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DNA testing for $999 on offer

New York: A genetics website encouraging people to send in swabs of their saliva began operating on Monday in a closely watched Silicon Valley venture with links to the search firm Google.

The site, 23andMe, is named after the 23 pairs of chromosomes in the human body. It claims to offer the first “personal genome service” for $999 (about Rs. 40,000) a customer. The company says it can read up to half a million points in an individual’s genome using hi-tech analysis software. The service is intended to help people understand their inherited traits and to allow them to compare themselves with friends and family.

Anne Wojcicki, a co-founder, said: “We believe this information provides intriguing insights into an individual’s genetics, with the goal of expanding the collective knowledge base by enabling active participation in research.”

Ms. Wojcicki is married to Sergey Brin, Google’s billionaire co-founder. Her firm, founded last year, received $3.9 million of investment from Google in a transaction vetted and approved by the search firm’s independent directors. The venture is based in Mountain View, the same Silicon Valley town as Google.

Personal genetics is becoming an increasingly competitive area. An Icelandic firm, DeCode Genetics, already offers personal genetics readings. It became prominent by building up a database of much of Iceland’s population.

A degree of controversy has erupted over the use of personal genetic information by people trying to assess their chances of contracting hereditary diseases. 23andMe says it can help people understand the relative importance of genetics in comparison with diet, personal habits and the environment. It has an “odds calculator” to predict which ailments are more likely to strike customers, although it stresses that this is “neither a medical diagnostic nor a substitute for medical advice.”

Ms. Wojcicki and Mr. Brin, who is worth more than $20 billion, were married in May in a ceremony on a sand bar in the Bahamas. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2007

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