The DNA testing 23 and me tests for genetic mutations for ten different diseases. According to the 23 and me website, all you do is “order the saliva collection kit, spit in the tube and register your salvia tube and send it back to the company, and then in three to five weeks they will email you the results” (23andMe). The way 23 and Me tests for these mutations is through variants. “Each person is made up from genes from their parents with slight differences, and these differences are called variants” (23andMe). It is also stated that “variants can be linked to different health conditions, traits, and ancestry groups” (23andMe). Genos is also a program that analyzes a person’s genetic variations, and it also gives you a code so you can keep track of it and log back into the account and review your results (Crowdsourcing Cures on your terms). Veritas is another genetic testing that analyzes a person’s genetic variations, Veritas does “whole genome sequencing which can inform a person on disease risk, pharmacogenomics. nutrition and diet, and ancestry” (Crowdsourcing Cures on your terms). Most of them use saliva to do the testing and then you have to send the tests back to the company. I just do not know how I feel about sending my saliva back to a company and hoping they get it. Most of the tests did state that they were pretty accurate most of the time. I feel like if I sent my tests off I would just be anxious the whole time waiting for my results to come back, and then if I received bad results I would probably either limit myself to what I do depending on the results or live super crazy to make sure I got all my activities in before I died. I personally would not want to get the testing done, but some people do it to test for diseases and they find it helpful when looking for treatment. Some people do it to help make predictions about their children and having children. I think it can be a good or bad thing just depending on what you are wanting to get out of the testing.
23andMe. (n.d.). DNA Genetic Testing & Analysis. Retrieved from https://www.23andme.com/?new=true
Crowdsourcing Cures on your terms. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://genos.co/
Whole Genome Sequencing Company. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.veritasgenetics.com/