logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2025
21m 49s

The rise and fall of DNA testing company...

The Guardian
About this episode
The genetic testing firm 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy, another twist in the story of a company that promised a pioneering approach to precision health. Now users are scrambling to delete their personal data, with the future ownership of the firm uncertain. To understand the highs and lows of 23andMe’s journey, Madeleine Finlay hears from the Guardian US tech reporter and editor Johana Bhuiyan, and from Timothy Caulfield, a professor of law at the University of Alberta, who has a special interest in health and biotechnology. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
Up next
Yesterday
Texas floods and forecasting cuts: a sign of things to come?
In the days since the deadly floods in the Texas Hill Country, speculation has grown about whether cuts to US weather agencies may have contributed to the the number of casualties. Ian Sample talks to the meteorologist and climate journalist Eric Holthaus to find out whether this ... Show More
16m 49s
Jul 8
Microplastics, blood cleaning and Orlando Bloom
The actor recently posted a photo of himself undergoing a £10,000 procedure at a London clinic that claims to remove microplastics, forever chemicals and herbicides from the blood. But how settled is the science around the health risks of microplastics? To find out, Ian Sample sp ... Show More
15m 58s
Jul 3
Why British women are freezing their eggs abroad
The number of women choosing to freeze their eggs has increased sharply, according to figures from the UK’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). The number deciding to embark on the process abroad also appears to be rising. Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian ... Show More
18m 26s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 4
DNA and Bankruptcy Collide With 23andMe
The genetic testing company 23andMe filed for bankruptcy in March, after years of slowing sales, legal trouble, and a declining stock price. And now, the valuable trove of genetic data the company owns is for sale, sparking privacy concerns.  On today’s Big Take, Bloomberg biotec ... Show More
16m 30s
Dec 2024
Science’s Breakthrough of the Year, and psychedelic drugs, climate, and fusion technology updates
First up this week, Breakthroughs Editor Greg Miller joins producer Meagan Cantwell to discuss Science’s 2024 Breakthrough of the Year. They also discuss some of the other scientific achievements that turned heads this year, from ancient DNA and autoimmune therapy, to precision p ... Show More
45m 46s
Jun 3
Part One: Dire Wolves, Dr. George Church & The De-Extinction Grift
Robert walks Langston Kerman through the story of Dr. George Church, a very real scientist who co founded the company making bullshit claims of "de extincting" dire wolves. (2 Part Series) Sources: George Church, Colossal W*nker – For Better Science Can Gene Therapy Slow Ageing i ... Show More
1h 14m
Jan 2025
David Lyon, "Surveillance: A Very Short Introduction" (Oxford UP, 2024)
Surveillance is everywhere today, generating data about our purchasing, political, and personal preferences. Surveillance: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2024) shows how surveillance makes people visible and affects their lives, considers the technologies inv ... Show More
59m 41s
Jan 2025
Make science great again
Nasa's OSIRIS-REx mission to collect a sample from an asteroid has been a great success. Asteroid Bennu's sample yields a watery pool of history, thanks to an international team of scientists including the London Natural History Museum's Sarah Russell. Also, in a week of tumultuo ... Show More
40m 41s
Jun 25
When a home DNA testing company fails...
What happens to our data once it's been handed over to DNA testing companies? One such firm, 23andMe, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. The company was set up to help people could track their ancestry - one of a number of similar sites using DNA data to create links and mat ... Show More
17m 28s
Jan 2025
Nara Milanich, "Paternity: The Elusive Quest for the Father" (Harvard UP, 2019)
Nara Milanich’s Paternity: The Elusive Quest for the Father (Harvard University Press, 2019) explains how fatherhood, long believed to be impossible to know with certainty, became a biological “fact” that could be ascertained with scientific testing. Though the advent of DNA test ... Show More
1h 9m
Jan 2025
Nara Milanich, "Paternity: The Elusive Quest for the Father" (Harvard UP, 2019)
Nara Milanich’s Paternity: The Elusive Quest for the Father (Harvard University Press, 2019) explains how fatherhood, long believed to be impossible to know with certainty, became a biological “fact” that could be ascertained with scientific testing. Though the advent of DNA test ... Show More
1h 9m
May 2024
EP 134: Prenatal genetic testing and the future of AI in genetic counselling with Kira Dineen, host of DNA Today
In episode 134, we welcome fellow genetics podcaster Kira Dineen. Kira is most widely known for her award winning podcast, DNA Today, as well as producing a number of other health and science podcasts. Now running for more than 10 years, DNA Today is the winner of the 2020, 2021, ... Show More
40m 44s
May 2023
The Science You’ve Enabled
The Planetary Society has just announced the latest awards in its Science and Technology Enabled by the Public (STEP) Grant program. With regular host Sarah Al-Ahmed on vacation, Mat Kaplan returns to introduce the principal investigator for a project that will prepare us to grow ... Show More
50m 53s