#23andMe is potentially selling more than just #genetic #data. The personal survey info is also a #privacy problem.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/23andme-genetic-data-personal-survey-information-privacy/
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2016.05.007

Who gets ownership of useful #genetic data? It's complicated, very complicated
Digital sequence information alters how researchers look at the world’s genetic resources. https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/03/who-gets-ownership-of-useful-genetic-data/

A new study revealed that #caffeine impacts your thinking skills is not just about how much #coffee you drink, but also about your #genes. Researchers discovered people with genes for fast caffeine processing performed differently on cognitive tests depending on their caffeine consumption levels, particularly in tasks involving emotion recognition and complex thinking. Suggests #genetic makeup plays a significant role in how we respond to caffeine’s effects on brainpower.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02698811241303601

The risk/benefit calculus of providing #free & #open #access to individual #genetic #data in 2025 is very different compared to 14 years ago. And so, sunsetting openSNP – along with deleting the data stored within it – feels like it is the most responsible act of stewardship for these data today https://tzovar.as/sunsetting-opensnp/

Today it seems clear to me that the biggest impact on improving #health - even in the rich, allegedly ‘developed’ nations - would come from providing #food #security and access to stable #housing. https://tzovar.as/sunsetting-opensnp/ #genetic #database

More on #genomics, this is obviously crazy since the #world's #genetic #diversity is contained within #Africa. Yet African DNA is underrepresented! Oh dear, it should not be only African scientists noticing this.

'African scientists say the world is missing vital medical insights by ignoring the continent’s vast genetic diversity. Less than 2 percent of human genome sequencing worldwide comes from African populations.'

https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20250404-scientists-warn-african-dna-is-missing-from-the-global-genome-map

#Genetic data site #openSNP to close and delete data over #privacy concerns
openSNP, a platform for sharing genetic and phenotypic data, will shut down, and delete all user submissions over privacy concerns and risk of misuse by authoritarian governments.
Announced earlier this week by co-founder Bastian Greshake Tzovaras, who expressed concerns about how personal #genomics data is subject to abuse today and how fundamentally landscape has changed over the last 14 years.
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/genetic-data-site-opensnp-to-close-and-delete-data-over-privacy-concerns/

Seeds of #Schizophrenia May Be Planted in The Earliest Moments of Life
There's a window of time in our lives we've all passed through yet know little about: early #gestation. Researchers found a pair of #genetic deletions associated with schizophrenia that likely occur in that formative period. While genetic alterations need further validation, findings strengthen an emerging idea that schizophrenia aren't always inherited, yet may be acquired long before someone is born.
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-seeds-of-schizophrenia-may-be-planted-in-the-earliest-moments-of-life

#Genetic data repo #OpenSNP to self-destruct before authoritarians weaponize it
The reason, according to #bioinformatics researcher Bastian Greshake Tzovaras, one of the founders of the project, is the dissolution of genetic testing biz #23andMe and the potential weaponization of genetic data by #farright #authoritarian regimes.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/01/opensnp_shutdown/

#OpenSource #Genetic #Database Shuts Down to Protect Users From 'Authoritarian Governments'

"The risk/benefit calculus of providing free & open access to individual #genetic data in 2025 is very different compared to 14 years ago."
#privacy #dna

https://www.404media.co/open-source-genetic-database-opensnp-shuts-down-to-protect-users-from-authoritarian-governments/

#OpenSource #Genetic Database Shuts Down To Protect Users From 'Authoritarian Governments' - Slashdot
#authoritarian #authoritarianism #privacy #dna

https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/03/31/1926246/open-source-genetic-database-shuts-down-to-protect-users-from-authoritarian-governments?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed

#FTC : #23andMe buyer must honor firm’s #privacy promises for #genetic data
#dna #bankruptcy

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/04/ftc-watching-23andme-bankruptcy-sale-for-impact-on-users-genetic-data/

Which #license is the right one to #publish my #genetic #code as #opensource, so no #company is #allowed to make #profit or create #closedsourced #products from it?

Sunsetting #openSNP - a retrospective by Bastian Greshake Tzovaras
In 2025, Bastian's "view is a lot more sober (and bleaker): Today it seems clear to me that the biggest impact on improving #health - even in the rich, allegedly ‘developed’ nations - would come from providing #food security and access to stable housing. And not from trying to find #genetic confounders of common #diseases that are a lot more rooted in those environmental & societal factors."
https://tzovar.as/sunsetting-opensnp/

How to Delete Your #23andMe Data

This week, the #genetic testing company 23andMe filed for #bankruptcy , which means the genetic data the company collected on millions of users is now up for sale. If you do not want your data included in any potential sale, it’s a good time to ask the company to delete it.
#privacy #dna

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/how-delete-your-23andme-data

Adventures in the #genetic time machine
Ancient #DNA is telling us more and more about humans and environments long past.
Could it also help rescue the future?
Thanks to a few well-funded labs like the one in Copenhagen, the #gene time machine has never been so busy. There are genetic maps of saber-toothed cats, cave bears, and thousands of ancient humans, including Vikings, Polynesian navigators, and numerous Neanderthals.
https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/17/1111596/ancient-dna-genes-evolutionary-genetics/

How to Delete Your 23andMe Data instructions by #EFF
This week, the #genetic testing company 23andMe filed for #bankruptcy, which means the genetic data the company collected on millions of users is now up for sale. If you do not want your data included in any potential sale, it’s a good time to ask the company to delete it. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/how-delete-your-23andme-data

How to Delete Your Data From #23andMe

DNA-testing company 23andMe has filed for #bankruptcy , which means the future of the company’s vast trove of customer data is unknown. Here’s what that means for your #genetic data.
#privacy #dna

https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-delete-your-data-from-23andme/

#DNA of 15 Million People For Sale In #23andMe #Bankruptcy - Slashdot

The filing shows how dangerous it is to provide your DNA directly to a large, for-profit commercial #genetic database; 23andMe is now looking for a buyer to pull it out of bankruptcy

> don’t know if it’s still possible. But if it is, now is the time to get your DNA sequence out of their database.
#privacy #genetics

https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/03/24/2022232/dna-of-15-million-people-for-sale-in-23andme-bankruptcy?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed