Personal genomics is a new and exciting field. Services range in price from around a thousand dollars, down to free. Each provider, of course, offers a different set of features. The common thread is that, for the first time in history, ordinary people have access to their own genetic information, and tools to make sense of it.
Typically, it works like this. You contact a provider sign up for the service. If it is a fee-based provider, you pay up front. Then you will receive in the mail a small container which you fill with saliva. Alternately, some providers will give you swabs to collect buccal cells from inside your cheeks. You mail back your DNA, and in a matter of weeks, your results are available on the provider’s website, on a web page to which only you have the password. There is also the beginnings of a thriving market in 3rd party services, which can help you to interpret your genetic information.
Personal genomics is a very fast-moving and controversial topic. There are bound to be major changes in the near future, but in the long term, this is the wave of the future. At least, we hope so, here at DNA Test Index!
