23andMe not-a-BLIMP! (apparently it’s a Zeppelin)

23andMe Not-a-Blimp! Just look at it! (not my pic)

So on my way to work today, driving across from 880 to Westbound 80, avoiding the Bay Bridge toll plaza, I saw a pair of chromosomes from my onramp in oakland that I knew immediately belonged to the 23andMe logo. Nevertheless, these were on a not-a-blimp! I tried to take a snapshot on my phone, but sadly, resolution wasn’t so great and  the not-a-blimp was out of my driving trajectory, but a quick search online and lo and behold, there definitely is a 23andMe not-a-blimp!

Talk about aggressive marketing! This is taking the DTC part of personal genomics waaayyyy beyond what I had expected. Sure, trendy spit parties at fashion week that make the Times is one thing, but a not-a-blimp to harass SF commuters? C’mon. Personal genomics is not something that can be sold as a simple commodity. The procedures, risks, and implications of it can be serious, and by advertising the service as though it was a movie or typical commercial product is tricking those that are less genetically literate (unfamiliar in complex genetics) into thinking that this is just  for fun.

According to Alex Hall, CEO of Airship Ventures, via ChubbyBrain

While blimps can also do advertising, the Zeppelin is 50ft larger than any of them and can provide unique promotional opportunities…

I can only speculate how much this costs in advertising. Sure, the previous contract was with Disney-Pixar promoting UP, very appropriate, especially in the Bay Area. But personal genomics?

http://www.airshipventures.com/tours-promos.php

Airship Ventures even has a time-lapse Youtube video they just posted of the application of the 23andMe logo that was uploaded yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mho_x9Z1Na8

UPDATE:

After a bit more digging, and not to be offensive, there’s something strangely incestuous about the relationship between Google, 23andMe (which you already knew), and this Airship Ventures company. A relationship that involves founders, mothers, board members (i.e. 23andMe cofounder’ s mother, back in october of last year, writes a travelogue promoting Airship Ventures (links below). Airship Ventures’ major investor is 23andMe’s first listed board member, which for once, isn’t all that surprising… So that’s where this is coming from..

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/esther-wojcicki/the-return-of-the-zeppeli_b_138961.html

via:

http://valleywag.gawker.com/5071678/google-founders-journalist-mother+in+law-writes-blimp-infomercial

Update:

Apparently the difference between a Zeppelin and a Blimp is whether or not there is a rigid, internal structure. The former, which is the case mentioned here, is rigid, wherease a blimp is, well.. floppy ( that word’s for you, Beth).

YETANOTHERUPDATE:

you can track the zeppelin!!! in case you actively wanted to be visually spammed by the zeppelin….

http://www.airshipventures.com/tracking.php

via 23andme’s facebook page: which is.. having a contest for best picture of the zeppelin to get fifty-buck discounts? really, whatchu gonna do 23andme when its some 15 year old kid that wins the contest? oh yeah, they don’t have restrictions on age, despite established NSGC positions about childhood testing…

Prenatal and childhood testing for adult-onset genetic conditions should always include genetic education and counseling. Genetic counseling for clients considering such testing should include exploration of the psychological/social risks and benefits of early genetic identification from both the parents’ and child’s perspectives. When possible the child should be involved in the decision about whether or not to be tested. Other issues discussed should include the possibility of discrimination in insurance, education and employment for the child or family in both the immediate and more distant future.

check-in

my research is taking the unfortunate turn away from an asian-american focus and looking more broadly at racially/ethnically diverse populations. okay, maybe that’s not unfortunate, but not what i’d initially envisioned at least. most importantly, i’m trying to decipher what the cultural and personal values are that influence the racial/ethnic disparities that we see in prenatal screening and testing uptake. but in designing this study, it really looks more at more broadly, what these values are, and how they influence a woman’s perceived severity of prenatal screening outcomes (the conditions that are screened for). rarely have the women themselves been asked “hey, what do you want screened on prenatal screening if it were your decision, how good/bad of an outcome would you consider those things, and would you consider screening or terminating over it?”. that’s the general gist. asking the client/patient themselves, what do they see as valuable

a sad day for the frugal student traveller

i just received the following email from Southwest Airlines that tugs at my financial pursestrings, infuriates the i-want-the-best-deal aspect of my existence, and is deprivilegizing my travel choices:

As an active participant in the College Rapid Rewards program, we wanted to make you aware of some changes effective July 15, 2009.

The College Rapid Rewards program will be discontinued, and new enrollments will not be processed. However, as a current Member, you will continue to earn bonus credit through October 15, 2009.

