23andMe – the home genetic testing company backed by Google – have announced they want to use their data for drug development. I think this is a great idea, but a very important time for Google to remember their “Don’t be evil” policy.

What is 23andMe?

23andMe offer mail-order personal genome sequencing: you’re sent the kit, you take a swab of DNA from inside your cheek, send it back and wait for a copy of your own blueprints to appear online. What an age to live in! The data comes in the form of a ‘SNP panel’, meaning it tests for a long list of known single nucleotide changes that are common in the general population. The unique pattern of SNPs you have inherited can show you your ancestors paths across the world, as well as identify some nasty diseases you may carry or be predisposed to.

A South-African colleague of mine took one of the tests for fun. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the family rumour that his great-great-great grandmother was black were true, and that his whole family had inherited some of her black-african SNP pattern. He took great pleasure in announcing this at a family gathering, in front of some unpleasant racist relatives. Nothing annoys bigots like scientific proof that they’re ideas are bad and they should feel bad!

Continue reading →