23andme kits DNA sequencing

Kits are discounted up to 50% if you’re a student or educator you can order an Ancestry kit for $79 vs. $99 and the Health + Ancestry kit for $99 vs $199. The site also has some neat educational resources for teachers and students such as a Genetics Club Kit.

Do we have interest in the $100 kits, Science can teach classes on them, but will not without strong interest in the course.

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I think this is neat. But I am very nervous/concerned about the privacy implications. A link discussing:

And a link discussing how to mitigate:

Still…be a careful consumer regarding this.

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If you are concerned about the privacy implications of DNA sequencing don’t participate in the class.

What if I am concerned for everyone?

Also, what class?

Read the original post you replied to without fully reading.

I totally fully read it. You are asking about interest in a class, but may not have a class.

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Yes and if someone else get their DNA sequenced it has no impact on your privacy, but thank you for your concern and warning.

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If you read the links he posted they actually point out that others in your family having their dna tested does have privacy concerns for relatives.

DNA testing like this really does have far reaching privacy concerns. Marshal isn’t targeting you personally or trying to stop you from having a class. He highlighted how privacy is a growing concern in this space of dna testing and the protections out there are starting to or already are lacking compared to what the general public believes they are.

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I actually had similar concerns as well, but I didn’t say anything previously… I just wouldn’t be participating or taking the class. Reminds me that I have had that discussion with one side of my family but not the other…

Really I guess its postponing the inevitable. They get enough data points, it doesnt really matter anyways.

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I know the law says insurers can’t use the results of a consumer DNA test to rate you for premiums or make coverage decisions. I work for a health insurance company. My personal opinion (which does not represent that of my employer in any way) is that there is no way I will take one of those tests, as part of a class, or for “fun” or whatever.

I did the ancestry.com DNA test because my mother-in-law paid for it and I wanted to trace my Cherokee ancestry. I didn’t really consider the security ramifications at the time. The truth is there have already been court cases where the government has subpoena’d the DNA results to identify potential felons. There are definite security risks associated with the tests.

Ancestry has a policy to release it to any government agency with a valid subpoena.

If you don’t want your DNA in the “system” don’t ever provide it. Mine was already available since the USAF collects it on ALL service members for use should you die in combat and are unidentifiable by other means. It is pretty easy to collect it, too if you really want it. Pick up a used coke can, coffee cup or even a hair from a comb and submit it to a DNA lab. Once you dispose of the cup I don’t think you have any rights to the DNA on the cup.

As a result of submitting my DNA to Ancestry.com though I’ve discovered numerous relatives I previously had no knowledge of including a baby that was put up for adoption which no one in the family had previously disclosed. I have a great aunt I didn’t even know I had thanks to Ancestry.com.

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Finding out if a family member is a serial killer seems like an added benefit to me…I think this would be a great class.

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I did 23 & me specifically for the genetics stuff.
While I haven’t been connected with long lost relatives or even interesting familial geographic origin info (generic Eastern European. Ho hum) the genetic aspect was interesting, listing body parts that could be prone to defects.

Yeah, they found him through a familial match of DNA in one of these public systems.

When you consider DNA teat you really need to decide what you are looking for. If it’s medical information then 23 and Me might be your best choice. If you’re looking for Family and Genealogy, Ancestry.com might be your best choice. Genealogy through DNA is based on matching you with other people from the same area, this is one of the main reason the Native American tribes do not accept DNA as proof of membership. The more of your DNA that matches DNA of people from a particular area the more likely your relationship to them. The more DNA samples the testing organization has the better their results. So far Ancestry.com has the largest database.

Privacy aside 23&me/Ancestry have both been busted fudging the testing with inaccurate results. My particular favorite is when they gave “ancestry” on a dog and horse submitted as a human sample.

The other problem is laying down diagnosis and running. I have had several done for medical purposes and that genetic counseling appointment after is really quite essential to knowing if it matters when they find an indicator. Invitae and Cooper Genomics were both excellent, although I think Invitae is cancer only. If we do a class I’d like to see it in partnership with a doctor so the tests can go through insurance if possible and definitely done through a more complete agency at the least.

Just throwing this out there, because I’ve seen a couple of folks on here talk about it, and it seems like it might be a good match if we’re wanting to teach classes under the “Science” committee, as this outfit claims to use the results for Science…
Taken from here, among other places:

https://genesforgood.sph.umich.edu/

Has anyone seen the movie Gattaca?

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Any opinions on or knowledge of full genome sequencing services? Dante Labs runs specials from time to time for just over $200. No idea if they’re good or not.

I think it’d be neat to start discovering personality genes based on our own DMS members. We just need a handful of eccentrics cut from the same cloth and their willingness to hand out their genetic code.

That company would be Orig3n. Both 23andme and Ancestry have good track records. The man problem with DNA research isn’t the sequencing, but the interpretation of the results. An there in lays the problem. While Ancestry.com is looking at ancestry and comparing your DNA to a database of other samples, 23andme is looking at the medical side and a doctors opinion.

Here’s a good read for you on DNA testing; https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-accurate-are-online-dna-tests/