In December 2009 we introduced, for a limited time only, a service that enabled existing 23andMe customers to upload their data into deCODEme and thereby enjoy the best in personal genomics. This service has been well-received and we greatly appreciate all the positive and enthusiastic comments from our new users.

We now announce the closing of this service on February 1st 2010. However, accounts of users who upload their data prior to February 1st will remain open. So spread the word to 23andMe customers who have not yet migrated to deCODEme.

And the amazing thing is…it’s free!

• LavaAmp: cheapest pocket PCR thermocycler dreamed for DIY biologists – http://bit.ly/627W4l #DIYbio HT @bookhling
• That adult tissues can be transformed … is surprising enough … by changing a single gene is astonishing – http://bit.ly/87Uy9K
• Study is the first to identify points of DNA damage within a single gene that are linked with psychiatric illness – http://bit.ly/4GcALB
• Old news, but new to me and interesting: Lawsuit Challenging Myriad’s BRCA1 and BRCA2 Patents Will Go Forward – http://bit.ly/64fcpK
• Genealogy can be fun! Megan Smolenyak on wacky names of the past – http://bit.ly/6VSzvl
• Good piece about 23andMe’s Relative Finder and how to use it for genealogy – http://bit.ly/7aUyxq
• Just uploaded my 23andMe data to deCODEme – http://bit.ly/86Xtsh – see Genetic Future for good analysis and warnings- http://bit.ly/jrowt
• Looks like fun! DNA extraction night – http://bit.ly/8OFkjM
• genomePad – UCSC Genome Browser for the iPhone- http://bit.ly/5ewqH3 – HT OpenHelix – http://bit.ly/5jP71q
• The message is not “Here’s your destiny. Get used to it!” It’s “Here’s your destiny, you can do something about it!” – http://bit.ly/69oaML
• New major study on African ancestry – http://bit.ly/8mN5Hy
• RT @stevesilberman: Is religion imprinted in our genes? NYT on Nicholas Wade’s “The Faith Instinct” – http://bit.ly/7gEu7Y 8:03 PM
• RT @stevesilberman: Genomic encyclopedia of microbes published, mapping “phylogenetic dark matter” – http://bit.ly/8HFoi5 7:56 PM
• RT JamieBeach Neat article on do it yourself biology (#DIYbio) from SF Chronicle: http://is.gd/5A2zn

• I am a completely boring white guy.  My maternal and paternal haplogroups are the main European ones, and the Ancestry Painter (which looks at autosomes) says I am 100% European.  Not 98%, not 99%, but 100%.
• No health findings to speak of, except for a significant risk of macular degeneration.
• There’s a story in my family of Indian ancestry, but it’s just a story, so I was happy to see that 23andMe has a Native American Ancestry Finder. But again I was disappointed. I have no detectable Indian ancestry in the past five generations. So, the story is probably not true.

Then I downloaded my raw data. This is one of their strengths of 23andMe. If they fold, I still have my data, and I can pay other providers to analyze it at any time in my life. Or do it myself.

Next I took the raw data and ran it through Promethease, which I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. Promethease (I love that name) is a software program that analyzes data from 23andMe or Navigenics. It outputs a very long and detailed report, relying on information in SNPedia (which is a genomics wiki also run by Mr. Cariaso). In my case, Promethease took about two hours to run, and then I stayed up half the night looking through the report. I was overwhelmed by all the data, and more than a little confused. But still it was great fun, and I recommend it. I’m toying with the idea of posting my Promethease report, which some other folks have done.

Then, today, the Relative Finder data came in. Wow! Apparently, I have lots and lots of cousins (well, duh), five of whom wanted to make contact. Most of them are genealogists, but I think I’m not going to be much help to them, since (despite all my good intentions) I have not traced my ancestors past my great-grandparents. But still, it’s very exciting, somehow, to find these real connections to people all over the world. I responded to all of them, and we’ll see where that leads.

There’s something else I’m looking forward to, when I have the time. I’d like to run my data through Structure, which is a program for analyzing population structure.  I don’t think I’ll learn much (because of my white-bread heritage), but I want to do it just for fun, since I found instructions on the European Genetics and Anthropology Blog.

Starting on Thursday November 19th , we will begin offering our service as two distinct products to better meet the needs of our customers:  The 23andMe Ancestry Edition and The 23andMe Health Edition.  If you are interested in both the ancestry and the health aspects of your genetics, you’ll have the option of purchasing the combined 23andMe Complete Edition.

If you act quickly you can get our Personal Genome Service, which will automatically be converted to the Complete Edition, for the lower price of $399.

Here are the new prices:

• Ancestry Edition – $399
• Health Edition – $429
• Complete Edition – $499

So you have four days to grab the Complete Edition at the lower price.

Read some interesting analysis of this decision at Genetic Future,  Genomics Law Report, and The Gene Sherpa.

Hat tip to The Genetic Genealogist.

Sequencing giant Illumina has announced that it has delivered its first commercial personal genome sequence. The sequence was generated by the genome sequencing service launched by Illumina back in June, and was delivered in collaboration with new personal genomics company Pathway Genomics. Illumina’s genome sequencing service costs $48,000, and its first customer was entrepreneur Hermann Hauser.

……..

It’s … a shot across the bow for Complete Genomics, a company that just raised $45M to build a genome sequencing facility in Silicon Valley. Complete will be offering genome sequences for an order of magnitude less (around $5,000).

• Deep Clade Sale – expires Sept 4.  If you don’t know what a deep clade is, don’t worry. Only hardcore genetic genealogists are going to use it. However, if you are interested, click here for more information.
• Discount on the National Genographic Project. Click here to purchase a Genographic Public Participation Kit and receive 10% off the retail price from today through September 15, 2009. Or use discount code GENHUFA09 at checkout at the National Geographic online store only.

And inside that box is: instructions, the test tube for your saliva, and a prepaid envelope to send it back to 23and Me.

The instructions say “You must register this kit before using it.” I already had an account, so this step took only a couple of minutes. By the way, even if you don’t think you’ll use 23andMe’s service, go ahead and sign up for a demo account. You’ll see exactly what their customers see. It’s fascinating!

The actual spitting part was easier than I thought, and only took a couple of minutes. I’ve read that the reason they ask for so much saliva is to make it hard for people to send in other other people’s DNA without their knowledge (it’s easy to get a hair, but hard to get tablespoons of spit).

Then I packaged it up and sent it off. All very easy. Can’t wait to get access to my results!

PGP screenshot

The Distinctive Traits Survey is interesting, it asks you to “list any traits that you view as making yourself distinctive compared to other people. Your answers might include traits that are physical, psychological, behavioral, etc.”  I’m still pondering this one before I proceed.

Quotes from the article:

Anyone aged over 16 will be able to walk in off the street and buy the kits at any one of up to 50 independent chemists around Britain.

The kits will include three mouth swab tests to be used on a mother, child and a man who might be the father.

The samples can then be posted back to the firm along with a lab fee of £129 to pay for testing to establish if the two adults are the parents of the child.

Read the entire article at the Mail Online.

Sure, it’s great if you have a lab handy, but for the rest of us, it’s not such big news, now that Knome is offering to sequence all your genes for as little as $19,500, and your entire genome for $99,500.

In this first phase, we’re providing lists of the different types of DNA tests available direct to the consumer, and a list of DNA testing providers and their specialties.

Please poke around, see what’s useful, what’s not, and let us know.

We have big plans. We want to be THE portal for personal genomics. Lots of features are in the works…keep coming back while we grow.

Thank you!