MORE TESTS! MORE DATA! MORE HYPOCHONDRIA!
Mutual Friend Ian™ shared a service called Promethease, that:
builds a personal DNA report based on connecting a file of DNA genotypes to the scientific findings cited in SNPedia.
It asks you to download your raw DNA data from the testing site you used, and upload it to their magical cloud box, then spits out a report that you can view for $5. It analyzes your spit data for the good, the bad, and the ugly: things you may be susceptible to, a carrier for, or have advanced immunity from. It is very cool! I did it this morning (it took ten minutes, based on processing and queues), and have learned that I am:
- 1.5x~2.7x more likely to live to 100: you’re stuck with me for a long time!
- Optimistic and empathetic; handle stress well: I am optimistic that I will live to 100 and feel bad for those who will not!
- Bad at cancer: In addition to being at higher risk for “a number of cancers”, I am also bad at metabolizing cancer medication, and am more likely to get prostate cancer
- Totally validated in not having children: I’m a cystic fibrosis carrier, and also carry the Von Willebrand gene which is like hemophilia for poor people
- Not supposed to be fat: This makes sense. I’m the only fatty in the family.
- Have the “Asian Flush”: lol, and yeah no kidding
- Have a “Possibly impaired folate metabolism”: can’t absorb cancer meds!
- Have stronger cravings for alcohol: On the plus side, if I AM alcoholic, naltrexone treatment will be twice as successful!
- 1.74 times more likely to get gout, and if given gefinitib to treat said gout, will get 4 times the diarrhea: O_o
- Super good at caffeine: Fast Caffeine Metabolizer
This is all super interesting, and well worth the $5. I am still thinking about doing the more expensive DNA test down the road, but only because data is awesome and allows me to worry that every little pain I feel is an impending heart attack.
Thanks for the share, Ian!
delicious juice dot com 
So, I hate to be That Scientist, but I’m gonna be That Scientist ;) Not so much for you, but for other people reading this page!
This kind of test is (obviously) not a medical test. They don’t screen for as many possible variants, and they don’t test as deeply, as a clinically validated genetic test. This means that the false negative and false positive rates are much higher than would be acceptable in a test your doctor orders for you. The same is also true for 23andMe and other more expensive tests – if you want to use the data for medical purposes, think of it as a first step and not the last word.
So, say if you were considering having children and you saw that cystic fibrosis carrier status show up – get thee to a doctor and get a real test done before making any decisions. This kind of direct-to-consumer test might give you a real result, but then again, it might not.
OK, scientist hat off :)
Sorry about your prostate dude
Noooo always be That Scientist! That’s great info! I don’t take any of this at face value, but it’s definitely interesting and an excellent conversation starter with an actual human doctor if you spot something worrisome, like my angry prostate. :D