DNA Companies

The Mystery of Benjaman Kyle (Powell?) – An Update

Blaine Bettinger 5 Comments

image In January I wrote about Benjaman Kyle, an amnesiac who was found on August 31, 2004 next to a dumpster behind a Burger King in Richmond Hill, Georgia.  In that post, “Using Genetic Genealogy to Solve the Mystery of Benjaman Kyle,” I suggested that a Y-DNA test might be helpful in elucidating Mr. Kyle’s biological surname.  Y-DNA testing has shown to be highly useful for identifying unknown surnames (see here and here), and so I contacted Mr. Kyle to suggest the possibility.

The Results Are In

Shortly thereafter, Mr. Kyle took a 67-marker test from Family Tree DNA.  The results, announced it seems by Kimberly Powell of Kimberly’s Genealogy Blog, suggest that his surname might actually be POWELL or a variant thereof.  His results are now part of the Powell Surname DNA Project as kit #140314 where he very closely matches the “Joseph Powell Group.”  See more here.  From Kimberly’s post: ... Click to read more!

Pathway Genomics Testing Kit

Blaine Bettinger 3 Comments

Pathway Genomics, a new DTC genetic testing company that I discussed earlier at “Pathway Genomics Goes Live,” has begun sending out test kits.  The following quote and picture are from “DishyMix: Susan Bratton Podcasts & Blogs Famous Executives”:

“I Twittered a week or so ago that my friend, Chris D’Eon is a founder of Pathway Genomics and I was going to get my DNA tested. I got a lot of response to that one little Tweet, so I thought I’d share more with you about it.”

Pathway Genomics

Disclosure: I am currently a consultant for Pathway Genomics.

Personal Update:

I also wanted to let everyone know that my second son was born 3.5 weeks ago, and yesterday I graduated from law school.  It’s been a crazy few weeks, and now it’s time to start studying for the NY bar before starting work full-time in the fall.  Wish me luck! ... Click to read more!

Knome Lowers Price of Full Genome From $350,000 to $99,000

Blaine Bettinger 10 Comments

imageI’ve talked about the personal genomics company Knome here at TGG a number of times.  The company is one of the few, if not only, entity offering customers the opportunity to receive their entire genomic sequence.  After paying for sequencing, customers receive their genetic sequence on an 8-gigabyte USB drive in an engraved silver box.  The USB is encrypted and contains special genome browsing software (KnomeXplorer).

The Cost of Sequencing Crashes

According to an article at MSN Money entitled “$99,000 to see your future?,” Knome recently lowered the price of sequencing from $350,000 to $99,000.  This isn’t very surprising considering how quickly the cost of sequencing is dropping.

From the article:

“Just to give you some context, the U.S. government finished sequencing the first genome in 2003, and it took 13 years and about $3 billion,” says Jorge Conde, the 31-year-old CEO of Knome. “We’re now at the point that we can do it for $99,000 in three months. Our goal is to eventually be able to offer this to a large segment of the population for around $1,000.” (Just a year ago, Knome was asking $350,000 for its services.) ... Click to read more!

Pathway Genomics Goes Live

Blaine Bettinger 9 Comments

imageThe newest entrant in the field of personal genomics has officially gone live.  Pathway Genomics, located in California, uses SNP testing to examine information about Health conditions, Ancestry, Carrier Status, Personal Traits, and Drug Response.  The company collects DNA via a spit kit, and has its own lab on-site:

We decided early on that the surest way to completely secure your information would be to build our own CLIA-certified laboratory. And that’s just what we did. Once we receive your saliva sample in our lab, your DNA never leaves the building. As a matter of fact, we place it in our proprietary DNA Lockbox for safekeeping. No other DNA testing firm offers this level of security. Others send your DNA elsewhere for testing, even to non-secure overseas locations! ... Click to read more!

Genome Hacking at The New Scientist

Blaine Bettinger 4 Comments

Journalists Peter Aldhous and Michael Reilly write about using DNA obtained from a drinking glass and other sources to “hack” someone’s genome.

In “Special investigation: How my genome was hacked,” the authors use a variety of consumer-available DNA services to prepare and amplify genomic DNA in order to send it away for analysis by deCODEme.  They used deCODEme, it appears, because 23andMe and Navigenics use saliva collection, and “it would be hard to convert [the] amplified DNA sample into a form that closely mimicked saliva.”  They did use 23andMe, however, as a control.  Interestingly, the cost of the entire process was about $1,700 for lab services (preparation and amplification) and $985 for deCODEme’s service. ... Click to read more!

