Once a darling of Silicon Valley, the consumer-genomics company 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy and legal permission to auction off its assets ' including its vast genetic database, which includes DNA information from around 15 million people worldwide and has powered more than 250 scientific studies. The move to sell the information is prompting fears over how individuals' genetic data might be used under new ownership, as well as uncertainty for scientists who work with 23andMe. But some researchers say that science could benefit if a buyer were to seize the opportunity to optimize access to data for research. What went wrong at 23andMe' Why the genetic-data giant risks collapseThe potential sale of the data set represents a big moment for the consumer-genetics movement. 'As far as I know, this is the most amount of genetic data that is potentially changing hands,' says bioethicist Anya Prince at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Researchers, who use the company's data to...
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