So many interesting links, articles about personalized genetics again which means I have to post the first part of my weekend résumé today, and the second one tomorrow. I hope you’ll enjoy it. Let’s start with the 23andMe, DecodeMe, Navigenics story:

• Genetic Freedom: How soon until the FDA shackles 23andMe/deCODEme? (SEQanswers):

I think that obtaining one’s own genetic information should be absolutely free of governmental regulation… The last thing we need is more regulated information. FDA, trust your own citizens, we’re smart enough to handle a bit of information about ourselves.

• 23andMe: Will the personal-genomics company need Big Pharma to make money? (VentureBeat):

Still, neither academics nor disease-focused foundations are likely to provide the level of funding that could turn a company like 23andMe from an intriguing curiosity into a commercial powerhouse. Who does have that kind of moolah? Big Pharma and Big Biotech, of course. Recall, for instance, that 23andMe is backed not only by Google, but also by Genentech.

DecodeMe:

• DNA Network Members Discuss Personal Genomics Service Providers 23andMe, deCODEme, and Navigenics (Eye on DNA): Hsien-Hsien Lei describes what makes the latest entrants into the field of personal genomics interesting.

While I understand the excitement surrounding the launch of these companies (mainly engineered by the media), I don’t get why we should be any more excited by their offerings than by what’s already available on the market.

• A Round-Up of Discussions Following the Launch of deCODEme and 23andMe (The Genetic Genealogist)

• 23andme Party (How to Change the World)

• My Genome, Myself: Seeking Clues in DNA (The New York Times):

Was this the first sign that I had inherited the arthritis that gnarled my paternal grandmother’s hard-working fingers? Logging onto my account at 23andMe, the start-up company that is now my genetic custodian, I typed my search into the “Genome Explorer” and hit return. I was, in essence, Googling my own DNA.

I had spent hours every day doing just that as new studies linking bits of DNA to diseases and aspects of appearance, temperament and behavior came out on an almost daily basis.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s collection!