genetic testing

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Amid 'Substantial Doubt,' 23andMe Cuts 40% of Workers

Genetic testing company to slash 200 jobs in restructuring effort after a painful year

(Newser) - The genetic testing company 23andMe hasn't been doing so hot lately, watching its share price plummet more than 70% this year, and CEO Anne Wojcicki has desperately been trying to right the ship. Now, a streamlining: The BBC reports the firm has slashed 200 jobs, or about 40% of...

Entire 23andMe Board Resigns
Entire 23andMe Board Resigns
in case you missed it
Sep 22, 2024 11:30 AM CDT

Entire 23andMe Board Resigns

Genetic-testing firm's CEO 'surprised and disappointed'

(Newser) - Ann Wojcicki, CEO and co-founder of 23andMe, says she is still planning to take the genetic-testing company private despite the resignation this week of the entire board of directors. "After months of work, we have yet to receive from you a fully financed, fully diligenced, actionable proposal that is...

In the Works: a Postpartum Depression Blood Test

$250 test detects gene linked to increased risk

(Newser) - A genetic test powered by artificial intelligence could inform women at risk of postpartum depression, a leading cause of maternal death, before they even become pregnant. Researchers at startup Dionysus Digital Health have developed a $250 blood test based on a gene found to closely link moods with hormonal changes....

In Indonesia's Jungles, a Hunt for an Extinct Beast

Genetic tests on a single hair suggest Javan tiger may still roam Java

(Newser) - In Indonesia, the hunt is on for a tiger thought to have gone extinct some four decades ago. The Javan tiger, native to the island of Java, was last officially spotted in the 1980s and declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2008. But there have...

23andMe Has Gone From Hot to Not. Can Its CEO Save It?

Stocks are trading below $1, but Anne Wojcicki sees promise in drug development

(Newser) - Genetic testing company 23andMe's stock is trading at around 75 cents as of this writing, a precipitous fall for a company that the Wall Street Journal dubs "one of the hottest startups in the world ... five years ago." Its valuation has fallen 98% from its former $6...

Couple: Fertility Clinic's Mistake Doomed Our Baby

Jason and Melissa Diaz's son has dangerous hereditary gene

(Newser) - Jason and Melissa Diaz chose to start a family using in vitro fertilization for a very specific, and very important, reason: to have genetic testing done and make sure Jason didn't pass along a deadly gene that caused him to develop a rare type of cancer that forced him...

A 'Gift' Was Entangled in Chris Evert's Grief

Because Jeanne Evert Dubin had BRCA1 variant, the tennis legend got tested

(Newser) - Tennis legend Chris Evert on Tuesday announced she has beat the cancer that killed her younger sister in 2020. In a piece for ESPN , Evert recounts what led up to her discovery of stage 1 ovarian cancer a year ago . She writes that her sister, Jeanne Evert Dubin, underwent genetic...

After IVF and Genetic Testing, She Had a Big Decision to Make

Implant the 'mosaic' embryo or not?

(Newser) - Jacquelynn Kerubo made a big decision right before New York City went into lockdown: to transfer a "mosaic" embryo into her uterus. As she explains in an essay for the New York Times , "mosaic" has been used since 2015 to describe the roughly 20% of IVF embryos that...

2 Fla. Cops Sent In Their DNA. Turns Out They're Brothers

Neither officer had any idea of the other's existence before 23andMe informed them

(Newser) - Two police officers who live and work hours apart in Florida each submitted DNA swabs to 23andMe—and ended up discovering that they're brothers. Sgt. David Stull, 51, with the Orange County Sheriff's Office, sent an email to Eric Reynolds, 49, of the Boynton Beach Police Department explaining...

Employers Want Access to Workers' Genetic Information

And a new GOP bill could give it to them

(Newser) - A Republican bill that passed out of committee this week would allow employers to penalize employees who don't submit to genetic testing and hand over the results, STAT reports. According to the New York Times , the Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act would also give employers access to the genetic...

