<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-6586" title="23andMe_Logo_blog" alt="" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog-300x300.jpg" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/23andMe_Logo_blog.jpg 350w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
You may not have thought about your genome lately, but one day you will and so will your doctor.
In an <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/13/know-your-genome-personal-genetics">opinion piece</a> published in the Guardian, Anne Wojcicki, our CEO and co-founder, offered some thoughts about why knowing your own genetic information will become increasingly important for your health.
We’ve already seen how the technology has rapidly advanced offering consumers affordable access to actionable information about their genetics.
Just as with other kinds of health information – your blood pressure, your family medical history and the details of your diet – the information from your genetics can help you and your doctor make the right decisions for your health. As Anne says in her Guardian piece, 23andMe was started in part to empower people and involve them in their own health care. Access to genetic information also helps open the way for more personalized treatments. By aggregating that information and involving people in research, scientists can more quickly gain understanding of the genetic components of disease and speed develop treatments, new drugs and diagnostics.

23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

Getting to Know Your Genome

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-17010 size-full" title="23andMe-Anne-001" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/23andMe-Anne-001.jpg" alt="" width="165" height="236" />
Today we’re announcing <a href="https://www.23andme.com/about/press/12_11_2012/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">some big news</a>. I don’t want this moment to go by without a note of gratitude to our customers and those who have been advocates for 23andMe over the years.
We have come a long way together.  Because of you we pioneered the use of personal genetics.  You are helping us establish a new medical era that is defined by wellness, disease prevention, and personalized care.  You also helped us create a novel research platform.  By leveraging online tools, social networking and crowd sourcing, and combining them with genetics, we created a platform that has set the stage to transform the way pharma companies and academics do health and wellness research.
We want to do more.
23andMe has raised more than $50 million in new financing with the goal of reaching one million customers.  To help us reach our goal, we are happy to announce today, that we are dropping our price to $99.
One million customers can be the tipping point that moves medicine into the molecular era.  Hundreds of you have written to us about how genetic information changed your lives and, in some cases, saved your lives.  We believe genetics should be an integral part of health care and we will work hard in the coming year to help genetics become part of everyone’s health and wellness.
A community of one million individuals will also benefit the world.  A genetic data resource of this magnitude has enormous potential to address unanswered questions related to the contributions of genes, the environment and your health.  Understanding these factors and their interactions could lead to major improvement in diagnostics, preventive medicine and therapeutics [<a href="https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v429/n6990/abs/nature02628.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Collins NATURE | VOL 429 | 27 MAY 2004</a>].
This change is not just about a new price point for personal genetic testing. It is about an ambitious plan that could transform medicine for generations to come.
If you have questions about the new pricing please go to our FAQ or email your questions to customercare@23andMe.com.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-10785" title="sig_small_transparent" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/sig_small_transparent-300x125.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="125" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/sig_small_transparent-300x125.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/sig_small_transparent.jpg 318w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />

One Million Strong

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-12404" title="Parkinson's disease fight arm" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/pd_fist_300px-150x150.png" alt="" width="150" height="150" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/pd_fist_300px-150x150.png 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/pd_fist_300px-271x271.png 271w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />
As we near our goal of enrolling 10,000 patients in 23andMe’s <a href="https://www.23andme.com/pd/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Parkinson’s research community</a>, we are ever more eager to share what we are doing.
Last month our CEO, Anne Wojcicki, along with our Parkinson’s research manager Emily Drabant, went to Washington D.C with two friends of 23andMe – Maryum Ali, a Parkinson’s activist and daughter of Muhammad Ali, and Rich Clifford, a former NASA astronaut who has become another powerful voice on behalf of patients.
The main motivation for going to Washington was to explain 23andMe’s Parkinson’s research initiative. Although we’ve been around for awhile, many people, particularly in Washington, just don’t know about our research model or understand what is so different about it. Anne explained research model and our broader mission, while Rich and Maryum gave the patient&#8217;s perspective. 