5th International Conference on Genetic Genealogy for Family Tree DNA Group Administrators

Blaine Bettinger

On March 14th and 15th of this year, Family Tree DNA hosted the 5th Annual Conference on Genetic Genealogy.  From the press release (pdf):

Each year, world renowned experts in genetics and science present cutting-edge developments and exciting new applications at this two-day educational forum which draws attendees from Family Tree DNA’s Group Administrators in North America and throughout the world. Among the speakers at the upcoming conference will be Dr. Spencer Wells, the director and population geneticist heading the National Geographic’s landmark Genographic Project as well as members of Family Tree DNA’s own highly respected scientific advisory board.

The schedule of the conference can be found here.  Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the conference this year, although I certainly hope to attend the next conference.  ... Click to read more!

Genetic Testing With 23andMe – Ancestry Testing

Blaine Bettinger 12 Comments

Yesterday I posted about my recent testing experience with 23andMe, focusing on the health and traits information.  This post examines the genealogical aspects of testing at 23andMe.

Ancestry Information

Although I was interested in the health and traits information, I was most excited about the ancestral information.  23andMe’s test looks at mtDNA, Y-DNA, and autosomal coverage.  I believe that the company is working to report on ancestry of the X-chromosome, but as I have previously reported X-DNA ancestry can be extremely challenging.

This was my second foray into autosomal DNA testing.  In 2003 I purchased an AncestrybyDNA 2.0 test from DNAPrint Genomics.  The test looked at 71 Ancestry Informative Markers (AIMs) to determine percentages of Indo-European, East-Asian, Native-American, and African ancestry.  It is worth noting that before AncestrybyDNA went out of business (more info here), the company was offering more advanced tests that examined as many as 1,700 markers (still far below the number of markers used to quantify percentages at 23andMe and deCODEme). ... Click to read more!

Genetic Testing With 23andMe

Blaine Bettinger 16 Comments

This is the first entry in a two-part series describing my recent experiences with genetic testing through 23andMe.  Although I was most excited by the genetic genealogy information provided by the results, I thought that readers might be interested in some of the health and trait information as well.  If I forget to discuss something, feel free to ask in the comments and I’ll do my best to respond.

Note that this discussion is limited to a cursory analysis of my results.  Anyone who is considering testing through 23andMe should be aware that scientists are only just beginning to study and understand the connection between genetics and health, and thus the results are not meant to be interpreted as absolutes.  Be sure to analyze your own results with this caveat in mind, and do your own research into the testing process. ... Click to read more!

GeneTree Announces Web Site Out Of Beta

Blaine Bettinger 2 Comments

image In October 2007, I wrote about the launch of GeneTree (see “Sorenson Genomic’s GeneTree Launches”), a “DNA-enabled family history-sharing Web site.”  Today, GeneTree has announced that it is out of beta and has added advanced features for users.

Press Release

Following is the press release from GeneTree:

SALT LAKE CITY (March 9, 2009)—GeneTree today announced its free family Web site has completed beta testing and now offers those who sign in a simple, intuitive way to regularly communicate with their extended family and to securely share and store family contact information, personal profiles, photos, video and ancestry documents. Advanced features now available through GeneTree’s redesigned graphic interface include GEDCOM file-format import for family tree collaboration, paternal line genetic genealogy and an all-new family tree building tool. ... Click to read more!

Interviews with 23andMe Customers

Blaine Bettinger 1 Comment
Image representing 23andMe as depicted in Crun...

Image via CrunchBase

DAVIDE at the European Genetics and Anthropology Blog recently posted two interviews (here and here) with customers of 23andMe’s large-scale genome scanning service, one from Finland and one from the U.S.

It’s very interesting to see the responses of these anonymous individuals, particularly since they are from different countries.

For example, both were asked why they decided to purchase the 23andMe test – “Was it to test your ancestry or genetic health risk factors?”  Interestingly, for both individuals ancestry was the motivating factor behind testing.  More support for my conclusion that these companies should strongly promote the ancestral aspects of their products.

Other Questions

Here are a few examples of other questions in the interviews: ... Click to read more!