The company 23andMe is a private biotechnology company based in mountain view, California. It is developing new methods and technologies that will enable customers to better understand their own genetic information. The company's name comes from the number of pairs of chromosomes in each (healthy) nucleated somatic cell person. 23andMe is working with clients from 52 countries. And one of these days the company announced the appeal to the office for quality control of food and drugs (eng. Food and Drug Administration - FDA) for permission for his Personal genome of service (Personal Genome Service). It is planned to obtain permission to 107 tests that determine genetic predisposition of people to various diseases.

23andMe was the first among companies-developers DTC-tests, which appealed to the FDA requesting approval, which is expected to increase the credibility of this technology. After all now many famous scientists are sceptical of this procedure, consider it useless.

Doctors from the group "Doctor" in Vkontakte more loyal speak out on the matter. As a result of the survey on the topic "What do You think about the clinical significance of individual genetic testing?" 40,7% of doctors expressed confidence that the clinical significance of genetic testing high. Doubters to 13.3%. 9.9% of doctors believe that the tests do not have clinical significance is kind of fun for the patient. 8.4% of doctors believe that these tests should be prohibited as their results can badly affect the mentality and life of the patients.

And what is the attitude to the ability to prevent serious disease patients? According to research conducted by the National institutes of health, USA, the individual results of a genetic test, which revealed a predisposition to a particular disease, while in no way affect the frequency of the circulation of people for expensive medical care that can prevent its development.

However, the services of personal genetic testing are in demand: they have already benefited more than 150 thousand people. Services are available online for $ 299. Simply send a test tube with a sample of saliva or scraping buccal mucosa.

EXPERT OPINION

Leading researcher, head of laboratory of genomic analysis candidate of biological Sciences Egor PROKHORCHUK

- Will appear each person has a genetic passport, which will be described in all its features and predisposition?

- Of course, the whole world goes to the so-called personalized medicine. In the US there is a company 23andMe or 23 and I - 23 chromosomes and I. There, you can send a sample of your saliva and within 1.5 month via the Internet to get information about their predisposition to some of the 150 diseases. It costs 600 - $ 700. In Russia, too, something similar will appear next year. But the world goes to the fact that the next step will be to read the whole genome. And in Russia, the genetic passport may appear in 5 to 10 years.

- How much is to decipher the genome of one man?

- Now us $ 150,000. But in the future the price will not exceed $ 1000. By the way, in 2001, the first genome decoding cost 3 billion dollars.

As gintasmont will help the doctor?

- Card with your genome doctor can see the weak points. And for diagnosis will not have to run around a hundred rooms. Will purposefully keep track of those diseases to which you are inclined. And accept only those drugs that are absorbed by your body.

- Are there medicines that not all genes "digest"?

- It turns out there. Not so long ago revealed that one remedy for cardiovascular diseases did well on Africans, and on white is not affected in any way. The reason was hiding in one component of the drug, acting on a protein that were available in black and white.

- Knowing the entire human genome, it will be possible discrimination, for example, when applying for a job?

- Till 2013 in the world there is a moratorium on the use of genetic data for admission to employment or discharge of insurance on your life. After all, if the insurance company knows about predisposition to a deadly disease, it will be unprofitable to insure you a small sum to be in flight.

- 2013 is not far off. What will be then?

- Is unknown. This is more of a humanitarian problem than scientific.

But discrimination is inevitable? Then there followed and the stratification of society?

- Of course, all this goes. To do this, we must be fully prepared to not be on the sidelines of history. Therefore created at the Kurchatov Institute, corresponding center and our laboratory, which will be able to answer the new call of time. As in the 1940 - 1950s years, our Institute has answered the call associated with the creation of a nuclear bomb, the first Russian reactor. When the very existence of Russia as an independent state was associated with the history of the Kurchatov Institute.