23andMe Wants FDA Approval for Personal DNA Testing. What Can It Reveal?

Earlier this week, the personal gene-testing company 23andMe announced that it’s seeking the blessing of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its DNA tests that allow people to peer into their genetic makeup.

If the FDA grants approval, it would be a major step forward for the growing industry springing up around genetic testing. Every day, it seems, scientists are reporting new gene-based discoveries that allow them to better pinpoint the causes of disease. As technology becomes increasingly sophisticated, single-gene tests are being joined by the sort of genotyping technology used by 23andMe, which scans about 1 million points on the genome that are known to vary among humans. An even more complex technique, genomic sequencing, looks at about 3 billion points that cover a person’s entire genetic code. 23andMe — the name is a reference to the 23 pairs of chromosomes that comprise a person’s genome — intends to eventually offer sequencing, but the cost starts at around $4,000, which is considerably more expensive than the $299 the company charges for its testing.

Not only is sequencing more...