All those 23andMe spit tests were part of a bigger plan

Should we be apprehensive before giving away our DNA? Six years after the first draft of the human genome was published, 23andMe started selling kits that determined a variety of health traits alongside ancestral analysis. Now, CEO Anne Wojcicki wants to make drugs using insights from millions of customer DNA samples. Kristen V. Brown examines how insights provided by customers could help us better understand the molecular mechanisms that underpin certain medications, enabling us to develop drugs more quickly and efficiently, but concerns surrounding privacy are also mounting.