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Your DNA Is on the Clearance Rack | GeneBrief #004

Your DNA Is on the Clearance Rack | GeneBrief #004

You paid to discover your roots — they’ll sell them to survive.

Mario S
May 27, 2025

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23andMe Is Collapsing. What Happens to 15 Million Genomes?

23andMe is reportedly nearing bankruptcy — and with it, the future of more than 15 million people's genetic data is suddenly in limbo.

The company holds one of the world’s largest private DNA databases, including health risk profiles, ancestry data, and trait reports. Now, that data is being treated as a potential corporate asset.

Privacy experts are alarmed. While 23andMe claims user data is de-identified, the risk of re-identification — especially when paired with third-party info — is real.

Several state attorneys general have urged users to delete their data entirely. But many customers may not realize their full genome is still on file.

This isn’t just a tech company collapsing — it’s a warning shot for the entire industry: Who really owns your genome? And what happens when it’s up for sale?

A Pig’s Kidney. A Human Patient. A Medical First.

In early 2025, 53-year-old Towana Looney became the longest-living recipient of a pig kidney — a gene-edited organ designed to avoid immune rejection.

The surgery, performed at NYU Langone Health, used a kidney from a pig that had been genetically modified to include human-compatible genes and silence immune triggers.

Within three months, Towana’s new kidney was fully functional — with no signs of rejection. She returned home with normal kidney function and made medical history.

With 100,000+ people on U.S. transplant waitlists, this success points to a future where gene-edited pigs could solve the donor organ shortage.

The FDA has approved clinical trials — and what was once science fiction is now one of the most promising frontiers in modern medicine.

Your Cells Speak in Layers. This AI Understands All of Them

Epigene Labs has built mCUBE, an AI platform that analyzes the full biological machinery — not just your genome.

It pulls together genomic, transcriptomic, epigenetic, and proteomic data to find patterns that signal disease — especially in cancer.

The goal? Pinpoint drug targets and identify real biomarkers — faster, more accurately, and at scale.

Most diagnostics stop at mutations. mCUBE goes further — revealing how your cells are actually behaving, not just what they’re coded to do.

In the race for precision cancer treatment, this AI could be the tool that finally connects all the dots.

🧠 The Brief Byte

Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold has predicted over 200 million protein structures — nearly every protein known to science.
— DeepMind, 2024

🔦 Spotlight

Minicircle

Injectable gene therapy — without the middleman.
Minicircle is developing plasmid-based therapies you can self-administer at home, targeting muscle growth, fat loss, and biological age reversal.

Their first candidate? A gene that increases IGF-1 expression — the same growth factor some athletes (and biohackers) already try to hack. But this time, it’s encoded into your cells.

It's still in human trials. But the vision is clear: gene therapy as a downloadable upgrade. Take it at home. Inject it in minutes. Get molecular-level enhancements that last for months.

It’s controversial. It’s futuristic. And it might be the future of medicine.

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