Latest news with #AshkenaziJewish
CNET
20-05-2025
- Business
- CNET
23andMe Data Breach Settlement: Claims Officially Open, See If You Qualify
Getty Images/Viva Tung/CNET A massive data breach in 2023 sparked a prolonged period of turmoil for the popular genetic testing company 23andMe, leading to the announcement on May 19 that it has been acquired by Regeneron. Now, claims are open for the huge $30 million settlement that also resulted from the breach. The San Francisco-based company, which allows people to submit genetic materials and get a snapshot of their ancestry, announced in October 2023 that hackers had accessed customer information in a data breach, but the company didn't confirm the full extent of the incident until December. Around half of the company's 14 million people saw their personal information exposed in the leak, which first began in April 2023. An eventual lawsuit, filed in January 2024, accused 23andMe of not doing enough to protect its customers. It also accused the company of not notifying certain customers with Chinese or Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry that their data was targeted specifically and spread on the dark web. It later opted to settle the suit for $30 million. "We have executed a settlement agreement for an aggregate cash payment of $30 million to settle all US claims regarding the 2023 credential stuffing security incident," a 23andMe spokesman told CNET. "We continue to believe this settlement is in the best interest of 23andMe customers, and we look forward to finalizing the agreement." Now, a few months on from that decision, there's finally an official method available for you to make your claim and potentially get paid by 23andMe, in some cases as much as $10,000. Keep reading to get all the details you need, and for more, find out why T-Mobile settlement checks have been delayed and see if you're able to claim a piece of Apple's Siri privacy settlement. Read more: Best Identity Theft Protection and Monitoring Service How many people were affected by the 23andMe data breach? The settlement could cover roughly 6.9 million 23andMe customers whose data was targeted in the leak. To qualify for the proposed settlement, 23andMe users must also have been a US resident on Aug. 11, 2023. That 6.9 million number includes around 5.5 million users of 23andMe's DNA Relatives profiles, which lets users find and connect with genetic relatives. The other 1.4 million people affected by the breach used another service known as Family Tree, which predicts a family tree based on the DNA users share with relatives, 23andMe said. How much money could you get as part of the 23andMe settlement? At the top end, 23andMe has said that it will pay out up to $10,000 with an "Extraordinary Claim" to users who can verify that they suffered hardships as a direct result of their information being stolen in the data breach that resulted in unreimbursed costs. This includes costs resulting from "identity fraud or falsified tax returns," from acquiring physical security systems, or from receiving mental health treatment. Residents of Alaska, California, Illinois and Oregon who were impacted by the breach can also apply for a payment as part of the proposed settlement, since those states have genetic privacy laws with damages provisions. The payments for these individuals are expected to be around $100, depending on how many people file for them, a settlement document said. Also, a smaller subset of affected users whose personal health information was impacted by the breach will be able to apply for a payment of $100. Infographic credit: Gianmarco Chumbe/CNET; Background image:Will the settlement include anything else? Beyond those payments, 23andMe will also offer impacted users three years of a security monitoring service called Privacy Shield, which filings described as providing "substantial web and dark web monitoring." How can I apply for the 23andMe settlement? In order to file a claim electronically, you can do so using this official online portal from the Kroll Restructuring Administration. An additional online form is available if you would like proof of your claim sent to you. Potential claimants can also download and print out hard copies of the claim form and proof of claim form if they wish to submit them by mail. If you're planning to use this method, send your forms to one of the addresses listed on the official claims website. The deadline to make your claim is July 14. For more, read this explainer on how class-action lawsuits work.
