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submitted 7 months ago by admin@beehaw.org to c/technology@beehaw.org
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[-] survivalmachine@beehaw.org 43 points 7 months ago

“newest self-made billionaire.”

Uh-huh. She was in a relationship with Sergey Brin when she founded 23andme. She really tightened her belt and pulled herself up by her bootstraps. Such an inspiration.

[-] sqgl@beehaw.org 11 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Brin was married to her sister Anne, the biotech analyst.

In fact him and Larry Page started up Google in Susan Wojcicki's garage in Menlo Park. Perhaps in gratitude he later funded her it is not mentioned in his Wiki.

[-] Midnitte@beehaw.org 8 points 7 months ago

Pffh. Let's see you do that with... $2.6 million?... 👀

[-] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 36 points 7 months ago

When 23andme was first announced, all I read was Startup Offers Access to Inevitable Security Breach Involving DNA.

[-] tesseract@beehaw.org 3 points 7 months ago

The thing with 23andme and other DNA genealogy profilers is that a vast section of the population knew that it was a stupid and dangerous idea. Perhaps there was better awareness about it than about any other technical problem that plagues our society. Despite all that, the other section of the population decided to simply ignore the loud warnings and outcry and managed to get their genetic information leaked. Even worse, the leaked information doesn't just affect them - it affects their relatives too. So potentially, a lot of people who didn't like the tests also have their information leaked. Some people just won't learn.

[-] RadioRat@beehaw.org 18 points 7 months ago

Don’t get sequenced and encourage your relatives to avoid as well. It’s not worth risking your genome getting leaked.

[-] Kichae@lemmy.ca 4 points 7 months ago

"Leaked", as if tech companies reach multi-billion dollar evaluations based on retail sales.

[-] jarfil@beehaw.org 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

If you die without getting sequenced, you'll never get resurrected... 😙🎶

[-] tesseract@beehaw.org 2 points 7 months ago

I totally agree in principle. Handing over your genetic information to shady 3rd parties is stupid. But how do you know it hasn't happened without your knowledge or permission? Technology exists that can extract DNA from fingerprints (the PCR that was used for covid-19 tests). Meanwhile, how many blood tests do you get in a year? How do you know what happens with those samples?

[-] tuckerm@supermeter.social 15 points 7 months ago

23andMe was always a product with a very small upside and absolutely massive downside. Best case scenario, it's a neat little thing to learn about yourself. Worst case scenario, it's a massive opportunity for discrimination and blackmail.

Completely unrelated: for some reason, on kbin, the thumbnail for this article is the thumbnail for this youtube video, and that is a cooler thing than 23andMe by far.

[-] jarfil@beehaw.org 4 points 7 months ago

Wojcicki (pronounced woh-JIS-key)

What? She's the daughter of:

Stanley George Wojcicki (/ˌvuːɪˈtʃɪtski/ VOO-ih-CHITS-kee; born Stanisław Jerzy Wójcicki, Polish: [vujˈt͡ɕit͡skʲi]

It's curious to see how people modify the pronunciation, from Wikipedia:

Susan Diane Wojcicki (/wʊˈtʃɪtski/ woo-CHITS-kee;

Anne E. Wojcicki (/wuːˈtʃɪtski/ woo-CHITS-kee;

...so each one pronounces it differently? 🧐

this post was submitted on 31 Jan 2024
47 points (100.0% liked)

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