Headline-Making News

Another story making headlines this week involves a simple test that can reveal everything from your family lineage to your predisposition to obesity. In November 2008, Time magazine named this affordable DNA kit the invention of the year!

This at-home genetics test, which costs $399, was developed by 23andMe, a company founded by Linda Avey, a mother of three, and Anne Wojcicki, the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Linda and Anne say the test once cost $1,000, but as technology evolves, the price goes down.

Thanks to these women, genetics testing is now as easy as spitting into a test tube. How does it work? First, you log on to their website, 23andMe.com, and order the service. Then, they ship you a saliva kit, which you spit into and mail back. "It gets sent off to the laboratory, where they read these 600,000 points in your genome," Linda says. "Then, about four to six weeks later, you get an e-mail from us that your account has been set up. You log in, and that's when you can start exploring your genome."

Oprah says the identification and interpretation of 600,000 genetic markers will estimate your predisposition for more than 90 traits and conditions, including your odds of developing cancer, having a heart attack or a stroke and going blind.