CNET
19-05-2025
- Business
- CNET
Can I Delete My 23andMe DNA? Everything to Know as Firm Sells to Regeneron
Capping off a dire run of bad news in the last year, 23andMe announced this week that it will be acquired by the pharmaceutical company, Regeneron. While this turn of events might not be the worst-case scenario for many, the many ordeals that the genetic-testing firm has weathered recently still has a lot of folks wondering: Can I delete the genetic info that I sent to company? And how exactly can I go about doing that? As we grow increasingly aware of how much of our personal information is being gathered across the internet, our genetic information is perhaps the most personal data we could possibly share with anyone, let alone with companies. But over 15 million people did just that with the popular genetic-testing and ancestry-tracking company 23andMe. These concerns certainly haven't been soothed by recent news out of the company. In November, 23andMe announced that it would be laying off around 40 percent of its workforce, in the wake of a major data leak and ongoing financial and management struggles at the company, which has seen its stock price plummet by 70 percent. Around 6.9 million users were affected by the data breach, with investigations finding that the hackers responsible for the attack specifically targeted the accounts of users with Chinese or Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, which they spread on the dark web. After all of that, and four years of dwindling sales, 23andMe entered bankruptcy proceedings and was ultimately acquired by Regeneron. From the start, the company pledged that it would only agree to be bought by a company that would comply with certain data privacy standards, and Regeneron has now pledged to "ensure compliance with 23andMe's consumer privacy policies and applicable laws with respect to the treatment of customer data." As noted in a report from 404Media, this move means that 23andMe's data trove will most likely be used in the study and production of new medical drugs, which it compared favorably to past acquisitions of similar data by companies that make "DNA forensics products for law enforcement." While 23andMe might have avoided that fate for now, that might not be enough assurance for privacy-conscious people out there. To get all the details about what you can do with the data 23andMe has from you, keep reading, and for more, find out how much 23andMe will pay out in a class-action settlement and read about the complex relationship between DNA testing companies and privacy. You can also check out CNET's Best DNA Testing services of 2025 list. Can you delete your 23andMe account? Yes. If you used 23andMe for DNA testing, you have the option to delete your account and personal information whenever you choose. A 23andMe spokesperson told CNET that once your request is submitted, the process of deleting data begins "immediately and automatically" and can take about 30 days to complete. But not all your data is deleted in 30 days. What data is deleted after you close your 23andMe account? The answer to this is more complicated. Your 23andMe data will be deleted after you request the deletion of your profile, a company spokesperson told CNET. The process gives you the option to have the company discard your genetic sample, too, if you initially requested that 23andMe store it. And your information will no longer be usable for any of the company's research projects. However, there's more to it than that. "If a customer opted in to 23andMe Research, their Personal Information will no longer be used in any future research projects," the spokesperson said. "Please note, data cannot be removed from research that's already been conducted." Bay Area news site SFGate found that genotyping laboratories that worked on a 23andMe customer's sample will also hold on to the customer's sex, date of birth and genetic information, even after they're "deleted." A 23andMe representative said that by law, labs are required to retain the information for a set period of time -- from two to three years -- after which it will be deleted. The representative also said that this data is retained only by the genotyping lab, not 23andMe itself. If the lab were to be the subject of any sort of breach, the data it retains is anonymous -- it does not include a name, address, email, phone number or other contact information -- and that the genetic information included is raw and unprocessed. Before you delete your 23andMe account, download your data Before closing your account, consider saving all your 23andMe information first, including your raw genotyping data, your DNA relatives and your ancestry composition. Some of the files can take up to 30 days to prepare, so make a plan for how you want to approach this. Downloading your raw DNA file will let you upload your genetic data to another service for family or ethnicity searches, if you want. Here's how to download your raw genotyping data and related information: Log into your 23andMe account. Head to Settings and in a browser scroll to the bottom and tap View next to 23andMe Data. In the app, scroll to the bottom of Settings and tap Access your data under 23andMe data. Here you can pick which information you want to download before you delete your account, including an overview of your 23andMe reports, your ancestry composition raw data, your family tree data and your raw genetic data. Note: These files come through as PDF, TXT, JSON and other formats, and you'll need the appropriate apps to view the data. For your DNA file, 23andMe will send you an email with a link you use to download the data. You can also recreate everything in spreadsheets, as mapped out here, or take screenshots of everything. Some of the downloads come through right away, but some can take 30 days, 23andMe said. How to delete your 23andMe account and data Once you delete your data from 23andMe, unless you've downloaded it first, it's gone, the company warns. Ready? Here's how to delete your data: Head to Settings again, scroll down to 23andMe Data, and tap View. You may be asked to verify your birthdate to continue. If you've already downloaded or otherwise captured all the information you want to keep, scroll to the bottom and tap the Permanently Delete Data button. 23andMe will send you an email asking you to confirm your request. Once you do, the company will begin the deletion process and you will lose access to your account. If you had the company store your genetic samples, it will discard them. For more, find out how 23andMe fares against its main competitor, Ancestry.