Family Sues After Boy Is Expelled Over His DNA
Family Sues After Boy Is Expelled Over His DNA
in case you missed it
Feb 6, 2016 5:00 PM CST

Family Sues After Boy Is Expelled Over His DNA

A trial could help establish exactly who can access one's genetic information

(Newser) - When Colman Chadam was born in 2000, he underwent extra medical tests after a congenital heart issue was discovered. Doctors learned that the infant carried genetic markers associated with cystic fibrosis, but he never went on to develop the disease. In fact, that test was the boy's only interaction...

Ancestry.com Wants to Reveal Your Disease Risks

So far, the FDA isn't having it

(Newser) - The company that tells you whether you can perhaps blame last weekend's sunburn on your Irish roots now wants to tell you your risk of cervical cancer. Ancestry.com, which claims to have amassed genetic information on more than 1 million customers through its $99 DNA kits, is in...

Gene Test Can Tell Who Needs Chemo, Who Doesn't

98% of 'low-risk' breast cancer patients who didn't get chemo were alive 5 years on

(Newser) - Chemotherapy is "not pretty," a breast cancer survivor tells the AP —so a new study on women with early-stage breast cancer is encouraging, claiming a gene test can parse out patients who may be able to skip chemo because it won't ultimately provide much, if any,...

$249 Saliva Test Could Reveal Cancer Risk

Color Genomics aims to 'democratize access to genetic testing'

(Newser) - A Silicon Valley start-up is setting out to make genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer mutations not only easier, but more affordable for women. Color Genomics says it could "democratize access to genetic testing" for breast cancer risk genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 with a saliva test costing just...

Genetic Test Results: 1 Half-Brother, 1 Divorce
Genetic Test Results:
1 Half-Brother, 1 Divorce
OPINION
Sep 10, 2014 1:12 PM CDT

Genetic Test Results: 1 Half-Brother, 1 Divorce

Biologist cautions that surprise revelations can destroy families

(Newser) - As a biologist, George Doe got seriously geeked out about the idea of having his own genome read. So much so that he bought kits from a company called 23andMe for his parents, too. The upside is that they learned all kinds of details about their family ancestry and health...

FDA Smacks Down Home Genetic Testing Kits

Letter tells 23andMe to stop marketing kit immediately

(Newser) - The FDA has ordered 23andMe to "immediately discontinue marketing" its genetic testing kits, saying that the company has repeatedly failed to prove the product actually works. The Google-backed company offers mail-in genetic testing, which it promises can reveal your risk for various health conditions and drug allergies. In a...

Future Criminal? Maybe We Should Screen Kids' Brains

It's a dicey proposal, but it could help: Slate essayist

(Newser) - A Slate essay today raises an intriguing question: Should we screen the brains of kids to look for genetic markers suggesting they'll turn into violent criminals? The idea would be to identify the kids and provide behavioral help before it's too late, writes Gary Marchant. Science is close...

Breakthrough in Fetus Genome Mapping Raises Abortion Fears

Parents will be able to test for wide range of traits

(Newser) - Genetic testing on fetuses has long been dangerous, difficult, and useful only for a small number of disorders, but a new technique allows scientists to sequence an unborn child's complete genome using only a blood sample from the mother and saliva from the father, reports the New York Times...

Oxford Scholars Search for Yeti

Will use genetic analysis in serious investigation

(Newser) - The search for the yeti is going high-tech. Thanks to genetic analysis, Oxford researchers hope to say for sure whether the creature of lore exists, Gizmodo reports. Working in conjunction with the Lausanne Museum of Zoology, researchers are asking people who claim to have evidence of the yeti to send...

Santorum Opposes Prenatal Tests

He rips insurance for amniocentesis, which 'creates abortions'

(Newser) - Amniocentesis for pregnant women? Forget it, says Rick Santorum. Such prenatal testing only results in more abortions, the candidate says. Santorum reiterated views he first expressed over the weekend in Ohio, where he ripped President Obama's support of insurance coverage of the test "because it ends up in...

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