23andMe, a Google-funded online company selling a $999 DNA test, launched on Monday as a kind of genetics-based MySpace or Facebook that also has the more serious aim of allowing medicine someday to target Americans' ills more precisely.
Users sign up for the DNA saliva test online and receive and return it by mail. Four to six weeks later, the results are online, allowing them to learn about their inherited traits, their ancestry and - likely with the help of a professional to look at the data - some of their personal disease risks.
The Web site, which takes its name from the 23 pairs of chromosomes that make up each person's genome, says it will display more than a half-million data points in users' genomes in a form they can visualise and understand.
"Compare your genetic blueprint to your friends and family," the site invites.
Down the line, when the company's database is much larger, users will have the option to take part in scientific studies that could help researchers determine such things as who is in danger of having a life-threatening drug reaction or who may be more likely to benefit from a specific cancer treatment.
"The mission of 23andMe is to take the genetic revolution to a new level," said 23andMe co-founder Linda Avey. "There wasn't an effective way for people to contribute," said fellow founder Anne Wojcicki, who has a background in health-care investing and is married to Google Inc co-founder Sergey Brin. The site does not now make interpretations about a user's risk for developing such diseases as cancers, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes and others, although users could in some cases get help from genetic counsellors or other experts to make some basic assessments.
While technology has made it easier to find and share information, it has also made security and privacy issues critical. The protection of genetic information is particularly important to many consumers, who fear that insurers or other groups may use genetic data to deny coverage to or discriminate against people predisposed for serious disease.
23andMe's founders say the personal data in their system is secure and under the user's control - protected by more than a dozen levels of authentication and encryption from the lab to the user.
Comments
Comments are closed.