&nbsp;
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4pXIsII2TwM" frameborder="0" width="560" height="315"></iframe> 
Over the course of their time in D.C., Anne, Emily, Rich and Maryum were able to meet with the Congressional Parkinson’s Caucus, as well as individual senators and representatives to discuss the need for more research into the disease.
They also hosted a briefing on crowd-sourcing cures and the future of Parkinson’s disease research. During the briefing, held at the House of Representatives’ Visitors Center in September, Anne gave a quick primer on 23andMe’s unique research platform and in particular our <a href="https://www.23andme.com/pd/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Parkinson’s research initiative</a>, now the largest Parkinson&#8217;s community for genetic research in the world.
Working with the Muhammad Ali family, the Michael J. Fox Foundation and others 23andMe has created an engaged community that has quickly helped to make breakthroughs, including finding<a href="https://www.23andme.com/about/press/pd_discoveries_plos_62311/"> two new genes</a> associated with Parkinson&#8217;s.
During her presentation, Anne quoted Haydeh Payami, a New York State Department of Health neurodegenerative disease researcher, who said our research model could significantly accelerate disease research.
“What 23andMe did in a matter of years would have taken several decades and tens of millions of dollars” if done conventionally, she said.
The visit to D.C. offered a chance to explain how our research model engages individuals and allows them to come together, share information and participate in research. The model has accelerated the pace of research and engaged people in the process.
“People want to help each other,” and participate in research, Anne said. And they want access to their own genetic data to learn about their health, traits and ancestry.
Maryum Ali, whose father Muhammad Ali has battled Parkinson’s since 1984 and who recently joined forces with 23andMe to help encourage more patients to join the research initiative, said the research model offers incredible promise.
“So many discoveries that can be made through this kind of research,” she said.
For <a href="http://theastronautssecret.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rich Clifford</a>, a former NASA Astronaut who flew on the Space Shuttle Atlantis two years after getting his own diagnosis for Parkinson’s, said that 23andMe offers people an opportunity learn of their genetic risk for the disease giving them a chance to take steps to do something about it.
“I’m all about early detection,” he said.
The earlier someone learns of their risk the more they can do, Rich said. 
Because of new treatments much can be done to mitigate the effects of the disease if it’s detected early.
The visit accomplished what we hoped by introducing some of the policy makers in Washington to 23andMe and the possibilities of our research into Parkinson’s.
Check out some of our other recent posts on Parkinson’s: 
&#8211;<a href="../23andme-research/23andme-research/why-not-participate-one-patients-perspective/"> Why Not Participate? One Patient’s Perspective</a> 
&#8211;<a href="../23andme-research/23andme-research/23andmes-latest-publication-shines-light-on-male-pattern-baldness-and-unexpected-associations-with-disease/"> 23andMe’s Latest Publication Shines Light on Male Pattern Baldness and Unexpected Associations with Disease</a> 
&#8211;<a href="../23andme-research/23andme-and-you/23andme-and-parkinsons-past-present-and-future/"> 23andMe and Parkinson’s: Past, Present, and Future</a> 
&#8211;<a href="../23andme-research/news/the-state-of-the-science-of-parkinsons-research/"> The State of the Science of Parkinson’s Research</a>
&nbsp;

