| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"johac" |
| Date: |
13 Sep 2007 06:27:31 PM |
| Object: |
Google in your genes?: Google's Genetic Start-Up |
I don't know about this one. It could be a good thing, but it could also
lead to massive invasions of privacy.
---
Forbes.com
Genomics
Google's Genetic Start-Up
Matthew Herper, 09.12.07, 6:16 PM ET
"We'd like to give all of you an opportunity to meet your genome."
That was the offer made to a roomful of analysts by Jay Flatley, chief
executive of biotech Illumina. And in his sales pitch, he spilled
details on one of the most-watched start-ups in Silicon Valley (This
meeting was Webcast here).
Illumina makes tools used by scientists to study the genes of humans,
other animals and plants, and it does a brisk business. Its sales have
doubled since last year, and its stock is up 30% in 12 months and 250%
over two years. Now Illumina has to convince Wall Street it can continue
that winning streak. To help do that, Flatley talked about Illumina's
partnership with 23andMe, a start-up that has raised about $10 million
in venture capital.
23andMe isn't just any start-up. The company was co-founded by Anne
Wojcicki, the new wife of Google billionaire Sergey Brin. Google put
$3.6 million into the start-up, and $2.6 million of 23andMe's funding
went to pay back a loan from Brin to the new company. That was enough to
get the gossips jabbering. Other investors include Genentech and tech
investor Esther Dyson.
But despite the chatter, there hasn't been a lot of information about
what 23andMe is going to do, or how it is going to make money. The name
comes from the fact that every person has 23 pairs of chromosomes,
tangles of DNA that contain our genes. (We each get one set of 23 from
Mom, the other from Dad.)
23andMe's Web site says the company is "developing new ways to help you
make sense of your own genetic information." It also promises "broad,
secure and private access to trustworthy and accurate individual genetic
information." Flatley went a lot farther, giving an outline of what
23andMe will offer and then giving the product its first public consumer
review.
Customers would give 23andMe a sample (it might be some spit or a Q-tip
rubbed on the inside of the cheek). This would be sent to Illumina to be
genotyped. Illumina and its main competitor, Affymetrix, make what are
known as DNA chips, devices that can sample the genome in hundreds of
places. These chips have been leading to a revolution in genetics, with
dozens of DNA variations being potentially linked to diseases so far
this year.
Illumina would then be able to tell 23andMe about hundreds of DNA
variations, called single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, that each
customer has. 23andME would make that information available through a
password-protected Web site. And people would be able to log on and get
information about what SNPs (pronounced "snips") they have.
Initially, Flatley said, the company will be more focused on
ancestry--questions like which parent one got more traits from, or who
your distant relatives are--than medicine. Many researchers say most
genetic discoveries are so far only of limited medical utility.
Flatley said he has already been able to try out a dry run of this
software. He described logging on to 23andMe with his wife standing over
his shoulder, and she proceeded to barrage him with questions about
which SNP variants he had. The site, he said, will also feature articles
explaining what these variants mean. "It's actually quite intriguing,"
he said.
The CEO admitted he's an "early adopter"--he's going to be trying to get
the $100 credit on his Apple iPhone. But his iPhone has his genotype on
it. And he showed a scan of his entire genome on a slide. Then he told
the assembled analysts that anyone who wanted could sign up there to get
23andMe's services for free.
Illumina handed out sign-up cards, and told analysts to put them in a
bowl in the back of the room if they were interested. Flatley said that
23andMe would be showing off its software over the next couple months.
Illumina estimates that in several years the market in consumer
genotyping will hit $1.5 billion. It's not clear, but it seems likely
23andMe might use the data it has collected to make new discoveries
itself.
23andMe, which has been keeping very quiet about its plans, declined to
comment for this story. But it is looking like one of the first
companies to start figuring out what an explosion of genetic data will
mean for the average consumer.
In genetics, a lot is happening very fast. Dyson, the 23andMe investor
and board member, is one of 10 people who have agreed to have their DNA
sequenced and put on the Internet as part of the Personal Genome
Project. That project's lead investigator, George Church of Harvard
Medical School, is an adviser to 23andMe.
---
http://tinyurl.com/37lyuw
--
John #1782
"We should always be disposed to believe that which appears to us to be
white is really black, if the hierarchy of the church so decides."
- Saint Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) Founder of the Jesuit Order.
.
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| User: "stoney" |
|
| Title: Re: Google in your genes?: Google's Genetic Start-Up |
05 Oct 2007 11:22:48 PM |
|
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On Thu, 13 Sep 2007 16:27:31 -0700, johac
<jhachmann@remove.sbcglobal.net> wrote:
I don't know about this one. It could be a good thing, but it could also
lead to massive invasions of privacy.
No 'could' about it. Total Information Awareness Programme Part II.
Forbes.com
Genomics
Google's Genetic Start-Up
Matthew Herper, 09.12.07, 6:16 PM ET
"We'd like to give all of you an opportunity to meet your genome."
That was the offer made to a roomful of analysts by Jay Flatley, chief
executive of biotech Illumina. And in his sales pitch, he spilled
details on one of the most-watched start-ups in Silicon Valley (This
meeting was Webcast here).
