Commercial DNA Testing May Cause Harm, Scientific Studies Show (If You Read Through to the Study Limitations at the End)

A year after the US Food and Drug Administration urged 23andMe to stop the marketing of its personal genome test in the United States, the world's largest direct-to-consumer genetics company relaunched the test in Canada and the United Kingdom.

"Find out how your genetics relate to things like abnormal blood clotting, cystic fibrosis or response to certain medications." [italics added] "Keep in mind that many conditions and traits are influenced by multiple factors. Our reports are intended for informational purposes only and do not diagnose disease or illness."

The UK website of 23andMe opens with clarifying statements about how the company wants us to see their renewed test. "The UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency ... has determined that we're not a medical product, more an information product," says 23andMe's CEO Anne Wojcicki in The Guardian.

As it seems, 23andMe has relaunched its DNA test as the information service it was in the beginning: a service that offers a personalized exploration about what science knows about your genes, how they relate to your health and what...