Mar 27th 2025
Spit in a tube and, for about $100, discover secrets held by your DNA. That was the promise of 23andMe, a direct-to-consumer genetic-testing company. It proved popular—more than 15m customers coughed up to receive tailored reports. Insights ranged from the banal (there is a 48% chance you have freckles) to the potentially helpful (you have an increased risk of type-2 diabetes). Ultimately, though, the venture was unprofitable. On March 23rd the firm filed for bankruptcy.
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BusinessThis article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Spit take”
Business
March 29th 2025
- →Musk Inc is under serious threat
- →Lobbyists hope that Trump will produce a bonanza
- →Barnes & Noble, a bookstore, is back in the business of selling books
- →How safe is your DNA in a bankruptcy?
- →ASML’s boss has a warning for Europe
- →What space, submarines and polar research teach about teamwork
- →Big law’s capitulation to Donald Trump may be bad for business

From the March 29th 2025 edition
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