Talk

I’ve been pleased to see my company’s new product, DNA Archive receive so much immediate attention. Yesterday’s Science has a wonderful write-up:

Here’s a new item for your family album: your genes. For $175, DNA Direct, a clinical genetic testing outfit in San Francisco, California, will provide a kit you can use to swab your cheek and mail in a sample. A week or two later, you’ll receive three vials containing your air-dried and chemically stabilized DNA, which can be stored indefinitely at room temperature and reactivated with a few drops of water. The samples have more than sentimental value. The company suggests they might come in handy for genealogy, family medical histories, settling inheritance suits, determining paternity in the face of an elusive male, or — in a pinch — identifying your remains should some dire mishap render them unrecognizable.

Also, thanks to the following bloggers who have commented on DNA Archive:

• Aminopop: Five Reasons to Save Grandma’s DNA
• Genetics and Health: Xmas Prezzie List
• The Issue

Technorati Tags: dna archive, science magazine, dna, storage, dna direct

Can’t afford $1000 to buy your loved one of the latest, “coolest” genetics offerings? Or perhaps you find genome scans intriguing but not ready for prime-time? Check out a more modest but reasonable, forward-thinking stocking stuffer: DNA Archive.

This latest offering from DNA Direct is the first home DNA storage that uses laboratory quality technology (Biomatrica’s SampleMatrix) to preserve DNA in a medium that can be safely stored at room temperature, and easily reconstituted by any testing lab.

Why would you want to store DNA? Well, everyone has different reasons. Perhaps you want to trace your family’s lineage to Thomas Jefferson. As memoirist Edward Ball will attest, DNA is the new locket of hair that we can preserve for future generations. (more…)