23andMe Launch Party
23andMe, the company founded by Anne Wojcicki and Linda Avey and in which I’m an investor, is going to give a Launch Party next monday in Palo Alto, California. 23andMe will help individuals understand their own genetic information using recent advances in DNA analysis technologies and web-based interactive tools.
After providing a saliva sample, 23andMe users will be able to enjoy interactive tools to shed new light on themselves, their close family and their distant ancestors. Having created myself and invested in so many internet companies in which interaction is done by your hands, eyes and ears the I find the concept of a company who you first encounter donating saliva, both weird and fascinating. Who would have thought that all there is to know about your genes can be simply found….in your saliva. Sperm could be a more interesting as a way to enter a community but I guess saliva is more egalitarian. Now thinking about this maybe the next mashup is between 23andme and Match.com…find out before more about your mate….before you mate.
Posted on Investments | 2:58 pm
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Posted by Jose Luis - November 22, 2007 4:55 pm - #
At 999$ the kit I think this is a nice toy for rich people. I would try undoubtedly though with an affordable cost.
Posted by andres - November 22, 2007 5:30 pm - #
Martin,
i would not give my DNA to a company partially owned by google. I dont want adsense prompting me to buy a wig ( because they know i’m balding) selling me knifes ( because they know about my propension to think about killing people) etc..
Now, jokes apart, I think in any corporation, but google, it would have been a scandal that the board is funding companies owned by wifes and girlfriends…
Can someone imagine that in any other public company but google?
Posted by Martin Varsavsky - November 22, 2007 7:54 pm - #
Andres,
I am friends with Anne and Sergey and the story is the opposite. Sergey was partly funding Anne´s new efforts on his own and the Google board insisted that Google invest in 23andme, because they, as myself (I am also an investor), very much believe in 23andme.
Posted by martin santos - November 22, 2007 9:47 pm - #
Y si Google se hace evil?
Posted by steven - November 22, 2007 11:48 pm - #
Don’t forget that for 999$ 23andme will only look at +- 600.000 enzymes in your DNA; and give statistics based on those 600.000 elements… A full scan of that saliva sample would otherwise take +- 1 month… and that’s not possible yet for 999$ …
But just like youtub they will keep the original sample and perhaps in the near future when computer dna processing machines are faster they will give a total picture of your dna sample.
Btw when looking for compatibilities with the girlfriend one would need 2 samples, so 2x 999$
and if you want to know if your offspring has some problems from one of both parents you will need to donate 3x 999$
I believe the UK was willing to stock it’s entire population inside a DNA database…
let’s hope they won’t lose that on a few disks … like they did last month for millions of UK citizens
uk privacy law? syr…. except for the government…
Posted by in.tuyo - November 23, 2007 12:55 am - #
Your idea of a mashup between 23andme and Match.com reminded me of a scary movie (Gattaca) and a scary book (Brave New World).
Posted by Gilles - November 23, 2007 3:46 pm - #
SORRY Martin , this is not your best investment decision !!!
Gilles
Posted by polac - November 23, 2007 3:53 pm - #
La gente confunde la ciencia con los científicos. La ciencia es grandiosa, pero los científicos son humanos. Humanos con prejuicios, miedos e ilusiones, esperanzas.. pudiendo defender a ultranza ideas que van contra la “verdad”. Hay quien dice que la ciencia no avanza hasta que un nuevo científico toma el relevo del anterior, pero no, sus prejuicios y resistencias a aceptar nuevos conocimientos. La ciencia avanza de funeral en funeral. Conocer nuestra propensión genética a una enfermedad no evitara padecerla. Cualquier evento imprevisto hará que no funcione un método para calcular el riesgo futuro en base a a una predicción basada en el pasado. Nuestro ADN no es más que nuestro pasado bioquímico. Los hipocondríacos van a acudir en manada, gran negocio. Se vende ilusión a precio de ciencia.
Posted by Juergen - November 25, 2007 3:44 am - #
Is it going to be a closed party? Where is it going to take place and are you going to be there as well, Martin?
Posted by Jaco - November 26, 2007 6:38 pm - #
Saludame a Dennis, esposo de Susan (hermana de Anne) y dile que te cuente sobre sus origenes Argentinos…