23andMe Goes to Washington

My sister learned she was a carrier for a recessive disease, Bloom syndrome, late in one of her pregnancies. I remember the panicked call and the weeks of worry as she and her husband awaited his test results; if he was also a carrier, this meant their daughter had a one in four chance of being born with the disorder.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10818" title="Anne b:w 2" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Anne-bw-2.jpg" alt="" width="110" height="166">
Thanks to my company, 23andMe, I was able to look at our Family Inheritance feature and see that my sister and I are genetically identical in the region of the BLM gene, making it quite certain that I was also a carrier for Bloom&#8217;s, which is an inherited disorder associated with various health problems and an increased risk of cancer.
Several years later, this information was very helpful when I decided to have children. I retested and confirmed with my physician that I am a carrier for Bloom&#8217;s.
My husband also got tested and learned that he is not a carrier for Bloom&#8217;s, but he is a carrier for Fanconi anemia. Typically in our health care system, I would have to go back and be tested again &#8212; another blood draw, a physician visit and weeks of worry. This time, because I had already been genotyped on over one million data points, I already had my data about Fanconi anemia, a genetic disease associated with certain physical abnormalities and increased risk for some kinds of cancer. It turned out I am not a carrier for Fanconi anemia according to 23andMe data, which reports on the three most common mutations. That was reconfirmed by my physician.
23andMe has given back information to customers on carrier status since 2008.
At the end of 2011, we put out our 44th carrier status report. In 2012, we will be publishing many more.
Genetic testing in pregnancy is usually ordered by a physician based on one&#8217;s ancestry &#8212; Eastern European Jewish (Ashkenazi), Italian, Greek, Middle Eastern, Southern Asian, or African descent. One of the advantages of having a single test that tests for many conditions is that you minimize the guesswork about what you will pass onto your children. We hear over and over again from customers who thought they knew their ancestry but then discovered something new in their DNA.
23andMe believes that by putting this in the hands of consumers, more and more individuals will get tested before getting pregnant. Knowing this information before you are pregnant, we believe, will make you better prepared when you are pregnant.
My sister suffered because she learned something new in the middle of pregnancy and did not expect it. 23andMe wants to encourage getting the information before conceiving so people can go into pregnancy educated and decrease the number of surprises.
Currently insurance companies, by and large, pay for targeted carrier status testing if it can be justified (i.e. if you have the right ancestry that puts you at increased risk for a rare condition) and if you are pregnant.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-10820 alignright" title="landingpage screengrab" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/landingpage-screengrab-300x192.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="192" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/landingpage-screengrab-300x192.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/landingpage-screengrab-768x492.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/landingpage-screengrab-880x563.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/landingpage-screengrab.jpg 923w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
We believe that this timing is not optimal and the ancestry guesswork is often wrong. By putting the option in consumers’ hands, we believe more and more people will get this information when they are considering having children. By being <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-health-ancestry/">tested for a large panel of recessive conditions</a> regardless of ancestry, couples will have more comprehensive information and will ultimately be better informed.
Here&#8217;s to healthy pregnancies.
www.23andme.com/prospective-parents
<div>
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%">
<div></div>
</div>

Before You Are Pregnant…

Each and every one of you &#8212; our 23andMe customers &#8212; is a pioneer who has helped define the field of personal genetics and has made 23andMe a unique and special place. &nbsp;I want to thank all of you for being customers.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-5276" title="Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of 23andMe" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/wojcicki1.jpg" alt="" width="130" height="170">
We’ve been exploring DNA and taking a journey of self-discovery together. And while it’s our DNA that makes each of us unique as individuals, it’s you — the 23andMe community &#8212; that makes our service and the experience we offer so amazing. &nbsp;We hope to have a life-long partnership with you as the field of genetics evolves and new discoveries are made.
We’ve come a long way together. When our service first launched, we only provided 14 reports for a whopping $999. &nbsp;Today, just five years later, we provide more than 200 reports plus genetic ancestry information for just $99 with a monthly subscription fee of $9. &nbsp;23andMe first introduced subscription pricing in late 2010. Our hope was that lowering the upfront investment would make our service accessible to more people. &nbsp;Over the past year we’ve continuously experimented with a variety of pricing models while adding new tools and reports. The good news is that 23andMe has seen its customer base grow by more than 100% over the past year.
Now that we better understand subscriptions for both our customers and our business we are making additional adjustments to our <a href="https://www.23andme.com/">Personal Genome Service ®</a>. For the first time, we are making changes to our services that are not additive, but rather clarify that the initial commitment covers genotyping while the ongoing subscription covers DNA analysis and interpretation along with access to our proprietary tools and technologies. &nbsp;We recognize that for some customers these changes modify their understanding of what is included in the Personal Genome Service ®. We’ll be evaluating various ways to address these concerns in the coming weeks.
We know that some of you have concerns about how these new changes specifically impact the Relative Finder experience. &nbsp;We are listening. &nbsp;We have taken your input and will continue to look for your feedback as we improve and evolve our services in 2012. &nbsp;This will be a learning process as we gather data for the first time about how ending subscriptions impact the experience we provide to our customers. As a business, we are trying to balance optimizing the experience for all of our customers by respecting the privacy of individuals who choose to opt-out of our Personal Genome Service ®. &nbsp;We are also focused on providing the best genetic ancestry tools available and will be making improvements in the coming year.
23andMe brings the stories in your DNA to life. Our Personal Genome Service ® keeps you on top of the latest genetic research and its implications for you. We recently shared stories about discoveries that customers say have saved lives and helped reunite families along with highlights of our work in 2011. We look forward to continuing to help you discover and share your own stories in the coming year.
If you have questions about the recent changes to our Personal Genome Service ® please refer to the FAQ or email your questions to <a href="mailto:help@23andMe.com">help@23andMe.com</a>.
Thank you for being a part of the 23andMe Community. 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-10785" title="sig_small_transparent" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/sig_small_transparent-300x125.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="125" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/sig_small_transparent-300x125.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/sig_small_transparent.jpg 318w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />

