DNA revolution

The FDA is cracking down on 23andMe, the company that provides personal genomics testing for a mere $99. My own view is close to Alex Tabarrok’s, that 23andMe does not provide disease diagnosis, and what it does provide is something valuable and different. (Ob disclaimer: I am a 23andMe customer.)

That said, Mike the Mad Biologist makes the case that 23andMe has screwed up how it has handled the FDA’s ongoing attempts to engage them. Even if that is the case, I hope they manage to repair that.

Click here to sign a Whitehouse petition supporting 23andMe. Click the link in the right margin to get your own personal genomics analysis. If that is still possible. If you’re already a 23andMe customer, take the precaution of downloading your raw data now.

Update: Gary Marchant has a good article on this, and why this issue is so critical to the near-term future of personal genomics services. (Via Andrew Sullivan.)