23andMe

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Entire 23andMe Board Resigns
Entire 23andMe Board Resigns
in case you missed it
Sep 22, 2024 11:30 AM CDT

Entire 23andMe Board Resigns

Genetic-testing firm's CEO 'surprised and disappointed'

(Newser) - Ann Wojcicki, CEO and co-founder of 23andMe, says she is still planning to take the genetic-testing company private despite the resignation this week of the entire board of directors. "After months of work, we have yet to receive from you a fully financed, fully diligenced, actionable proposal that is...

23andMe Has Gone From Hot to Not. Can Its CEO Save It?

Stocks are trading below $1, but Anne Wojcicki sees promise in drug development

(Newser) - Genetic testing company 23andMe's stock is trading at around 75 cents as of this writing, a precipitous fall for a company that the Wall Street Journal dubs "one of the hottest startups in the world ... five years ago." Its valuation has fallen 98% from its former $6...

Report: 23andMe Breach Affected Nearly Half of Users

Genetic testing company is now requiring 2-step verification for all users

(Newser) - The 23andMe breach confirmed by the company in October affected about half of the genetic testing company's 14 million users, TechCrunch reports. The company first acknowledged Friday, in an SEC filing, that hackers were able to access the personal data of 0.1% of its customers, which would be...

Hacker Says 23andMe Data of Jewish Customers Is for Sale

Company confirms theft that could involve more than half of its customers

(Newser) - The genetic testing company 23andMe is investigating after a hacker announced the sale of its data on millions of customers, highlighting people of Jewish ancestry. The information may include photos, email addresses, gender, date of birth, and DNA ancestry, and the hacker suggested using the data on ethnicity to target...

One of US' Oldest Kidnapping Cases Has a Surprise Ending

Melissa Highsmith, abducted as a baby in 1971, meets parents, siblings for first time

(Newser) - Last month, Jeff Highsmith vowed to not give up looking for his sister, Melissa Highsmith, who was kidnapped as a baby in Fort Worth, Texas, more than 50 years ago. "I have to try," he said of his recently ramped-up efforts to find his older sibling, spurred by...

30 Years Later, Female Found in Ditch Has a Name

Margaret Ann Sniegowski Jr., 17, IDed thanks to DNA evidence; now it's a homicide investigation

(Newser) - For three decades, the identity of a body found along an Indiana highway remained unknown, a cold case that stumped Boone County officials. Now, a name to that body, thanks to a curious sister and advances in genetic genealogy. FOX59 details the case of 17-year-old Ohioan Margaret Ann Sniegowski Jr....

DNA Tests Often Give Up Family Secrets. Not Like This One

Jaclyn Peiser reveals what the children born to Anne Bryntwick discovered

(Newser) - Mike Mitchell, who died in 1991, raised eight children with his wife. One of them, David, was born in Montreal on March 15, 1954. More than 60 years later, David learned a girl born in the same city on the very same day was also Mike Mitchell's child. In...

Woman Sues Fertility Doc for 'Medical Rape'

Says he used his own sperm, without permission, to impregnate her

(Newser) - Another heartbreaking story of an allegedly unethical fertility doctor: In New Jersey, Bianca Voss, 75, learned last year that her daughter Roberta's father was, allegedly, the very OB-GYN who was supposed to have artificially inseminated her using sperm from an anonymous donor almost four decades ago. The bombshell came...

DNA Slavery Study Yields Suprises
DNA Slavery Study
Yields Surprises
NEW STUDY
Jul 24, 2020 12:20 PM CDT

DNA Slavery Study Yields Surprises

More enslaved people came to the US from Nigeria than previously thought, researchers say

(Newser) - Using historical records has been the most traditional way to shed light on the dark stain of slavery in the United States. Now, per new research that the Scientist calls "the largest DNA study to examine African ancestry in the Americas," gene analysis is helping put more pieces...

2 Fla. Cops Sent In Their DNA. Turns Out They're Brothers

Neither officer had any idea of the other's existence before 23andMe informed them

(Newser) - Two police officers who live and work hours apart in Florida each submitted DNA swabs to 23andMe—and ended up discovering that they're brothers. Sgt. David Stull, 51, with the Orange County Sheriff's Office, sent an email to Eric Reynolds, 49, of the Boynton Beach Police Department explaining...

