A short but glorious rant
Misha Angrist has a very brief but eloquent rant in response to the genomics nay-sayers in this Nature News piece on the bankruptcy of deCODE Genetics.Here's a taste:I agree: GWAS is of limited value and this probably contributed to deCODE's demise. But whatever deCODE's fate, if whole human genomes can be sequenced for < $2000, isn't it about time we stopped kicking GWAS's ever-stiffening corpse? Second, just because something is not a medical necessity, does it follow that i

My Gene Profile: the lamest genetic testing scam on the internet?
Pharyngula, via a reader, points me to the most aggressively bad attempt at a genetic testing product I have ever encountered, coupled with a truly horrific attitude to parenting.The tag line alone is hilariously inept:"Our Technology Spawned from Human Genome Project led by US Scientists. The Industry is Featured by CNN, CBS News"The idea that is being spruiked here is that genetic testing can help you determine your child's "inborn talents", which you can then use to

DIY ancestry inference from personal genomic data
European Genetics and Anthropology has a neat little tutorial that may be of interest for genetic hobbyists: it provides instructions on how to run the program STRUCTURE on your own genetic data generated by a personal genomics company such as 23andMe or deCODEme. STRUCTURE is an extremely popular tool among researchers working in population genetics, which allows you to generate

Details on the future of the deCODEme service
I was just sent this email by a deCODEme customer:As a valued subscriber to deCODEme, we wanted to write to you directly to let you know about some important developments in the company and how we believe these will underpin our ability to continue to keep you in the forefront of understanding what the latest advances in genetics mean to you. For the past several months, deCODE has been working on restructuring its operations. One of the principal goals of this effort has been to enable us to find new investment that will continue our work in human genetics and to offer to our customers the products and services that are based upon our

deCODE Genetics declare bankruptcy, will sell core business to US investors
Struggling Icelandic biotech deCODE Genetics has finally reached the point of formal insolvency. A press release today announces that the company has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in a US court:In a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware late on Monday, deCODE listed total assets of $69.9 million and total debt of $313.9 million, as of June 30.deCODE launched in 1996, basing its business plan on its unique access to biological samples and genealogical and medical records from the small, homo