The Future Is Here Today...Robots, Genetics, AI, Longevity, Singularity

Cows Pave the Way for Profits (Dangers?) from Genetic Testing

No Comments

by Aaron Saenz on January 12th, 2010
A new genetic test is going to increase milk production in cows and yield big profits.

A new genetic test is going to increase milk production in cows and yield big profits.

While it may take years before widespread genetic testing changes humanity, animals are experiencing a difference today. According to Forbes, a single genetic test for breeding dairy cattle has almost completely replaced older pedigree tests in less than two years. Developed by Curtis Van Tessell at the USDA and performed by Illumina, this test costs only $250, replacing the previous system’s $50,000 price tag! The cheaper testing allows smaller dairy farmers to enter into the profitable business of selling cattle eggs and sperm. Using genetic testing, milk producers predict that the annual increase in US milk production will double to 5%. We’re talking about millions of dollars of increased profit in the United States alone. Van Tessell’s new test demonstrates that the age of widespread genetic evaluation has already started.

When it comes to human genetic testing, Illumina is one of the biggest names in the business. It and competitors like Complete Genomics are aiming to bring whole genome sequencing into the price range of most individuals. Right now, more affordable genetic evaluation can focus on key genes in human DNA. These single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are cheaper to test – companies like 23andMe use them exclusively to great avail. In Van Tessell’s test, SNP tests are used to keep track of 38,000 key differences that the USDA team discovered were important in dairy cattle breeding. One wonders how whole genome sequencing will affect animal husbandry. The bovine genome was recently mapped in 2009. Could we see even more profitable breeding? Maybe greater acceptance of germline genetic engineering? The reverse also could be interesting: how will attitudes about human genome testing change when genetic evaluation becomes a staple on the farm?

Read More

Illumina’s Genome Sequencing Service Gets First Customers

10 Comments

by Aaron Saenz on September 14th, 2009

Illumina-logoThe race to provide you with access to your genome is really heating up. Industry leader Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN) has completed its first genome sequencing service for an individual at the low-low price of $48,000. That’s almost ten times what Complete Genomics plans to charge, but Illumina is offering the service directly to private individuals, not research groups. In fact, this is the first time any one person has had their genome sequenced for less than $50k. Illumina’s performance shows that it is still one of the forces to be reckoned with in whole human genome sequencing.

What are we to make of Illumina’s successful personalized genome sequencing service? It stacks up well against Knome’s KnomeCOMPLETE™ service which is perhaps the only other successful individual genome sequencing service on the market at the moment. Knome is trying hard to remain a contender in the field, but at $99.5k, it’s more than double Illumnia’s price.  With comparable capabilities and results, price becomes the real determining factor between those two companies.

Read More

Get Your Entire Genome From Complete Genomics For $5000

13 Comments

by Aaron Saenz on August 28th, 2009

Complete Genomics is pushing down the costs of sequencing the human genome.

Complete Genomics is pushing down the costs of sequencing the human genome.

It’s getting progressively cheaper to sequence your entire genome. Earlier in June, Illumina announced it would provide sequencing for close to $50k, half of their original price. Not to be outdone, Complete Genomics just released on Monday that it had gathered $45 million dollars in funding. The Silicon Valley based company is planning to use that money to further develop their streamline sequencing operations so that they can offer a complete genome for just $5000 by next year. CG’s goal is to finish 10,000 sequences by years end 2010. Even though that’s later than we had hoped, it’s still a whole lot of DNA and at the cheapest price for a whole genome seen so far. The question is, can they really pull it off?

We’ve been looking for a company, any company really, to break the $1000 price mark for a complete genome sequencing sometime in the next few years. That’s about the point where retail sales of the service will explode. With their exponentially decreasing price tag, Complete Genomics might be on that path. However, we know of at least one company that is trying to reach that goal by the end of this year. Stay tuned for that story in the next few weeks.

Read More

Google, Papa Brin Step In For 23andme

No Comments

by Keith Kleiner on June 19th, 2009

23andme-brin-googleBoth Google and Sergey Brin have made an investment in personal genetics company 23andme in a series B funding round.  This comes on top of a previous investment from both Google and Brin in the series A round in 2007.  On the one hand, this is pretty sketchy.  It is a serious conflict of interest, as Brin is married to 23andme co-founder Anne Wojcicki.  On the other hand, you gotta hand it to Google and Brin for sinking their hands into yet another initiative that is trying to make the world a better place.  Overall though, I wish they had found a less controversial way of doing so.

Brin appears to have sunk $10 million into this series B round, while Google has put in $2.6 million.  As if the financial investments weren’t controversial enough, apparently Google and 23andme have entered into some sort of leasing agreement, though the details of this agreement are not available.

Read More

Now Recruiting: The Personal Genome Project

1 Comment

by Andrew Kessel on May 20th, 2009

Everybody has a database: staffers, bankers, law enforcers and now geneticists, too.  The PGP is not a college fraternity (rush Lambda Lambda Lambda) but a new database of mapped genomes and medical records called the Personal Genome Project.  It started with just ten people but now it is poised to turn into medical who’s-who of genetic abnormalities.  Finally, there’s a definitive way to figure out if dinner guests are diabetic without having to ask that awkward question.

dna_double_helix

More Twisted than the End of an M. Night Shyamalan Movie

The good folks at the Personal Genome Project, founded by the legendary George Church, have gotten the go-ahead from its host institution, Harvard Medical School, to expand from 10 to 100,000 participants.  As a proof of concept, the PGP began with ten people, sharing every facet of their personal information from height and weight to tissue samples and photographs, all of whom allowed the coding region of their genomes to be mapped and put on display online.  Now, the PGP is hoping that it will be able to grow their free database and that scientists will start making connections between genetic sequences and medical conditions.  Already, the genomes are available for download via BitTorrent.

The opportunity presented by the PGP to foster knowledge about the human body is enormous.  As more people become part of the database, clearer links between certain genes, activities, risks and diseases may begin to emerge.  Such a project may one day allow doctors to, in a sense, pre-qualify certain patients for risks based on their genetic coding.  If a risk is known, then it can be either regularly checked and caught early or even treated before it becomes an issue.  This could not only potentially save lives, but it could also be a way to cut healthcare costs.  One could assume that small procedures and early detection are much cheaper to both patients and hospitals than a large and in-depth operation.

Read More

Check Yourself for Genetic Abnormalities Wiki

No Comments

by Keith Kleiner on July 8th, 2008

Wired just setup a how-to wiki describing how to check yourself for genetic abnormalities. The wiki is pretty wimpy on details at the moment, but hopefully people will update it with more information soon. The wiki suggests the following 3 options for analyzing your DNA:

1. Visit a genetic counselor. These companies specialize in detecting specific genes

2. Scan your whole genome by using a testing company such as 23andMe or deCODEme. By scanning your entire genome you can check much more than your genes. You can check for a million or more genetic markers called SNPs.

3. Perform the test yourself at home! This requires a good deal of work on your part, but the tools required to analyze your genome at home do indeed exist and they will surely become more available, cheaper, and easy to use in the near future