deCODEme – the next Friends Reunited for DNA?

Again, another blog which should have been posted a while ago.

Pioeering Icelandic genetics company deCODE has recently launched deCODEme – the first consumer service for genome wide testing.  It costs around $900 and results indicate what your genes say about your health and ancestry. It encourages friends and family to compare data.  I can see this catching on rather like Friends Reunited  and Genes Reunited around the world (www.friendsreunited.com)

deCODEme is a comprehensive genome scan and online analysis of an individual’s DNA profile.  The saliva test undertakes an analysis of various SNPs from asthma to obesity, cancer to cardiac disease, macular degeneration to irritable bowel syndrome, restless leg syndrome to arthritis.

There is an ancestry element to the test.  Test results indicate how our mothers and fathers and their ancestors contributed to our genome and how much of our genome is derived from people in Africa, Europe and Asia.

For more information visit www.decodeme.com

This test is not to be confused with my previous blog on total genome sequencing by Knome. deCODEme is based on SNPs ie small parts of the genome.  Knome is the total genome.

Elaine Warburton