Seeing My DNA

There's a photomicrograph of my chromosomes on my living-room wall. I made it myself in a Human Cytogenetics course. When folks ask, I say it's a self-portrait.

I've been thinking about subscribing to 23andme, which analyzes your DNA, for several years, but the price was always too high. I knew it would drop over time.

Two things kicked me over the edge. One was posts by folks like Razib Khan about recent moves by the FDA to shut down or hyperregulate 23andme. The second was a trip to the Boulder Android Meetup, where I met G. Hussain Chinoy.

Chuck Coughlin and I went over to recruit an Android developer or two for a project we're working on, and Hussain sent me email saying he was interested. He wasn't a great fit for the particular slots we were trying to fill -- it happens -- but I told him I was very interested to see that he was a 23andme customer.

A few days later, Hussain dropped me a quick note to say that 23andme was having a "free day." Normally, the base price had been $199, but for that day, it was free.

That did it.

I'm now a happy customer.

I should say more about 23andme, but this post's long enough for now. Go look for yourself.

My company's still hiring, by the way -- contract and full-time positions.