A Look Forward: A Letter from 23andMe’s Anne Wojcicki

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-2057" title="DNA Strand" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/istock_000000628100xsmall.jpg" alt="" width="351" height="263" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/istock_000000628100xsmall.jpg 400w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/istock_000000628100xsmall-300x225.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 351px) 100vw, 351px" />
Today the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced its plans to create a public database in which genetic test providers will voluntarily deposit information about their services that can then be searched by researchers, consumers, health care providers, and others. The aim of this Genetic Testing Registry, which is expected to be launched in early 2011, is to enhance access to information about the availability, validity, and usefulness of genetic tests.
&#8220;The need for this database reflects how far we have come in the last 10 years,&#8221; said NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., in a <a href="http://www.nih.gov/news/health/mar2010/od-18.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. &#8220;The registry will help consumers and health care providers determine the best options for genetic testing, which is becoming more and more common and accessible.&#8221;
&#8220;We welcome the news of the Genetic Testing Registry,&#8221; said 23andMe co-founder Anne Wojcicki in response to the announcement. &nbsp; &#8220;23andMe has always been committed to providing individuals with the information they need to make the most of their own genetic information. &nbsp; We look forward to working with the NIH on this project.&#8221;
More information about the Genetic Testing Registry is available from the National Center for Biotechnology Information<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gtr/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> here</a>. &nbsp; Comments and questions can be submitted from this page. &nbsp; There is also a list of background reading materials.
Francis Collins has done several interviews in the past few weeks where he has discussed the role of genetics in health care, now and in the future. A quick video interview with the Washington Post can be seen here. &nbsp; An hour long interview he did on the Diane Rehm show is available <a href="http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-03-04/national-institutes-health-director-dr-francis-collins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

NIH to Create Public Database of Genetic Tests

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/geneticresearch7.jpg" alt="geneticresearch7" title="geneticresearch7" class="alignright size-full wp-image-4013" width="350" height="268" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/geneticresearch7.jpg 350w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/geneticresearch7-300x230.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" />
There&#8217;s a high likelihood that a disease of some sort affects you or one of your relatives – every family seems to have ripples in its gene pool that define and shape its health dynamics.
Your family might have a propensity for rheumatoid arthritis or a particular type of cancer. Whatever it is, there can be an instant family bond created by that disease – along with a sense of fate.
That feeling moves some families to action. The Heywood brothers started <a href="http://www.patientslikeme.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">PatientsLikeMe</a> when one of them, Stephen, was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig&#8217;s disease in 1998. Nancy Brinker created a huge force in breast cancer research through the <a href="http://www.komen.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Susan G. Komen Foundation</a>, named for her sister who died of that disease. Michael J. Fox, a father of four, started his remarkable <a href="http://www.michaeljfox.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">foundation</a> after he was diagnosed with Parkinson&#8217;s disease at the age of 30.
But not everyone can garner the resources to create their own company or foundation; it&#8217;s hard to know where to turn in trying to make a difference. This summer, 23andMe is launching the <a href="https://www.23andme.com/researchrevolution/" target="_self" rel="noopener noreferrer">Research Revolution</a> to empower more people to jumpstart genetic research into the diseases that affect them and the people they love.

