Aggregated News
This week the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning letter to the direct-to-consumer genetic testing company 23andMe, demanding that it immediately stop marketing and selling its DNA testing service until it receives approval from the agency tasked with regulating medical tests and devices. In what has widely been called a "scathing" letter, the FDA said that 23andMe had failed to show that "the firm has analytically or clinically validated the [23andMe Saliva Collection Kit and Personal Genome Service] for its intended uses" and expresses concern "about the public health consequences of inaccurate results from the P.G.S. device."
It sounds temptingly light-hearted to find out about the percentage of genes you share with a Neanderthal, your earwax type, or why you love Brussels sprouts while others can't stand them. But 23andMe's test doesn't stop there. It claims to provide health reports on some 254 diseases and conditions. Some of the information the company provides, based on the saliva you send them, includes how your body may metabolizes certain pharmaceutical drugs, an individual's carrier status, and risk of disease such...
It sounds temptingly light-hearted to find out about the percentage of genes you share with a Neanderthal, your earwax type, or why you love Brussels sprouts while others can't stand them. But 23andMe's test doesn't stop there. It claims to provide health reports on some 254 diseases and conditions. Some of the information the company provides, based on the saliva you send them, includes how your body may metabolizes certain pharmaceutical drugs, an individual's carrier status, and risk of disease such...