenly your health insurance premiums quintuple.

At least in the US, doing this would already be illegal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_Information_Nondiscrim...

This law has interesting loopholes.

GINA does not apply to employers with fewer than 15 employees. It does not cover long-term care insurance, life insurance, or disability insurance, though some states have state laws that offer additional protections against genetic discrimination.

More info at:

https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/policy-issues/Genetic-...

Re: 23andMe licenses its own drug compound to Spanish firm Almirall

#65

Post by switz »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #46
stanmancan wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My concern in these services is, at what point in the future does your DNA get weaponized against you? When do you get declined for health insurance, or have jacked up premiums, because the insurance company bought a report from 23andMe that says you have a predisposition to expensive disease ? My DNA isn't a secret, but I don't yet feel comfortable voluntarily handing it over to be indexed by a for profit company th…

> When do you get declined for health insurance, or have jacked up premiums, because the insurance company bought a report from 23andMe that says you have a predisposition to expensive disease? US federal law prohibits this [1]. [1] https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/testing/discrimination

This might be considered a low quality comment, but I do think it's important to remember (and repeat): laws can change

Re: 23andMe licenses its own drug compound to Spanish firm Almirall

#66

Post by dahinds »

Hasz wrote: post #35
Beefin wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That makes zero sense, the effort is in deriving insights in producing something tangible - drugs. That's like saying you want a cut from all of Google's revenue because you use their search engine, or you want a cut from any service because they use the analytics from your use to improve their product.

That's exactly what I'm saying. I recognize it's not practical, but that doesn't mean I'm going to change the criterion -- it's also why I chose not to upload data to 23andMe. In Google and everyone else's case, I would argue it's a bit different. Google remunerates me with the best search engine in the world, excellent free email, etc. Other services improve the product, which I (generally) reap the benefits of. On…

23andme provides a service that improves as a result of our research program. Many 23andMe reports are now based entirely on 23andMe research. There's room to argue about the value of the services we provide, but I think the science is pretty solid. And 23andMe research is generally very well regarded in the scientific community; we've contributed to >100 peer reviewed publications and have dozens of active academic collaborations. There's no other genetic testing company with anything remotely comparable to our research program. Actionability is a really hard problem but I'd absolutely stand behind the integrity of what we do. In any case, no one is obligated to participate in our research program.

Re: 23andMe licenses its own drug compound to Spanish firm Almirall

#67

Post by dahinds »

rckoepke wrote: post #30
dahinds wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We've never done that. https://www.23andme.com/transparency-report/

That's a great transparency report and I'm stoked to see that you actually appear to actively fight invalid legal requests for data. According to your "Guide for Law Enforcement"[0] ... It's really just by luck/coincidence that you can even claim "We've never done that". Again - it's nice and mildly surprising to see that you haven't received an NSL yet. But I would bet $1,000 to charity that you will be legally forc…

Customers can opt in to participate in our research program, and can then choose to provide additional information by i.e. filling out surveys.

Re: 23andMe licenses its own drug compound to Spanish firm Almirall

#68

Post by toomuchtodo »

switz wrote: post #65
toomuchtodo wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> When do you get declined for health insurance, or have jacked up premiums, because the insurance company bought a report from 23andMe that says you have a predisposition to expensive disease? US federal law prohibits this [1]. [1] https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/testing/discrimination

This might be considered a low quality comment, but I do think it's important to remember (and repeat): laws can change

Democracy requires constant vigilance.

Re: 23andMe licenses its own drug compound to Spanish firm Almirall

#69

Post by guelo »

dpiers wrote: post #15
BitwiseFool wrote: post #2

This is great. I had a 23andMe test done years ago and one of the reasons why I chose to do it was because my genetic data might be helpful for others. I personally don't feel like I 'own' my genetic code and I'm quite happy to let scientists analyze it. However I understand while many people do not feel the same way.

I'm relatively paranoid when it comes to privacy and also did 23andMe for similar reasons. I stopped thinking of my DNA as a secret when I realized how impossible it is to keep other people from having access to it. Once someone knows it, you cannot change it like a password. DNA is an anti-secret. You share it everywhere you go and cannot stop. It's no more secret or personal than your shoe size or height.

You might leave DNA everywhere but that does not tie it back to your identity. The secret is who's DNA it is, not the DNA itself. And that's the secret you pay to give to 23andMe when you sign up. Anywhere you leave your DNA can now be tied back to you. Even if you sign up with a fake identity (which is hard since you have to give them a credit card) 23andMe can find the DNA's relatives that are in their database and that can easily lead back to you.

Re: 23andMe licenses its own drug compound to Spanish firm Almirall

#70

Post by awb »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #46
stanmancan wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My concern in these services is, at what point in the future does your DNA get weaponized against you? When do you get declined for health insurance, or have jacked up premiums, because the insurance company bought a report from 23andMe that says you have a predisposition to expensive disease ? My DNA isn't a secret, but I don't yet feel comfortable voluntarily handing it over to be indexed by a for profit company th…

> When do you get declined for health insurance, or have jacked up premiums, because the insurance company bought a report from 23andMe that says you have a predisposition to expensive disease? US federal law prohibits this [1]. [1] https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/testing/discrimination

Now it does, but it might not be this way in the future. Health insurance companies fought tooth and nail about covering pre-existing conditions. This is just going 1-step prior.

They could easily frame this as "hey 80% of the population who are pretty healthy -- do you like paying extra high rates for this small population of people with a predisposition for really rare, complicated diseases? if we drop this unfair law we could lower your rates by X%".

Not saying it's right or ethical, but that I wouldn't be shocked if healthcare started lobbying hard to get this tweaked.

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