This new research model makes it possible for large groups of people to assemble themselves into large-scale genetic studies without having to raise millions of dollars in funding, and then wait years for things to get rolling. Participants also get access to their own genetic information through the 23andMe Personal Genome Service Research Edition, which offers a snapshot of what their data says about more than 100 diseases and traits. We believe that if you volunteer for research, you should be able to see what you&#8217;ve contributed to the effort.
The Research Revolution is going to start with the 10 diseases listed at the bottom of this post. There are several ways you can participate:
* Visit the <a href="https://www.23andme.com/researchrevolution/" target="_self" rel="noopener noreferrer">Research Revolution page</a> and vote for the disease you would most like 23andMe to study. 
* If you&#8217;re already a 23andMe customer, log into your account and complete any of the 23andWe <a href="https://www.23andme.com/you/23andwe/surveys/" target="_self" rel="noopener noreferrer">surveys</a> you haven&#8217;t taken yet. 
* Spread the word – especially to people who are patients or survivors of the 10 diseases we&#8217;re featuring.
There&#8217;s strength in numbers. The more people who enroll in the Research Revolution, the more likely it is to make new discoveries about the causes and about the treatments of disease.
Long live the revolution!
The 10 Research Revolution diseases are:
ALS 
Celiac Disease 
Epilepsy 
Lymphoma and Leukemia 
Migraines 
Multiple Sclerosis 
Psoriasis 
Rheumatoid Arthritis 
Severe Food Allergies 
Testicular Cancer

