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23andMe (personal DNA testing) $99 Sale (normal price is $500)

14 points by smanek ↗ HN
I initially tried posting a link to a website covering the deal, but HN autokilled it based on the domain. Anyways, this was a big deal on HN last time it happened, so thought I'd share again. The content is:

I'm emailing to get the word out about an exciting deal that 23andMe is launching this week prior to Black Friday. If you aren't familiar with us, 23andMe is a genetic testing service that provides information and tools to understand your DNA, and was named Invention of the Year by TIME Magazine in 2008. Starting Wednesday at 10am (promo code won't work until then), 23andMe is going to be selling DNA testing kits at an extremely discounted price: $99 vs. $499!

Purchasing Info:

Website: https://www.23andme.com/store

Promo Code (to use at register): 8YGK7C

Valid: Wed. 11/24,10am to Fri. 11/26,12am

Product Details:

- Online genetic profile includes both Health (Carrier Status, Disease Risk, Drug Response) & Ancestry (Relative Finder, Global Similarity, Maternal/Paternal Lineage) reports

- Access and download raw data on your mitochondrial and Y chromosome DNA as well as data for nearly 600,000 other positions on your DNA

10 comments

[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 43.2 ms ] thread
f1gm3nt
What timezone is this in? I'm in Eastern/New York and it doesn't work =(
f1gm3nt
Looks like the promo code is invalid. If anyone gets it to work, feel free to let me know.
tcash21
They're based in SF, California so maybe it's 10am PST.
f1gm3nt
So 1pm EST =\

I'll check it tonight, seems neat and to me $99+$60 is a better deal then $499+$60 ;p

ghurlman
Looks like it's working now.
f1gm3nt
It works, I ordered it, can't wait to see what my results are. I had a father dip out when I was a child so I have never met or seen my 'real' father.
runjake
I did this last time. I'm not sure if it was worth $99 or not. Don't get me wrong, it's very interesting and periodically, I get updates about new (dubious?) information about my genes.

If you have $99 to blow, go for it. If $99 is a lot to you, don't bother right now. It isn't worth $500 at all, except if you're doing self-research on a genetic disorder you may have.

They have great customer service and their website tools to view your data are well-designed, for the most part.

There's a been a lot of scientific controversy around these tests, and 23andme's in particular.

bbgm
I would argue that one should do it. It's a great path to understanding a little about genotyping, SNPs, etc. The new information is pretty good (the curation team there is particularly strong). The controversies are good ones and a great point of discussion, but if you are genuinely curious about human genetics, 23andme is a great start, plus the user experience is pretty darn good.

Edit (adding some info). For some great insights into this subject, look no further than Genomes Unzipped

http://www.genomesunzipped.org/

http://www.genomesunzipped.org/2010/10/our-genomes-unzipped....

shwu
The promo code UA3XJH should work until at least the end of Thursday PST