23AndMe: Layoffs Confirmed At Google-Backed Startup

techcrunch.com:

23andMe was founded by Linda Avey and Anne Wojcicki back in 2006. Investors include biotech powerhouse Genentech, as well as New Enterprise Associates. The company also has close ties to Google -- Sergey Brin (who is Wojciki's husband) has loaned 23andMe $10 million, and Google also has a stake in the company.

Read the whole story: techcrunch.com

Comments

[swisskabab]

The health insurance industry is salivating at this .... DNA data gives them whole set of ammunition
to charge exorbitant premiums, exclude coverage just because your DNA "suggests" something

Remember how credit data was not meant to discriminate or set rates .... 30 years later, your
credit file dictates a lot of your financial transactions, even buying car insurance. How many
of you have gotten credit card letters of rate increases because "your credit history suggests blah".

I'm all for Scientific progress. But lining up to sacrifice yourself to the health insurance industry
by gladly turning over your DNA data and paying $399 to do it is well .... Yes you can claim that this data
is property of this startup and will not be used for profiling, but then so did credit card data.

[Mondayboy]

I hope the recession persists for the following reasons:

1. It exposes the ignorance of those people who elected the former President and his people into office to create this vast mess.
2. It exposes fake businesses, fake careers (e.g. the over abundance of lawyers, finance majors, MBAs etc.), fake investment schemes and all other types of get rich schemes.

And it focuses our minds on what is important in life:

Health, our relations to other people and our relation to nature. Anything outside this is not important.

[ccpostman]

And all the other scams with brokers, banks, loans, credit cards, Pay Pal;etc.

[Mondayboy]

Isn't it amazing that before most people lost their jobs over fake wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that squandered the nation's wealth on money that could have been diverted to creating jobs and cleaning the scams in the economy, people will kill you if you told them that Bush was destroying the country?

And now, those same people want to blame Obama that he is not fixing the problems fast enough etc. I think it is time this nation endured more pain to divert its attention from celebrity worship (ie entertainers in the movie industry, athletes, hollow musicians etc.) and focus its attention to those who really create value: doctors, engineers, scientists, true artists, poets etc.

For these reasons I want the recession to persist and deepen to awaken the ignorant minds of the majority of americans.

[socialtalker]

there are working on a search engine for human genomes? thats interesting! but also a little scary. but i can see why google invested in the project. although a working model is probably years away.

[vegasobserver]

Now it's 7andMe.

[iwasblindtoletyougo]

REAL unemployment is DOUBLE the 'official' statistics. Government has been playing major games with all stats for a while now - both parties are to blame.

good articles http://financeopinionss.blogspot.com

Also Barney Frank sucks.

[Tyrione]

Big deal. This is a Genome PDA service as if one needs to be created for the folks who actually own the patents on the Genome.

Genentech doesn't have the foothold into Stem Cell Research that Geron does and they shouldn't expect Geron to waste its time with such a service as this very unnecessary start up.

[hypnotoad72]

So if there are more layoffs, at what point do companies stop reporting loss in profits? Nobody will be left to spend money...

Is the system broken by design? I doubt it; blind greed affects everybody in certain ways. Why else are laws created?

[SGMD1]

I remember about a year ago I woke up in the middle of the night with this exact same idea...I was thinking "man I've got a million dollar idea on my hands" and of course when I went to google it I found that not only was this company doing the exact same thing, but they had a cooler name and were backed by Google.

FFFUUUUU

[bazokbros]

How can this possibly be a solid business model when we are having major political upheaval just to give people basic medical insurance coverage for less than $100 per month? People are going to pay $400 for a test that isn't even scientifically sound and the results will mean GO SEE YOUR DOCTOR.

Maybe this is an issue of someone who has lots of money wanting to do good for the people that are around the bubble of his reality.

[Gover]

How is the test not scientifically sound?

[bazokbros]

Re-read the article where the science is on the concept of what they are doing. It's a very good intention but when we don't have basic affordable health care, why would people pay $400 for a test that tells them to go their doctor anyway?

[mountainweb]

Guess they missed the big announcement about the jobs being saved today! Oh, wait, maybe that was in a
parallel universe!

[emily00011]

what does this have to do with the stimulus. oh NOTHING. go back to your hole