Introducing a Do-It-Yourself Revolution in Disease Research

By 23andMe Co-Founders Linda Avey and Anne Wojcicki
We started 23andMe with a simple, yet expansive, vision: to take DNA into the mainstream. &nbsp;
In order to demystify genetics, we thought the best approach was to give individuals access to their genomes and help them gain personalized insight into their own unique code. &nbsp; This was our premise when we launched a year and a half ago. &nbsp; We now have
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-3091" title="pd" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/pd.png" alt="" width="315" height="256" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/pd.png 315w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/pd-300x244.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 315px) 100vw, 315px" />
an expanding community of individuals, armed with their genetic profiles, who are the early adopters of what we believe will become standard practice – having ready access to vitally important information. We&#8217;re now moving into the next phase of our mission: &nbsp; to provide a wholly new research platform that enables our online community to voluntarily participate in unprecedented genetic studies. &nbsp;
Our approach is new because it leverages the web to bring people together from all over the globe who are willing to share information about their own health experiences (phenotype), which is then combined with their genetic profile (genotype). &nbsp; This combination, genotype + phenotype, is &nbsp;the same formula that drives genome-wide association studies (GWAS). &nbsp;But ours is a community-centric model that also delivers on-going, valuable feedback to each member.  Scientists have only recently had the ability to conduct GWAS, owing to tremendous advances in the technology platforms that generate the data, as well as spectacular decreases in the cost. &nbsp; These studies are now yielding compelling results in the examination of many common diseases and are chipping away at the elusive genetic components of &nbsp;conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and many of the cancers. &nbsp;
These diseases aren&#8217;t like single gene disorders (such as Tay-Sachs, cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia) in which the genetic story is straightforward. &nbsp; Most common diseases have complicated genetic as well as environmental components, and teasing out these factors is painstakingly difficult. &nbsp; This also holds true for the study of genes and drug response (pharmacogenetics), the holy grail of personalized medicine.
One of the biggest challenges in conducting GWAS is identifying large enough cohorts of people with a disease or trait, and then being able to categorize the details of their symptoms and progression. &nbsp; Combine this with the complexity of multiple genetic factors, each with a relatively small effect but somehow working in concert, and it becomes maddeningly difficult to put two and two together. &nbsp;
This is why these studies require very large numbers of enrolled individuals, to achieve the statistical power required to make any headway. &nbsp; If researchers are limited to a defined geographic region in which to recruit patients, they often can&#8217;t reach the bar. &nbsp; This often leads to consortia-based projects, where multiple clinical centers combine resources. &nbsp; The problem with this model is the lack of continuity between the groups, not to mention the power struggles that often ensue: Who writes the grant? Which lab runs the samples? Who controls the rights to the data? &nbsp; Which institute files and maintains the patents? Who is the lead author on the publication? Our goal is to greatly simplify the entire process. &nbsp;
By centralizing the recruitment of individuals, the lab work and the collection of phenotypic data, we believe we&#8217;ll be able to move beyond traditional hurdles and take GWAS to a whole new level that we&#8217;re calling Research 2.0. &nbsp; We think the study of human disease and drug response deserves the application of 21st century technology, including the use of social networking tools proving so effective in web-based sharing of information a&nbsp; la Facebook and YouTube.
So today we are announcing the first of many studies we plan to undertake. &nbsp; Parkinson&#8217;s disease has all the elements described above: &nbsp; complicated genetics, hints of environmental triggers, varying rates of progression, differing drug response. &nbsp; We&#8217;re excited, and gratified, to have Sergey Brin&#8217;s support, as well as the cooperation of <a href="http://www.thepi.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Parkinson&#8217;s Institute</a> and <a href="http://www.michaeljfox.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Michael J. Fox Foundation</a>, in jump-starting the world&#8217;s largest study of this disease – involving 10,000 individuals with PD. &nbsp;
Please visit our Parkinson&#8217;s Community for more information on this ground-breaking project. This is just the beginning of our mission to establish a new paradigm that changes the face of research, and focuses on the people rather than the process.

Linda Avey

A New Approach to Research: The 23andMe Parkinson’s Disease Initiative

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-1496" title="ribbon" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/ribbon.jpg" alt="" width="299" height="238">
23andMe is marking the 23rd anniversary of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October with an initiative to build a web-based forum dedicated to helping women who face the disease.
Co-founders Linda Avey and Anne Wojcicki told science and business leaders at Fortune&#8217;s Most Powerful Women Summit today that we will be creating a specific breast cancer network within 23andWe, the research division of 23andMe.
&#8220;Great strides have been made in targeting treatment for breast cancer,&#8221; said Linda Avey. &#8220;We&#8217;d like to build on this progress, and we believe that by creating a web-based forum that enables women to share their experiences, the entire community could benefit and more personalized treatments may ultimately be an outcome.&#8221;
Women whose lives have been touched by breast cancer will be able to come together, share their knowledge and offer advice. They will also have the opportunity to participate in surveys that will be used to drive genome-wide association studies aimed at finding out more about the genetic factors that contribute to breast cancer.
&#8220;Women who have been recently diagnosed with breast cancer can learn a tremendous amount from women who have already been treated,&#8221; said Anne Wojcicki. &#8220;By combining the ability to participate in research with the ability to learn from each other, 23andMe hopes to make a significant contribution to this community.&#8221; 

Breast cancer can affect both sexes, but it is mainly a concern for women–one in eight will face the disease at some point in her lifetime. The National Cancer Institute estimates that in 2008 about 182,500 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and close to 40,500 will succumb to the disease.
<ul>
<li>To learn more about breast cancer: 
<a href="http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/breast" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">National Cancer Institute </a> 
Susan G. Komen For the Cure</li>
<li>To learn more about 23andWe, click <a href="https://www.23andme.com/research/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.</li>
</ul>

Anne Wojcicki — Page 5