Beginning October 16, 2009, all former College Rapid Rewards Members will earn Rapid Rewards credit at a standard rate, consistent with the general program.

Despite this change, there are still lots of ways to earn credit as a Rapid Rewards Member, both in the air and on the ground! Just visit RapidRewards101.com for information about Rapid Rewards Preferred Partners and ways to get to an Award faster than ever.

We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to seeing you onboard soon!

Your Friends at Rapid Rewards

no more are the days where, because of interviews, i can rack up a free round trip in a matter of months! no more are the days where i feel like just cause i’m young and have to fly home for breaks, am i getting treats (like free drink tickets and the occassional free flight). no more are the days when..
oh. now i’ll just be like everyone else and earn my free flights more slowly. i’m almost out of the age range anyway, so perhaps this is a timely notice.

forget i started ranting

(btw, a recommendation to people going on GC or job interviews.. DEFINITELY sign up for flight rewards programs before you make your trips – so you can start building up your miles! in my 6 years of school away from home, i’ve already received three round-trip rewards flights!)

back on the DTC train: Illumina’s $48k whole genomic sequencing

man, Business of Biology (an interdisciplinary class a few of my classmates an I took) has really gotten me to look at DTC genetic testing not only from the ethical side of genetic counseling/informed consent/medical concern, but also business competition and how these companies market themselves. well, the latest exciting DTC news is as follows:

so no longer is the whole DTC genome $100k (or is it $99,500? same diff.) from George Church et al. at Knome, but a $48k one from Illumina is going to be offered as well. some things I agree with such as:

“So we’ll provide that raw set of information,” Illumina CEO Jay Flatley told GenomeWeb Daily News sister publication Pharmacogenomics Reporter at the conference. “But what we won’t do, or have no plans to do in the future, is connect that data with medical outcomes, with traits.”

…

Illumina will deliver the sample collection kits and consent forms to either a physician of the customer’s choosing or a doctor in Illumina’s Personal Genome Network. This, according to Flatley will ensure that the customer understands the science and what the technology can and cannot do from a medical professional first.

Approximately two to three months after the samples are sequenced, Illumina wil

which is legit since, sure as a lab, providing people with raw data is what companies like 23andme claim to do: accessing the raw, data of your DNA. and sure going through a physician, but how similar will that be to the gynecologists who send blood to myriad for colon cancer genetic testing? that aside… the following is where it gets a little weird, with an awkward attempt to ifad-it-up with the apple products:

Particularly since Illumina’s iMac interface might be “a little bit intimidating” for most customers, they will have the option of signing up with a DTC genomics firm, with a more consumer-friendly interface, to learn more about their genetic risk associations.

Illumina will also launch an iPhone application that will allow consumers to check their personal genome for genetic markers related to ancestry, traits, and health on their phones.

personally, that sounds more like the i’m rich iphone app…

in the long run, who knows, perhaps this is something that’s good to get out there, let the intial takers experience it, potentially cause some harm, and then later, someone will step in with some more reactionary legislation and restrictions. i mean, c’mon, there’s barely oversight of the physical tests themselves, much less how much that information may or may not be interpreted to the consumer. this debate has been going on for a while, and at this point in time, i’m finding it difficult to really get excited, being only a student and all.

but hey, its still awfully interesting. read all about it:

http://www.genomeweb.com/sequencing/illumina-partners-dtc-genomics-firms-offer-whole-genome-sequencing-48k

http://www.genomeweb.com/dxpgx/illumina%E2%80%99s-new-dtc-sequencing-service-addresses-ethical-quandary-requiring-presc

http://www.genomeweb.com/sequencing/illumina-launches-personal-genome-sequencing-service-using-genome-analyzer-ii

http://mobihealthnews.com/2676/slideshow-illuminas-concept-mygenome-iphone-app/

http://scienceblogs.com/geneticfuture/2009/06/illumina_launches_personal_gen.php

as the Sequenom wheel turns.. o

so subscribing to GenomeWeb Daily News on my fancy shmancy Google Reader is awesome because I get to hear all the updates right away! on that note, things about Sequenom always seem to catch my eye. today, apparently…

Shares of Sequenom soared in Tuesday trade, even though there appeared to be no news that would create such a surge in both its price and trading volume. Sequenom finished Tuesday up 58 percent at $5.30 on the Nasdaq. More than 53 million shares traded hands on the day — nearly 10 times its average daily trading volume.

makes you wonder, what’s going on dudes?

http://www.genomeweb.com/dxpgx/sequenom-shares-rise-sharply