Time names the 23andMe retail DNA test 'Invention of the Year'

Time Magazine has released its annual Best Inventions issue, and topping the list is the 23andMe retail DNA test, a kit which which offers consumers 23 clinical reports on their genetic risk for everything from Psoriasis to Prostate Cancer. It may not be as well known as last year's iPhone (or YouTube the year before that), but the $399 package might signal a significant revolution in preventative medicine... or it might bring mankind a disturbing new form of eugenics. Whatever you use it for, the process couldn't be easier: the kit comes with a tube that you spit in and mail back to the company, which in a mere 4 - 6 weeks will notify you that testing is complete. As you wait for the results to be posted online you might want to spend some time contemplating the ethical dilemmas posed by this technology.

[collegekid13 @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:03PM]

dunno bout that price

[Ayman @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:14PM]

Simple
know your DNA or buy a netbook and Google all possible diseases you think you might have, also might take 4 -6 weeks and you wont have any ethical dilemmas

[kingofwale @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:03PM]

If I remember correctly, Time also named 3DO "Product of the Year".
so...... not saying much there

[slivingston @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:06PM]

I've considered purchasing this kit. I was adopted as a child; both of my birth parents died shortly thereafter. Thus, I have almost no data on my family or health history.

While I agree that the social implications of such screening leave much for debate, for folks like me, this service may prove extremely valuable.

[Vagrant @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:14PM]

Ditto

[KarlW @ Nov 4th 2008 12:02AM]

Surely your birth parents have some medical records. If you could find out where they lived (from the electoral roll, tax office, passport authority, phone book, registry office, birth certificate), you could call doctors/dentists in the local area for copies of their medical records. You may need to get a court order to do it (I don't know. Maybe birth certificate will suffice), but under the circumstances, it should be fairly quick to get.

That'd be much better than something like this. It might be cheaper, and it'll definitely be more interesting.

[redbellyman @ Nov 4th 2008 9:26AM]

the same here adopted at the age of 2, and received notice that my birth mom passed at the age of 34. So I am very intrigued about this. Just scared that health insurance could go up based on results.

[Zinger314 @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:07PM]

Broadband internet to view Engadget: $30/month
DNA testing at home: $399
Finding out who your wife has been sleeping with in your bed: Priceless....plus half of her possessions.

[bandigolo @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:16PM]

I don't get it.

[2fast4u2fast4u @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:21PM]

"There are some things money can't buy, for everything else, there's MasterCard"
(best marketing slogan ever, in my opinion anyways)

[Matt B @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:37PM]

I don't get it either. Do your wife's visitors leave vials of spit in your bed??

[Chad @ Nov 4th 2008 1:23AM]

That's not spit.

[GPS @ Nov 4th 2008 3:18AM]

there could be spit!!

[Henry The 8th @ Nov 4th 2008 7:27AM]

"If the man had ejaculated and then punched you in the face, we would have a real good shot at catching him"

[Connor @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:08PM]

WHO'S YOUR DADDY!?
We will finally know in the comfort of our living room...

[El Taco @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:23PM]

it shows risks for diseases, not who you're related to.

[FreeRange @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:29PM]

You want this one: http://www.dnatesting.com/

[gandychan @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:09PM]

Its Preventive Medicine. Not Preventative Medicine.

[E. Leigh @ Nov 4th 2008 12:14AM]

http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/dictionaries/english/data/d0082632.html

Mmmm, I feel as if we could conversate effectively. Nice catch.

Orientate is one of my favorites as well.

[Flashpoint @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:10PM]

My 23 year old cousin got his 19 year old girlfriend pregnant after just hitting it twice.

His father suggested an abortion.
The girl suggested an abortion...but dumbass didn't run with it.
She gave birth and now, he has to hurry up and finish school so he can upgrade his job from retail stock to a real job.

I suggestes he get one of these to "be sure" before he signs the papers.

I had no idea these things were $400.

[jeff @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:17PM]

crazy, i heard somewhere it only takes one time hitting it to get your cousin pregnant...

Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!

[Jon Nelson @ Nov 4th 2008 2:03AM]

Yeahh..You're looking for a paternity test, not this thing.

www.mauryshow.com

[Flashpoint @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:13PM]

Between the home pregnancy test and the home HIV test...all my dreams about invasion of pricacy are finally coming true.

Its not enough for me to suspect the truth. I must KNOW IT. and If I have to steal your DNA to check you out, than so be it.

[linuxamp @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:17PM]

That gattaca screen is brilliant.

[Ryan @ Nov 4th 2008 7:37AM]

My thoughts exactly...

[sr @ Nov 4th 2008 12:31PM]

Exactly what I was going to post. I got a chuckle out of that!

[dandaman @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:18PM]

The iPhone was invention of the year by Time Magazine last year...
...and product of the year by Time Magazine...
...and person of the year by Time Magazine...
...and award winner of the year by Time Magazine...
...and the magazine to replace Time Magazine by Time Magazine...
...and iPhone of the yearby Time Magazine...
They said they were running out of awards.

