“All” the world’s information?
Google is clear on their mission: “To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
With that in mind, they just announced an investment in 23andMe.com, a startup focused on helping individuals make sense of their genetic information. Says a founder (who happens to be Sergey Brin’s new wife):
“Our goal is to allow individuals to gain deeper insights into their ancestry, genealogy and inherited traits and, ultimately, the option to work together to advance the overall understanding of the human genome.”
Interesting… in several ways:
One, in that it’s sure to make privacy concerns about Google’s indexing of information a very ot topic soon. Now Google is interesting in developing ways to index DNA and the human genome, inherited traits, and possibly personal genetic records. Wow. On top of knowing everything I look at online and my email, they may start learning about me and gene pool.
(Google-Watch.org is on top of that info, with details on why here. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of Google and their products! 8-)
Secondly, this is interesting because DNA testing is starting to be a hot area… it’s certainly captured my attention. Many people are very interested in their history and where they came from… anyone famous or of historical significance in my gene pool?
There are a few other companies that are in this space… Steve Case’s RevolutionHealth.com sells a kit, but FamilyTreeDNA.com is really a wealth of knowledge. They also allow you to compare your DNA to those they have 
indexed from different races and ethnic groups, surnames, and even historical figures such as Genghis Kahn and Thomas Jefferson.
(The FamilyTreeDNA website could use some work though… I have NO IDEA what kit I should buy. 8-)
What about you, would you buy DNA testing from a company that has so much information about you already?
I’d love to hear from anyone that’s had one of these DNA tests done.
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