Decoding 23andMe — Illumina spills the beans
First, it was self-described 23andMe investor Martin Varsavsky who spilled some early information about the secretive personal-genomics startup founded by Sergey Brin’s new wife, Anne Wojcicki, and now backed by Google and Genentech. (See our coverage here.) Now more details about 23andMe’s plans to help individuals map their own genomes are emerging, courtesy of Illumina, a gene-scanning company partnered with the startup.
At an investor conference yesterday, Illumina CEO Jay Flatley sketched out 23andMe’s plans and… Continue Reading
Needles emerge from the genomic haystack
Scientists yesterday reported finding seven new gene variants linked to diabetes, a sign that the disease-gene hunt may have finally attained a sort of critical momentum.
Researchers have been looking for genes related to particular disorders for more than 30 years, and have been frustrated in that hunt for almost as long. With the exception of a few conditions caused by a single malfunctioning gene — most notably, perhaps, cystic fibrosis and Huntingdon’s disease — most… Continue Reading