Personal Genomics And the DNA Network

The DNA Network was full of news about 23andMe, Knome, and the newly-announced 1000 Genomes Project, which plans to sequence (can you guess?) 1,000 genomes from around the world. The 1GP will “receive major support from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Hinxton, England, the Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) Shenzhen, China and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).” Source.

Here’s a brief roundup of all the latest regarding the 1GP:

• Forbes.com, “Project Will Map Genomes of 1,000 People Worldwide.“
• Genetic Future, “1000 Genomes Project launched.”
• Cosmic Log, “Let a thousand genomes bloom.”

New information about 23andMe, including the launch of their new blog, the spittoon:

• 23andMe now available in Canada and Europe (press release).
• Scienceroll, “23andMe in Europe: Donation Makes Sense!” And speaking of donations: Buzzyeah, “$1,000 Raised! Just Ordered My 23andMe DNA Kit.”
• Eye on DNA, “Latest Launches at 23andMe.“
• Microarray Blog, “The 1000 Genomes Project to Study Human Genetic Variation to Support Disease Studies.”
• Genetic Future, “UK Controversy over 23andMe.”

Other stuff:

• Scienceroll, “Knome Begins Sequencing First Clients.” Remember that Knome is currently charging customers $350,000 to have their entire genome privately sequenced. As I recently commented at Eye on DNA, I think the price tag is too high in light of recent developments in technology. This is actually amazing, considering that $350,000 would have been a bargain in January 2007. Companies hoping to make money from sequencing are going to learn to act quickly and adapt even faster.
• SEQanswers.com, “deCODEme opens sample data set, check it out!“

And last but not least, are you worried about hair loss? A new company stop-hairloss-meds.com called HairDX offers a test that will examine SNP(s) on the X-chromosome, but the specifics are extremely vague at the moment, including a lack of information on their website. For more information, see My Biotech Life, “HairDX – the genetic test for hair loss” and Eye on DNA, “HairDX – Genetic Test for Male Pattern Baldness (be sure to read the comments to see information from Dr. Ann Turner).”