Decode your DNA for $1000 Options

[jonathan83]

http://www.wired.com/medtech/genetics/maga...-12/ff_genomics

Companies will take a sample of your DNA, scan it, and tell you about your genetic future, as well as your ancestral past. A much-anticipated Silicon Valley startup called 23andMe offers a thorough tour of your genealogy, tracing your DNA back through the eons. Sign up members of your family and you can track generations of inheritance for traits like athletic endurance or bitter-taste blindness. The company will also tell you which diseases and conditions are associated with your genes — from colorectal cancer to lactose intolerance — giving you the ability to take preventive action. A second company, called Navigenics, focuses on matching your genes to current medical research, calculating your genetic risk for a range of diseases.

go to https://www.23andme.com/


seems pretty cool.

[Spectatrix]

The DNA is destroyed, but the data is not. They update your report with new info when new genetic studies come out.

However, they will delete all of your info from their database within 30 days if you request it.

Once you purchase genotyping services from 23andMe, you will receive a saliva sample collection kit and you will then send your sample directly to our contracted laboratory. The laboratory will extract DNA from your saliva sample and use it for the genotyping analysis. After the analysis is complete and the data have been incorporated into our tools for you to use on our website, all DNA and saliva samples will be destroyed. Neither 23andMe nor its contracted laboratory will save or store any DNA or saliva samples.

Although confirmed cases of genetic discrimination are thankfully rare, the fear of discrimination by insurance companies is one of the main reasons people hesitate to pursue access to their genetic information. We want you to understand the laws that protect you, as well as their limitations.

As of November 2007, no comprehensive federal legislation has been enacted that protects Americans against genetic discrimination in individual insurance coverage, but we are hopeful this will change in the near future. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives in April 2007, and is currently on hold in the Senate.

If GINA is successfully signed into law, two types of discrimination will be outlawed. First, insurance companies will be prevented from requiring you to reveal your genetic information to them, and from using this information for enrollment or premium decisions. Similarly, employers will not be able to make firing or hiring decisions based on genetic information, nor will they be allowed to require you to provide genetic information to them.

While GINA is not currently law, individuals are protected by a variety of federal and state laws and regulations. The National Conference of State Legislatures provides useful tables that detail laws pertaining to the protection of genetic information in the United States. For example, in California, individual and group insurers are prohibited from requiring an individual to provide genetic information, from using genetic information to decide eligibility or risk status, and from disclosing such information without consent.

In addition to legal protections, many insurers are clear about the value of genetic information and are developing specific guidelines about its proper use. Aetna is one example of this trend.

The 23andMe genotyping service that you purchase offers you full access to your genotyping data as well as access to new content and features as they are made available to our customers.

You can, however, close your account and delete your genetic information from our systems at any time. All such requests must be made in writing to our customer service team at help@23andme.com. Within 30 days of receipt and confirmation of such request, we will close your account and delete your genotyping data from our databases. No refunds will be issued in the event of such a request.