Nebula is facing a class action for apparently disclosing detailed genomic data to Meta, Microsoft & Google. The subreddit is also full of reports of people who never received their results years after sending their kits back. There are also concerns about the quality of sequencing and false positives in all DTC genomics testing. Given what happened with 23andme as well and all of this stuff, I'm wary of sending my genetic data to any private company.
Even when the raw results are accurate there is a cottage industry of consultants and snake-oil sellers pushing bad science based on genetic testing results.
Outside of a few rare mutations, most people find their genetic testing results underwhelming or hard to interpret. Many of the SNPs come with mild correlations like “1.3X more likely to get this rare condition” which is extremely alarming to people who don’t understand that 1.3 times a very small number is still a very small number.
The worst are the consultants and websites that take your files and claim to interpret everything about your life or illness based on a couple SNPs. Usually it’s the famous MTHFR variants, most of which have no actual impact on your life because they’re so common. Yet there are numerous Facebook groups and subreddits telling you to spend $100 on some automated website or consultant who will tell you that your MTHFR and COMT SNPs explain everything about you and your ills, along with which supplements you need to take (through their personal branded supplement web shop or affiliate links, of course).
> Another problem was our flow cell was malfunctioning from the start — only 623 out of 2048 pores were working.
Is this normal for the machine? Is there a better write up somewhere where they didn’t give up immediately after one attempt?
pixelpoet•1h ago
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> 200 µL of blood (about ⅕ of a ml)
"About"? Anyway, thanks for the clarification.