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23andMe in hot water with the FDA
The FDA has just issued a warning letter to 23andMe on the 22nd November 2013 to cease their direct-to-consumer marketing of the Saliva Collection Kit and Personal Genome Service (PGS) as it has no FDA clearance. 23andMe launched its services in 2007 and continued to grow in the genetic testing market. It claims to have continued…
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Public interest in genetic testing and genetic educations
A Triangle Startup Weekend is a a good place to test your ideas and find like minded people to work on a idea you pitch. This weekend I decided to pitch something very close to my heart and my background – an idea for genetic education/guide tool. And surprisingly enough I got an amazing response…
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Proficiency testing in the era of NGS
Next generation sequencing (NGS) appeared to be the main focus of many presentations at ASHG 2013 in Boston. In 2009 I was predicting a quick decrease in costs of NGS and a rapid invasion of the technique into the clinics. As we currently see the prices have fallen down to nearly affordable, however, they are…
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Human genome helping medicine – how far is it going?
I recently read a blog by Veronica Combs and the Mayo Clinic list of advancements possible by the human genome mapping. While there are obvious advances already making a difference in people’s lives, some of them are only a possibility, which will hopefully soon materialize. Here are just some of the thoughts on the topic. 2.…
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What does coffee have to do with genome re-sequencing?
A presentation that I gave recently at BioConference Live on Genetics and Genomics focused on using re-sequencing in human genetic testing. While this talk focused on technology comparison – microarrays vs NGS, there were a few important aspects that are independent of the platform used for re-sequencing. A critically important component of re-sequencing is availability of…
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NGS in the clinic – New challenges for geneticists and genetic counselors
Previously we talked about getting our genetic testing done. Running a test in the laboratory is just a part of the process. An even more important part is analysis, reviewing and interpretation of the results before you see them. Who are the people behind the piece of paper you see once your test is done?…
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Personalized cosmetics, diet supplements… What is going to be next?
We all know about personalized medicine based on the genetic or genomics screen of our DNA. Now it is time to brace yourself for personalized cosmetics also based on a DNA test. If you do not believe check out those two companies: Israeli based Cosmetics DNA (http://www.cosmetics-dna.com) and the USA based Dermagenetics (http://dermagenetics.com). Both of…
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Genetic disease screening – targeted re-sequencing what to use microarrays or NGS?
I have been recently asked to assess what is the better technology for screening for genetic diseases and why would someone want to use microarrays to do it. NGS and microarrays are very different technologies with their own pros and cons. So let’s look at what they are and which one is truly better. Targeted re-sequencing…
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Do you know that your genetic information is a protected health information (PHI)?
Are you interested in testing your genes for any reason? If you followed my blog you would know that there are some good reasons to do it and how to go about getting it done. Now you decided to get tested, before you take the last step you need to consider implications of the test…
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Are we looking at one side of a coin with genetic tests?
Genetic testing becomes a very common practice among the consumers. We can have our genetic makeup determined by various tests, starting at $99 and going up to $5000 or more per test. The quality of the tests varies, and information delivered is different. What can we find out from the test: a carrier status test for selected…
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Making sense of your genome