[FreeRange @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:35PM]

Speaking of which, why isn't this an app? They can collect your spit through the mic on the phone and then process it all right there! Heaven knows the iphone is the greatest invention/person/inanimate object (sorry, carbon rod)/phone/deli meat ever created so I really gotta believe it's got the necessary wires and stuff inside of it to make this happen!

[paakofi @ Nov 4th 2008 9:42AM]

They'll fix it in the next software update

[deyanimay @ Nov 4th 2008 3:51PM]

Because the iphone is too good to be spit on duh. =)

[bandigolo @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:21PM]

This is kinda ridiculous. So you get a report that basically freaks you the fuck out because you may be "predisposed" to a few diseases? I will just go by family history, thanks. I do not need to spend $400 to make me a hypochondriac.

[Chris C @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:30PM]

Engadget's modification of the promotional material = WIN

[Gman @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:38PM]

I don't understand the debate about "ethical dilemmas" with this product. You know what you are signing up for when you buy it, and if it reveals that you have some terrible disease or were adopted, then that is sad, but a known risk. I would prefer not knowing, but I understand people that do. As for the price, it is yet another reason why 23andme won't be getting my DNA anytime soon.

[klew @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:53PM]

Here is a possible ethical dilemma: a married couple, who just found out they are pregnant, take this test and find out that both are predisposed to certain diseases that have a high probability of being passed on to the child.

[Michael @ Nov 4th 2008 1:50AM]

Another issue, is that when you get tested and are shown to be predisposed to a disease, your health insurance rates go up.

[Nick8708 @ Nov 4th 2008 2:34AM]

Klew, that's not really an ethical dilemma, at least no more than prenatal testing for disease is. The parents have a right to know everything possible about the health of their unborn child and should take every measure to do so. Otherwise, if they don't find out early enough they may lose the ability to treat, cure, or otherwise prepare for the consequences.

The ethical quagmires (giggity) raised by genetic testing is...well yeah watch Gattaca if you've never seen it because they present it in a pretty smart manner. Personally I'd rather have something like this done at a hospital, clinic, or...any place where I can talk to a doctor face-to-face and know who to hunt down if the extremely personal and confidential information genetic testing discovers is ever revealed to anyone without my knowledge and permission.

[Flashpoint @ Nov 3rd 2008 11:50PM]

These things should come with a rebate for DIVORCE PAPERS.

Seriously- what do you do if you find out your kid isn't yours? Do you stay with the lying bitch and play daddy to some other man's seed? Or, do you pack your wife's shit and toss her and her boyfriend's baby out?

I don't play that so I'm afraid you're gonna have to go. Too many women out there with too many fertile wombs for me to be stuck with a cheater

[KarlW @ Nov 4th 2008 12:08AM]

Don't worry, there are too many men out there without superiority complexes for any woman to be stuck with an arse like you.

[E. Leigh @ Nov 4th 2008 12:14AM]

@Flashpoint
I think you got a real shot as the lowest ranked engadget poster in history. Keep up the poor work!

[Salsa Shark @ Nov 4th 2008 3:36AM]

Please order this kit, Flashpoint, and post the results so we know the winner of the "How many chromosomes is Flashpoint missing?" pool.

[LordAdmiral @ Nov 4th 2008 2:02PM]

Maybe we'll finally find a gene that regulates stupidity.

[seth @ Nov 4th 2008 12:07AM]

I love how few of the commenters here realize this is a test for markers on disease risks in your genetic code, not a paternity test.

READ.

[leo @ Nov 4th 2008 4:55AM]

Yeah I understand. I can't wait to find out if my kid is mine!

[pr_master @ Nov 4th 2008 12:18AM]

Why wouldn't you want to know the diseases you could get in the future base in
your genetic code??? I sure will love to. It does not mean 100% that i will
get them, and i could start having a greater life thinking about trying to avoid
those diseases. If the test tell me i could have heart problems instead of freaking
out i could start eating healthier food, that way if i get those medical problems they
would not be so bad.

And for god sake read people this is not a paternity test, lol

[Eric @ Nov 4th 2008 12:22AM]

BAH! I should have been the iPhone 3G, Jobs invented 3G.

[VtheBear @ Nov 4th 2008 12:42AM]

What a huge impact to the insurance industry

[E. Leigh @ Nov 4th 2008 1:00AM]

I am rather surprised that there is no mention of this in the article. I feel like the insurance question IS THE "ethical dilemma."

[granny down east @ Nov 4th 2008 4:28PM]

Ethical problem, indeed.
Seven of my mother's siblings died with ALS. What do you think the chances are my siblings, cousins and I have that genetic marker?
And what do you think the chances are that our health insurance providers would love to know which of us have it??

[AlDeezy @ Nov 4th 2008 12:58AM]

This is cool, but after seeing the movie Gattaca, I find it hard to believe that employers will not attempt to use these factors when hiring people. However, I don't believe we will reach the level of technology with which they could manipulate your genes in the movie anytime soon, but as they say anything can happen. =0

[Uncontrol @ Nov 4th 2008 1:12AM]

I don't really see the big deal. This is hardly an at-home DNA test. It's a plastic tube you mail off to some laboratory who then send you the results. Is this really such a breakthrough?