google genetics

now WHY in the WORLD would Google want my genetic info?


"We'd like to give all of you an opportunity to meet your genome."

That was the offer made to a roomful of analysts by Jay Flatley, chief executive of biotech Illumina (nasdaq: ILMN - news - people ). And in his sales pitch, he spilled details on one of the most-watched start-ups in Silicon Valley ( This meeting was Webcast here).

Illumina makes tools used by scientists to study the genes of humans, other animals and plants, and it does a brisk business. Its sales have doubled since last year, and its stock is up 30% in 12 months and 250% over two years. Now Illumina has to convince Wall Street it can continue that winning streak. To help do that, Flatley talked about Illumina's partnership with 23andMe, a start-up that has raised about $10 million in venture capital.

23andMe isn't just any start-up. The company was co-founded by Anne Wojcicki, the new wife of Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) billionaire Sergey Brin. Google put $3.6 million into the start-up, and $2.6 million of 23andMe's funding went to pay back a loan from Brin to the new company. That was enough to get the gossips jabbering. Other investors include Genentech (nyse: DNA - news - people ) and tech investor Esther Dyson.

But despite the chatter, there hasn't been a lot of information about what 23andMe is going to do, or how it is going to make money. The name comes from the fact that every person has 23 pairs of chromosomes, tangles of DNA that contain our genes. (We each get one set of 23 from Mom, the other from Dad.)

23andMe's Web site says the company is "developing new ways to help you make sense of your own genetic information." It also promises "broad, secure and private access to trustworthy and accurate individual genetic information." Flatley went a lot farther, giving an outline of what 23andMe will offer and then giving the product its first public consumer review.

Customers would give 23andMe a sample (it might be some spit or a Q-tip rubbed on the inside of the cheek). This would be sent to Illumina to be genotyped. Illumina and its main competitor, Affymetrix (nasdaq: AFFX - news - people ), make what are known as DNA chips, devices that can sample the genome in hundreds of places. These chips have been leading to a revolution in genetics, with dozens of DNA variations being potentially linked to diseases so far this year.

Illumina would then be able to tell 23andMe about hundreds of DNA variations, called single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, that each customer has. 23andME would make that information available through a password-protected Web site. And people would be able to log on and get information about what SNPs (pronounced "snips") they have.

Initially, Flatley said, the company will be more focused on ancestry--questions like which parent one got more traits from, or who your distant relatives are--than medicine. Many researchers say most genetic discoveries are so far only of limited medical utility.

Flatley said he has already been able to try out a dry run of this software. He described logging on to 23andMe with his wife standing over his shoulder, and she proceeded to barrage him with questions about which SNP variants he had. The site, he said, will also feature articles explaining what these variants mean. "It's actually quite intriguing," he said.

The CEO admitted he's an "early adopter"--he's going to be trying to get the $100 credit on his Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) iPhone. But his iPhone has his genotype on it. And he showed a scan of his entire genome on a slide. Then he told the assembled analysts that anyone who wanted could sign up there to get 23andMe's services for free.

Illumina handed out sign-up cards, and told analysts to put them in a bowl in the back of the room if they were interested. Flatley said that 23andMe would be showing off its software over the next couple months. Illumina estimates that in several years the market in consumer genotyping will hit $1.5 billion. It's not clear, but it seems likely 23andMe might use the data it has collected to make new discoveries itself.

23andMe, which has been keeping very quiet about its plans, declined to comment for this story. But it is looking like one of the first companies to start figuring out what an explosion of genetic data will mean for the average consumer.

In genetics, a lot is happening very fast. Dyson, the 23andMe investor and board member, is one of 10 people who have agreed to have their DNA sequenced and put on the Internet as part of the Personal Genome Project. That project's lead investigator, George Church of Harvard Medical School, is an adviser to 23andMe.