The Failed Promise of 23andMe

Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Over the past decade, we have heardabout the “fat gene,” the “diabetes gene,” the “alcoholismgene,” the “intelligence gene,” even the “God gene.” In theend, none of these so-called discoveries proved correct.

Genetics is more complex than scientists imagined. We havediscovered highly predictive genes for about 2,000 rareailments, such as Huntington’s disease, but not for most commondiseases such as cancer and diabetes. This hasn’t preventedcompanies such as 23andMe Inc. from selling direct-to-consumergenetic testing, with claims that it offers beneficial healthinformation.