That was the topic of a Forum I spoke at this week and it was one of the more interesting ones  I've been part of since I had my 23andMe and deCODE tests done and posted on the 'net. For a start the rest of the panel had me experiencing some trepediation going into the evening and once they started to talk I may have actually felt a bit more nervous. Dr. Elaine Mardis, Washington University at St. Louis;Dr. Wylie Burke, University of Washington; Dr. Darren Platt, human genomics scientist and former Senior Director of Research at 23 & Me and the moderator was Dr. Michael Morgan CSO for Genome Canada. And me - a former journalist turned Communications Director with a ranch and a past that never really touched the world of science.
In the end though I didn't have to worry because my views and experience with scientists proved  to be in fact real and useful. Scientists have to discover how things work, collect the data, translate it and maybe even commericalize it. Communications staff have to take all the
information and make it real.

Drs. Mardis and Burke laid out some basic science and some of the of the specific works they are engaged in. While it sometimes strayed over the heads of the general audience they did a pretty good job in pulling it back when they had to. Dr. Burke in particular had clearly done this before.
Dr. Darren Platt is an interesting guy. Maybe it was the Google influence on 23andMe because the Aussie came up on stage looking and sounding like anything but a scientist. Plain talking and personable he used his genetics and 23andME experience to explain what the direct-to-consumer tests are all about. ( he's had the 23andMe test done only recently )
Then it was my turn. The audience had a copy of my 23andME and deCODE summaries and instead of using PowerPoint I was the presentation. Look at the summary, look at me and let's explore how they match, where they don't match, and what it has been like going through the process and what I've learned.
Last week at discovery Days some of the kids tended to be surprisingly introspective, this audience consisted of older teens and adults and they wanted to talk about the science, the process and what it REALLY means to them. Though they all agreed they would like to know anything that might help them see into their health future, they weren't convinced that this would provide the answers but at the new 23andMe prices just may give it a whirl.
I've definitely been seeing a big curiosity factor in people that depending on the price would lead them to have the tests done and it will be interesting to see how the sales and revenues look for the various companies involved.
And for the record - despite what the results show I don't have restless legs.

P.S. I just ran a new Promethease analysis so go to our page of genotyping results to see the latest