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Commentary on human genetics and evolution, direct-to-consumer genetic testing, and the personal genomics industry.
Daniel MacArthur
I write about the genetic and evolutionary basis of human variation, and the companies trying to sell you information about your genome.
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November 19, 2009
Category: bad genetic testing
Pharyngula, via a reader, points me to the most aggressively bad attempt at a genetic testing product I have ever encountered, coupled with a truly horrific attitude to parenting.The tag line alone is hilariously inept:"Our Technology Spawned from Human Genome Project...
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 7:00 PM • 8 Comments •
November 18, 2009
Category: diy genetics
European Genetics and Anthropology has a neat little tutorial that may be of interest for genetic hobbyists: it provides instructions on how to run the program STRUCTURE on your own genetic data generated by a personal genomics company such...
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 7:15 AM • 0 Comments •
November 17, 2009
Category: finance
An email to deCODEme customers details the possible future of the personal genomics service following the bankruptcy of parent company deCODE Genetics.
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 5:00 AM • 2 Comments •
Category: decode genetics
Ailing Icelandic biotech giant deCODE Genetics has finally succumbed to its decade-long battle against insolvency, filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy in a US court.
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 4:45 AM • 8 Comments •
November 15, 2009
Category: personal genomics
Personal genomics company 23andMe has split its market with a new line of specialised genetic analysis products, and is set to raise the price of its full product in the next few days. It appears that the ideal of broad intellectual curiosity that has defined the company since its launch is gradually being eroded by market forces.
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 8:15 AM • 8 Comments •
November 11, 2009
Category: genome-wide association studies
Personal genomics company 23andMe announced novel genetic associations with hair curl at the recent ASHG meeting - but these findings have now been scooped by a publication from an academic consortium.
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 7:15 PM • 18 Comments •
November 4, 2009
Yesterday I posted a brief rant about the need for researchers to think about the best way to return genetic research data to participants, spinning off an equally brief opinion piece I wrote for the ongoing ELSI series at Genomics...
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 1:15 PM • 0 Comments •
November 3, 2009
My contribution to Genomics Law Report's superb "What ELSI is New" series is up now. The gist of my argument: as we move into an era of large-scale whole-genome sequencing studies and the utility of genomic information grows, researchers...
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 10:15 AM • 9 Comments •
Category: complete genomics
Sequencing provider Complete Genomics is partnering with the Institute for Systems Biology to sequence the entire genomes of 100 individuals, in an attempt to uncover the genetic basis of variation in the presentation of Huntington's disease. This is the first ever attempt to use whole genome sequencing for complex trait association, but there will be dozens more announced over the coming months - so what are the major challenges that lie ahead?
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 7:30 AM • 5 Comments •
