Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

23andMe Wins a Second Life, Raises $115M

forbes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 118 posts

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

#81

Post by roel_v »

amelius wrote: post #49

I don't like this sentence from the wikipedia page [1]: > The price of the full direct to consumer testing service in the United States has reduced from $999 in 2007 to $99 in 2012, and it is effectively being sold as a loss leader in order to build a valuable customer database . First, why can't companies these days just sell me a product for the cost price plus a margin? This seems like a fair way of doing business…

"First, why can't companies these days just sell me a product for the cost price plus a margin? This seems like a fair way of doing business."

Why?

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

#82

Post by GregBuchholz »

cbhl wrote: post #68
funkysquid wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd be more interested in my doctor having this information. I tend to self diagnose (poorly) when presented with too much information that I don't understand well. But I feel like a medical professional could use the data to keep an eye out for specific symptoms and tailor questions for my risks, without giving me unneeded anxiety.

I have heard that giving your doctor information about genetic conditions may result in treatment for those conditions being excluded by your health insurance (because they're "pre-existing").

If you are in the U.S., you may want to investigate the Genetic Information Nondescrimination Act (GINA):

http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/special/g...

"GINA protects individuals against discrimination based on their genetic information in health coverage and in employment. GINA is divided into two sections, or Titles. Title I of GINA prohibits discrimination based on genetic information in health coverage. Title II of GINA prohibits discrimination based on genetic information in employment."

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

#83

Post by daughart »

2bitencryption wrote: post #73
amelius wrote: post #49

I don't like this sentence from the wikipedia page [1]: > The price of the full direct to consumer testing service in the United States has reduced from $999 in 2007 to $99 in 2012, and it is effectively being sold as a loss leader in order to build a valuable customer database . First, why can't companies these days just sell me a product for the cost price plus a margin? This seems like a fair way of doing business…

You misunderstand. The point is that the more data they have, the more valuable and "accurate" their analysis is -- it's like crowdsourcing genetics by building one large database. So your complaint of "why don't they just sell it at the cost plus a margin" doesn't work here. They're dropping the price because they're paying you for your information to make their service better. It's like Tumblr not having ads (for a…

The more data they have the more valuable they are to drug companies. The data doesn't help them provide you anything.

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

#85

Post by streptomycin »

2bitencryption wrote: post #72
streptomycin wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, I don't think 23&Me's test results have enough medical value to be used for evaluating health risks. For some things they do, like they test for mutations related to Alzheimer's that can drastically alter risk, ranging from "you're probably never going to get it" to "you're probably going to get it, and there's a good chance it'll be much earlier than you would have imagined". But their marketing material was v…

Do they actually still show the Alzheimer's information? If so, I'd be very interested in doing that...

They don't show any medical information for new customers, but you can analyze it yourself with stuff like https://www.promethease.com/

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

#86

Post by SapphireSun »

Karunamon wrote: post #71
lfuller wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

23&Me was using a medical test to give users data regarding their risks of certain diseases without sufficiently proving to the FDA that that data was accurate. It's not a stretch to imagine someone acting on that information with potentially dangerous results; taking extra unneeded supplements, having elective surgery, dramatically changing their lifestyle to reduce the risk of some condition, etc.

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.

Well to be fair, you can also ask a snake oil salesman for his snake oil, but there's a reason we regulate these things. The first users might be high information, but once something starts to get popular, people start making bad decisions. You can argue that people can ask for whatever they want (and they can) but whether you can sell anything you want has long precedent, especially in health related areas where misleading information leads to dramatic decisions being made.

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

#88

Post by SapphireSun »

jamesblonde wrote: post #54
rodneyfool wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've used 23andMe, and it told me I have twice the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease when I'm older. Considering that I've lost a few family members to Alzheimer's, it worries the hell out of me. Regardless, this has triggered me to research a bit about the disease and ways of potentially reducing the risk. It does make you anxious, but when you have that knowledge, you feel the need to do something about it.

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.

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

#89

Post by SilasX »

refurb wrote: post #20
billions wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The FDA put a stop to crowd-DNA research via the 23AM law suit. Prior to the lawsuit 23AM had a large user base completing questionnaires effectively mapping health risks, traits and allergies to genes. Not sure what the Food and Drug administration has to do with my genes other than regulatory overreach.

It has to do with the FDA protecting the public from crappy medical devices and drugs. IF you want to sell a genetic test, you need to prove to the FDA: (1) that your test is accurate and reproducible, (2) that whatever conclusion you draw from the test is scientifically sound. The issue was that 23&Me was saying "you have this SNP, that means your risk of X is increased by Y%". The test, the result and the conclusio…

>That said, I'm fine if people want that info anyways, but 23&Me would need to add a disclaimer that says "Your genetic test results and the risks attributed to them may or may not be accurate."

But they FDA doesn't allow it, even under this condition.

I think it's ridiculous that the FDA considers this okay:

A) "1,2,3-methyl dethyl has been proven in clinical research to make your life suck less. (This statement not evaluated by the FDA blah blah blah)"

But not this:

B) "You have genes X, Y, and Z. The current state of published researched indicates an elevated risk for skin cancer for this genotype."

Was anyone seriously claiming that 23andme was misrepresenting the state of the research? Were they providing or enabling any treatment based on this research without further review by a doctor?

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

#90

Post by jschwartzi »

SapphireSun wrote: post #86
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.

Well to be fair, you can also ask a snake oil salesman for his snake oil, but there's a reason we regulate these things. The first users might be high information, but once something starts to get popular, people start making bad decisions. You can argue that people can ask for whatever they want (and they can) but whether you can sell anything you want has long precedent, especially in health related areas where mis…

And, to be fair, the reason the FDA came into existence was because companies used to sell things that would seriously injure or kill you, and because there were no regulations they wouldn't advise you of the risks. Caveat Emptor doesn't help you if you have no way to become informed in the first place.
Post reply on HN