Illumina makes tools used by scientists to study the genes of humans,
other animals and plants, and it does a brisk business. Its sales have
doubled since last year, and its stock is up 30% in 12 months and 250%
over two years. Now Illumina has to convince Wall Street it can continue
that winning streak. To help do that, Flatley talked about Illumina's
partnership with 23andMe, a start-up that has raised about $10 million
in venture capital.
[]
.
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| User: "johac" |
|
| Title: Re: Google in your genes?: Google's Genetic Start-Up |
06 Oct 2007 06:57:23 PM |
|
|
In article <0b3eg3drjh3ailpl3b6espcmmcudtphkuo@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
On Thu, 13 Sep 2007 16:27:31 -0700, johac
<jhachmann@remove.sbcglobal.net> wrote:
I don't know about this one. It could be a good thing, but it could also
lead to massive invasions of privacy.
No 'could' about it. Total Information Awareness Programme Part II.
Yeah, when the DHS kicks down your door and arrests you because you have
a gene which might predispose you to terrorism. You've probably seen the
movie "Gattaca".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gattaca
Forbes.com
Genomics
Google's Genetic Start-Up
Matthew Herper, 09.12.07, 6:16 PM ET
"We'd like to give all of you an opportunity to meet your genome."
That was the offer made to a roomful of analysts by Jay Flatley, chief
executive of biotech Illumina. And in his sales pitch, he spilled
details on one of the most-watched start-ups in Silicon Valley (This
meeting was Webcast here).
Illumina makes tools used by scientists to study the genes of humans,
other animals and plants, and it does a brisk business. Its sales have
doubled since last year, and its stock is up 30% in 12 months and 250%
over two years. Now Illumina has to convince Wall Street it can continue
that winning streak. To help do that, Flatley talked about Illumina's
partnership with 23andMe, a start-up that has raised about $10 million
in venture capital.
[]
--
John #1782
"We should always be disposed to believe that which appears to us to be
white is really black, if the hierarchy of the church so decides."
- Saint Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) Founder of the Jesuit Order.
.
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| User: "stoney" |
|
| Title: Re: Google in your genes?: Google's Genetic Start-Up |
11 Oct 2007 10:47:21 AM |
|
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On Sat, 06 Oct 2007 16:57:23 -0700, johac
<jhachmann@remove.sbcglobal.net> wrote:
In article <0b3eg3drjh3ailpl3b6espcmmcudtphkuo@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
On Thu, 13 Sep 2007 16:27:31 -0700, johac
<jhachmann@remove.sbcglobal.net> wrote:
I don't know about this one. It could be a good thing, but it could also
lead to massive invasions of privacy.
No 'could' about it. Total Information Awareness Programme Part II.
Yeah, when the DHS kicks down your door and arrests you because you have
a gene which might predispose you to terrorism.
Or even if you don't.
You've probably seen the
movie "Gattaca".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gattaca
No, I haven't. I'm not much for flicks.
.
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| User: "johac" |
|
| Title: Re: Google in your genes?: Google's Genetic Start-Up |
13 Oct 2007 02:39:07 AM |
|
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In article <r9hsg35e9aag55ik5n37jdvpcqson7306r@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
On Sat, 06 Oct 2007 16:57:23 -0700, johac
<jhachmann@remove.sbcglobal.net> wrote:
In article <0b3eg3drjh3ailpl3b6espcmmcudtphkuo@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
On Thu, 13 Sep 2007 16:27:31 -0700, johac
<jhachmann@remove.sbcglobal.net> wrote:
I don't know about this one. It could be a good thing, but it could also
lead to massive invasions of privacy.
No 'could' about it. Total Information Awareness Programme Part II.
Yeah, when the DHS kicks down your door and arrests you because you have
a gene which might predispose you to terrorism.
Or even if you don't.
They'll just find another excuse.
You've probably seen the
movie "Gattaca".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gattaca
No, I haven't. I'm not much for flicks.
It wasn't that good. An interesting premise but the movie fell short.
--
John #1782
"We should always be disposed to believe that which appears to us to be
white is really black, if the hierarchy of the church so decides."
- Saint Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) Founder of the Jesuit Order.
.
|
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| User: "stoney" |
|
| Title: Re: Google in your genes?: Google's Genetic Start-Up |
08 Nov 2007 04:09:55 PM |
|
|
On Sat, 13 Oct 2007 00:39:07 -0700, johac
<jhachmann@remove.sbcglobal.net> wrote:
In article <r9hsg35e9aag55ik5n37jdvpcqson7306r@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
On Sat, 06 Oct 2007 16:57:23 -0700, johac
<jhachmann@remove.sbcglobal.net> wrote:
In article <0b3eg3drjh3ailpl3b6espcmmcudtphkuo@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
On Thu, 13 Sep 2007 16:27:31 -0700, johac
<jhachmann@remove.sbcglobal.net> wrote:
I don't know about this one. It could be a good thing, but it could also
lead to massive invasions of privacy.
No 'could' about it. Total Information Awareness Programme Part II.
Yeah, when the DHS kicks down your door and arrests you because you have
a gene which might predispose you to terrorism.
Or even if you don't.
They'll just find another excuse.
They don't need one. Might makes Reich.
You've probably seen the
movie "Gattaca".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gattaca
No, I haven't. I'm not much for flicks.
It wasn't that good. An interesting premise but the movie fell short.
Common.
.
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