Hillis is also a director at Applied Minds.

Another option could be to swallow a micro device and have it try measure these indicators, but I am not sure if that would work, or if it qualifies as non-invasive.

I have found several patents through google patent search also.

In anyone has any ideas, knows of anything, or has comments as to accuracy and so on, please leave a comment.

Check out Hans Rosling's software to do this here:
http://www.gapminder.org/

The result? The older mice showed blood levels with increased levels of certain niche stem cells that had returned to youthful levels. One theory is that there actually exist cell signals in the young mice which activate pathways in the older mice to return to youthful levels.

You can read a full review of the paper here, however, the paper is currently under review at Nature and may be retracted. I will await the results with interest.

Mayack S.R. et al. Systemic signals regulate ageing and rejuvenation of blood stem cell niches. 2010(463):495-500.

What is the business plan of 23 and Me?

I think for most people it would seem like the business plan for 23 and me would be to simply charge you for the service. Currently you pay around $400 for the information, down from $1000 in 2007. But I don't think that is it the end of it, from here you could see the service making money in the following ways:

1. Being an affiliate for various pharmaceutics recommended specifically for you
2. Recommending or even selling diet and lifestyle plans just for you
3. Partnering or being an affiliate for other life tracking services, like the ZEO sleep monitor
4. Licensing their data-set for scientific studies or to accelerate pharmaceutical development

It is this last potential monetization opportunity that intrigues me the most, as I find it to be the most beneficial to humanity.

How 23 and Me can Accelerate Scientific Research

I recently read an article in Wired Magazine called: Sergey Brin's Search for a Parkinson's Cure. The article asserted that a lot of genetic data combined with survey data could be used to accelerate the accuracy of genetic testing, and the correlations found in the data would predict what science is already finding. The method was used and a paper was published on genetic causes of Parkinson's Disease. The method marks a shift from traditional scientific research which is painfully slow due the process of acquiring funding, review boards, internal politics, and a general lack of capital. Some would argue that review boards are good, and they are right, however, I don't think anyone wants to argue that the lack of good cures for cancer is a good thing. I am just saying that the scientific process could use a boost.

23 and Me provides an interesting prospect for that boost. They are having consumers pay them so they can collect a mountain of data, which in turn, provides value for the consumer and provides value for science. If this was put in the light of traditional research funding, it would take millions of dollars to get everyone's genome and survey data. The whole concept poses an argument for a sea change in biomedical research. Why aren't there more companies like 23 and Me providing tests for cooler proteins, like p16ink4a, which can measure your biological age. What would be even better at 23 and Me is to submit your data every month and track changes in gene expression over time. Now that would be really interesting.

I did some investigative reporting today. On what you may ask? Well basically what it would mean for me to be a PhD student in biostatistics. What it would mean in terms of what I could do, what the future challenges are for the field, and things like that.

What I found is that the PhD program would be course intensive at first, and from there it would move on to developing novel statistical methods. The novel part is important as it also counts for the "original research" requirement so often bandied about with that PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) thing. Yes.

But on the whole, the field of bioinformatics, biostatistics, what have you, appears to be one to me that is waiting for technology to happen. That is to say, the field is less likely to be advanced by nifty statistical methodologies that somehow can predict how the human genetic code is translated to create life, and is more likely to be advanced by cheaper more effective microchips and micropossessors which can capture all that cool RNA gene expression data which is working all the time in your body and making you, you.

Of course, this now brings on a daunting information technology job. One that demands high speed high capacity servers and brings a company like Google to mind in a hurry. But also, I must say, that it also appears to me to be an appealing entrepreneurial challenge, and one which could arguably have a greater impact on the field of genetic medicine than fancy statistical/computational techniques.

Of course, in fairness, I should also say that said techniques are yet vital, and that both should at least, develop at the same time.

The novel to me centers around a satire within a satire. The first one being that cloned humans who are created for the purpose of donating organs are subhuman, born into the world without reason, and bound to an unavoidable fate of donating organs till they die. I kept on wondering in my head why the characters didn't just try to make a run for it and escape their fate, till I remembered their whole situation paralleled the human condition with death. How as the use of technology grows in our society we are all becoming dehumanized. Or trans-humanized if you will. Anyway, it was a surprisingly deep novel. I strongly recommend it.

1. Find drugs which mimic the benefits of caloric restriction. This would be things like resveratrol, and work by Sitrus pharmaceuticals.

2. Looking for clues in the very old. Scientists can study a sample of the 1 out of 7 million people who reach the "supercentenarian" age of 110 with few bad health effects. Looking at their genes or other molecular markers can give us clues to new medicines.