DNA Companies

Dr. Moran at Sandwalk brought to my attention a recent segment about genetic genealogy on Marketplace called “Who’s Your Grand Daddy?”Marketplace is a Canadian television program.In his post, Dr. Moran states:

“I’m disturbed by the fact that we have a number of prominent bloggers pushing DNA testing. You’d think they would be all over this story. You’d think that they would be in the front lines in the attack on unscrupulous private companies who are overselling the idea of tracing your ancestors through your DNA.If you thought that you’d be wrong. Some of these bloggers are even denying there’s a problem.”

During the Marketplace segment, Johnna – a woman they interview who is interested in learning more about her ancestry – discovers that she belongs to Haplogroup H.Unfortunately, Johnna had expected to learn more about her ancestry, such as the names of ancestors.It would appear that Johnna did not do any research about genetic genealogy. ... Click to read more!

It’s not a whole-genome scan or a genetic genealogy test, but it’s still a DNA test from the drug store shelves. Soon you will be able to purchase a paternity test from Rite-Aid.

The test is being offered by Sorenson Genomics. According to an article from Monday’s New York Times:

“A company called Sorenson Genomics has started selling a paternity test kit through Rite Aid stores in California, Oregon and Washington. It appears to be the first time a DNA test is being sold through a major pharmacy chain.”

“The test, sold under the brand name Identigene, has a suggested list price of $29.99, though a reporter purchased one at a Rite Aid in Santa Monica, Calif., for $19.99. There is an additional laboratory fee of $119 to have the samples analyzed.” ... Click to read more!

I have written a lot about the Mountain View based personal genome start-up company 23andMe (February 14^th, April 9^th, June 19^th, July 31^st, and September 13^th, to name a few). As a matter of fact, if you google “23andMe”, The Genetic Genealogist is the second result.

Today, announced by an article in the New York Times (My Genome, Myself: Seeking Clues in DNA) and Wired (23andMe Will Decode Your DNA for $1000. Welcome to the Age of Genomics), 23andMe has officially launched.

If you visit 23andMe, you’ll notice that the site has been completely revamped, and they are now accepting orders for their Personal Genome Service, for $999.

So what does 23andMe offer? According to the company’s Genotyping Section:

“In all, 23andMe looks at more than 500,000 SNPs scattered across the 23 pairs of chromosomes that constitute the human genetic sequence. We also look at a few thousand places on the mitochondrial DNA, an odd loop of genetic material outside the nucleus that is involved in producing energy for the cell.” ... Click to read more!

Today, deCODE genetics announced the launch of their consumer genotyping service, deCODEme.deCODEme is the first personal genomics company to launch, and will provide sequencing information about 1 million SNPs for the introductory price of $985.The service has two components:

1.The genotyping of ~1 million SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms, or personal differences in the genetic code), and;

2.A secured website for presenting the data obtained from the sequencing.

The official press release from the parent company deCODE genetics, contains some interesting information about the product:

“Through your subscription to deCODEme, you can learn what your DNA says about your ancestry, your body –traits such as hair and eye color– as well as whether you may have genetic variants that have been associated with higher or lower than average risk of a range of common diseases. This information will be continually updated as new discoveries are made. ... Click to read more!

Last week, the genomic start-up company Navigenics issued a press release introducing their team of advisors and investors, and announcing $25 million in financing. There was an accompanying story in the Wall Street Journal, “Is There a Heart Attack in Your Future?” According to the article, the tests that will eventually be offered by Navigenics have already been tested by at least one of the company’s co-founders:

“David Agus, a cancer researcher at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles who is a co-founder of the company, says he took the test and found he had a 68% risk of having a heart attack in his lifetime, compared with about 40% in the general population. His kids, he says, now help him stay away from French fries. “I’m a believer in empowerment,” he says.” ... Click to read more!