>But if that's the case, how is anything on the 23andme test cheap?
23andme is actually doing original research. It scares me a little bit that I did it though because 1) I am afraid of genetic discrimination even though some states have made this illegal. 2) I found out genetic disorders that I did not know I had. Fortunately none are horrendously serious but I found out what will probably kill me at some point like it killed some of my grandparents.
For research, they ask as many survey questions as you are willing to answer - anything from "Do you have psoriasis?" to "Do you cry easily?" and many many more. They are then able to correlate answers to these questions with your genetic makeup. The final result should give additional information when aggregated among all their customers.
Beyond that, I assume that many genes aren't patented just like many business processes are not patented. The person that first discovered the gene didn't go through the time and expense to patent it (for whatever reason) and because there was prior art, it's not a good target for other people to patent either.
23andme is actually doing original research. It scares me a little bit that I did it though because 1) I am afraid of genetic discrimination even though some states have made this illegal. 2) I found out genetic disorders that I did not know I had. Fortunately none are horrendously serious but I found out what will probably kill me at some point like it killed some of my grandparents.
For research, they ask as many survey questions as you are willing to answer - anything from "Do you have psoriasis?" to "Do you cry easily?" and many many more. They are then able to correlate answers to these questions with your genetic makeup. The final result should give additional information when aggregated among all their customers.
Beyond that, I assume that many genes aren't patented just like many business processes are not patented. The person that first discovered the gene didn't go through the time and expense to patent it (for whatever reason) and because there was prior art, it's not a good target for other people to patent either.