Personal DNA Analysis: 23AndMe

Sergey Brin's Blog talks about 23andme - a startup in Personal DNA Analysis. The first time I realized that such a thing was possible was in a movie .. can't remember the name. But a girl takes his and a potential suitors saliva samples (or was it hair) and gets to %compatibility. That was an AHA moment for me. But this is even better, IT's REALLY HAPPENING .. I thought we were a few decades away.

While 23andme doesn't offer any such service so far, they come pretty close.

Makes me wonder again about the power of technology. By identifying one's probability of getting a particular decease, even imprecisely, you can give that person a chance for an early intervention / prevention so as to reduce the odds. A huge value addition that enables us to preserve and make better use the most critical resource at hand - human capital.

I used to be a Software Engineer .. and one of the first lessons I learnt a Cisco was that a 'bug' discovered later (let's say close to release) costs 10x more to fix than the one discovered early (let's say close to unit testing).

This is the same thing applied to human beings .. and I am guessing the magnitude of saving is much higher - taking into account that humans feel and software doesn't.

So rock on 23andMe. May you (and your competitors) succeed in your goals in making this world a better place.

These Streets..

WOW !!!
This guy is something. Full lyrics of These Streets here

Take me wondering through these streets,Where bright lights and angels meet ..

Heard New Shoes for the first time on radio on way to work and I really liked it. Great music and interesting lyrics.
Then I saw that Puma is using the same song for their new ad ... HAD to look it up.
Apparently, it's from an scottish artist Paolo Nutini. I dont know much about music but it's easy to see why this song is so popular.