Over in the US on Tuesday, it was announced that Google invested almost $4m in 23andMe. 23andMe is a privately held genetics company that promises to help consumers understand and browse their own genetic information - "Don't panic - we're here to help". The Wall Street Journal stated that 23andMe "aims to unite people with copies of their genetic blueprint" but it’s not Google’s first investment into genetics. In 2005, the search giant invested in Craig Venter’s genome project (which is in direct competition with the Human Genome Project). Venter’s vision is to work with Google to catalogue the genome and make it searchable.
Now I’m more than happy allowing Google to ‘read’ my blog and visit my site on a daily basis but I’m not as happy allowing them to sequence my genetic code. Who will then own my code – Google or me? Whatever happens with these investments, their vision to collate and organise the world’s data is defiantly moving on.
Saying that, who needs Google when you've got TV? The BBC Wales and Yellow Duck programme ‘Coming Home’ did a great job of uniting the likes of Donny Osman and Petula Clark with their Welsh roots. Finding out that Paul Daniels, the renowned magician and conjurer, is an 1/8th Welsh pu a big healthy smile on my face. Even Google couldn’t have guessed that Debbie McGee husband had connections to Carmarthen.
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