23andme meltdown was inevitable – and deserved

The 23Andme DNA test company is leaking the leak and it’s a damn time.

Earlier this week23andme officially filed for bankruptcy of Chapter 11, just when CEO Anne Wojchitsky withdrew from the position – the most humiliation for a former thriving company that was once valued at $ 6 billion. Although it is still possible for some version to outlive this financial concussion, its days like genetic jungle test seems firmly over. Honestly, given the many mistakes and misleading promises 23andme and similar companies have made over the years, this is a well -deserved fate.

Trusted

Much attention is rightly paid to the seamless management of the company’s clients. Since April 2023, the hackers have gained access to the personal information of nearly 7 million customers, more than half of the company’s customers (the initial violation affected 14,000 accounts, which the hackers then used to access information from many more). Although the hackers were not directly secret to people’s DNA records, they were able to get names, years of birth and information about the family tree.

It took five months for the company to even notice The hack and three months before it recognized publicly to the total scale of the violation. Along the way, the company tried to put the blame at the feet of its customers by grilling them to recycle passwords. To make it clear, you should never reuse passwords – but the companies we trust in our data are also responsible to keep it.

The hack seriously shook public confidence in 23andme and incurred a big expense. Last December, for example, the company agreed To pay $ 30 million to settle a class action case brought against him for the offense. The failures of the company’s security are one thing, but the basics of users’ genetics tests have always relying on a shaky place.

Suggestion

In 2010, four years after the launch of 23Andme, the US Government Reporting Office (GAO) published An AN Investigation report Accusing the DNA testing industry of consumers in regularly misleading the public. According to the report, companies often offer these tests, fiercely claiming that they can accurately predict someone’s chances of developing any number of medical conditions. In 2013, the Food and Drug Administration prohibited 23Andme for selling their own version of these personal genetics tests (tests strictly focused on the ancestry were still allowed).

For his merit, 23andme reloaded his business model in response to FDA. In the end, he launched FDA -approved tests to reveal whether someone carries genes related to specific hereditary conditions (genes that can be handed over to their children), in addition to tests This gave an idea of ​​the risk of developing conditions such as Alzheimer’s diabetes, type 2 and some cancers. Outrageously fake advertisement In the DNA test industry, it may have decreased to some extent after the GAO report, but some companies are still caught for fraud for their customers.

However, more simply: most people do not actually take advantage of these DNA tests directly to consumption, to a large extent, because our hereditary factors are usually Just one piece of very large puzzle This is our health. Our genes can affect our risk of acquiring type 2 diabetes, for example, but factors such as lack of exercise or obesity have a much more impact. And the actual lifestyle tips given to people with a higher genetic risk for diabetes should be the same as what is given to everyone at a higher risk: Move more and eat a healthier dietS

Insufficient science

Scientists continue to find new relationships between our genetics and health and occasionally discover New genetic disordersS But at the moment we are not in and we will probably never reach a point where the printout of one’s DNA can provide them with an accurate road card for their health. And that is to assume that we are getting accurate results First. 2018 Survey found The fact that up to 40% of the genetic variants marked as potentially disturbing in a person’s raw genomic data were actually fake positives, for example.

Speaking of inaccuracies, testing of descent has his problemsalso. Genetic markers, which are commonly used to evaluate both the health and the inheritance of a person from these companies, are subject to some interpretation and it is possible for two companies, given your DNA, will pop up two significantly different assessments of your descent (even twins can receive different results by the same company).

I have not even fell into Recent Law enforcement authorities that begin to use data from the results of the DNA testing of others to track crime -related crime suspects. While many people support this use, many are not. A study of Pew 2020 found Maintenance is divided in the middle.

At the end of the day, it seems that the collapse of 23andme was not only caused by the Haka in 2023, but by its own non -elevation. As Gizmodo has already noted, the company has repeatedly tried to rotate new sources of sustainable revenue, from selling subscriptions of $ 1,000 a year offered as health care to Recently making plans For further excavation of DNA data of its customers for research.

There is only so much that you can learn from a DNA test for consumers and it seems that there is so much money that you can earn from selling them to the public. Although people will not try for them to be curious about their genetics, my opinion, when asked, is the same as for years: Do not take any DNA tests that you and your doctors have not agreed to be right for you. And if you are a 23andme client, it may be reasonable to Delete your account– Just be aware that you cannot completely clean your data with it.