She Wanted to Learn About Her Dad, Found 29 Siblings

Shauna Harrison got more than she may have expected after turning to 23andMe

(Newser) - When Shauna Harrison was 27, her parents told her more of her origin story: She had been conceived using a sperm donor. What she wouldn't know for another decade-plus is just how many people had the same biological father. KGO reports she turned to 23andMe to see if her...

What You Do When Your Own DNA Gives Up a Secret
She Thought It Was a Goof on
Her Family Tree. It Was a Secret
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jul 22, 2018 2:30 PM CDT

She Thought It Was a Goof on Her Family Tree. It Was a Secret

'The Atlantic' looks at how at-home DNA test kits are revealing decades-old secrets

(Newser) - After Catherine St Clair used AncestryDNA's test, she took to bed crying. What she initially thought was a goof on the part of the company was actually the revelation of a secret that had never occurred to her: Her brother wasn't appearing properly on her family tree because...

A Search for Ancestors Reveals She Had Been Swapped at Birth

Women discover they were switched at birth

(Newser) - A fun foray into finding out more about her ancestry through a popular genealogy website led to a shocking revelation for 72-year-old Denice Juneski: She wasn't related to any of her own relatives—at least not the ones she'd grown up knowing. KARE reports that as Minnesota's...

In Southern Genes, 'Black' and 'White' Get a Little Gray

Many white people have black ancestry, vice versa

(Newser) - A simple cheek swab can reveal a lot about your DNA, and for 6 million Americans who identify as white, mostly in the South, that swab has revealed African ancestry hidden in their genes, the Washington Post reports. One in 10 Southerners have at least 1% African origins, and the...

Genetic Test Results: 1 Half-Brother, 1 Divorce
Genetic Test Results:
1 Half-Brother, 1 Divorce
OPINION
Sep 10, 2014 1:12 PM CDT

Genetic Test Results: 1 Half-Brother, 1 Divorce

Biologist cautions that surprise revelations can destroy families

(Newser) - As a biologist, George Doe got seriously geeked out about the idea of having his own genome read. So much so that he bought kits from a company called 23andMe for his parents, too. The upside is that they learned all kinds of details about their family ancestry and health...

Fertility Clinic Worker May Have Secretly Fathered Kids

Woman discovers this felon is her dad, and more cases may follow

(Newser) - An exceedingly creepy story out of Utah suggests that a male receptionist at a fertility clinic secretly swapped in his own sperm during treatments, fathering at least one child and probably more, reports LiveScience . Oh, and this receptionist just happened to be a convicted kidnapper who once held a woman...

Genetic Testing Kits Just Don't Cut It
 Genetic Testing Kits 
 Just Don't Cut It 
OPINION
Dec 3, 2013 12:09 PM CST

Genetic Testing Kits Just Don't Cut It

Companies are promising too much, writes Columbia professor

(Newser) - The FDA made a wise move in forcing 23andMe to stop marketing its $99 genetic testing kit, writes Columbia professor Robert Klitzman at Bloomberg View . The premise of companies like these sounds great: Get your DNA tested for a modest sum and head off serious health issues. But the scientific...

FDA Smacks Down Home Genetic Testing Kits

Letter tells 23andMe to stop marketing kit immediately

(Newser) - The FDA has ordered 23andMe to "immediately discontinue marketing" its genetic testing kits, saying that the company has repeatedly failed to prove the product actually works. The Google-backed company offers mail-in genetic testing, which it promises can reveal your risk for various health conditions and drug allergies. In a...

New Patent Opens Can of Worms on 'Designer Babies'

Geneticists worry 23andMe trying to 'breed better people'

(Newser) - A pretty controversial new patent its taking the idea of a designer baby to a whole new level. A trait selection process from 23andMe , based on parent and donor DNA, could, in theory, be used to boost the chances of a particular sex, as well as hair or eye color,...

How Much Caveman DNA Do You Have?

Company scours genome for Neanderthal heritage

(Newser) - If you've ever wondered whether your boorish ex or oafish boss may be closely related to our caveman ancestors, you can now officially prove it with a genetic test. Genome-mapping company 23andMe is offering "The Neanderthal Test" this holiday season. Simply submit your saliva and you can find...

20 Stories