Medscape
19-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Fast Five Quiz: Identify and Treat Crohn's Disease
Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) of autoimmune origin. The age of onset shows a bimodal distribution: globally, the peak onset of Crohn's disease is between 15 and 30 years of age and again between 40 and 60 years, but the disease can be diagnosed at any age. Patients of Ashkenazi Jewish descent are at higher risk of developing Crohn's disease than any other ethnic group. Factors that influence the course of disease include age of onset, distribution, disease activity, and phenotype. Multiple evidence-based management strategies exist, reflecting the complexity of the disease and the need to tailor treatment to individual patient characteristics and clinical course. Are you ready to identify and treat Crohn's disease? Check your knowledge with this quick quiz. Medscape © 2025 WebMD, LLC Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape. Cite this: Fast Five Quiz: Identify and Treat Crohn's Disease - Medscape - May 19, 2025.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
BillionToOne Launches Expanded Panel for UNITY Fetal Risk™ Screen, Setting New Standard in Prenatal Testing
The new offering provides precise fetal risk assessment for up to 14 prevalent and actionable recessive and X-linked conditions, in addition to aneuploidies, as early as nine weeks into pregnancy — all from a single maternal blood sample MENLO PARK, Calif., May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- BillionToOne, Inc., a molecular diagnostics company with a mission to create the most powerful and accurate tests that are accessible to all, announced today the launch of an expanded offering for providers utilizing the UNITY Fetal Risk™ Screen. This expanded offering screens for the five recessive, severe, and actionable conditions that American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) guidelines recommend offering screening for in every pregnancy1 plus nine additional actionable conditions commonly found in Ashkenazi Jewish and pan-ethnic populations.2 Available as early as nine weeks into pregnancy, this increases the clinical impact of BillionToOne's first-and-only cell-free DNA testing for such single-gene conditions. It assesses fetal risk for up to 14 prevalent and clinically actionable recessive and X-linked conditions, without requiring a partner sample. This new addition complements the existing UNITY Fetal Risk™ Screen 5-gene panel, delivering critical insights for OB/GYNs, Maternal Fetal Medicine specialists, Genetic Counselors, other providers, and patients and families alike. Unlike traditional carrier screenings that provide generic reproductive risks of up to 1 in 4, UNITY Fetal Risk Screen delivers a precise fetal risk ranging from as low as 1 in 5000 to as high as 9 in 10, enabling more informed decision-making during pregnancy3. With the introduction of the expanded panel, UNITY Fetal Risk Screen is available for both 5-gene and 14-gene offerings. The 14-gene offering is a combination of 5-gene carrier screening panel, 8-gene carrier screening panel, Fragile X testing, and cell-free DNA test for fetal risk assessment when a pregnant mother is identified as a carrier for one of the conditions. Therefore, it covers a broader range of genetic conditions, many of which are clinically actionable if caught early, enabling families to take early steps toward managing potential health risks for their babies. Specifics about each panel, including conditions screened, can be found here. "The ability to screen for a more comprehensive range of conditions at just nine weeks gestation represents a paradigm shift in prenatal care," said Dr. Aabeen Hagroo, DO, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Trinity Health IHA Medical Group. "The expanded 14-gene offering allows us to identify potential health challenges months before conventional testing methods. For conditions where early intervention is crucial, this additional time can be transformative – allowing families to connect with specialists, coordinate care plans, and access treatments that could significantly improve their child's health outcomes." BillionToOne's UNITY Fetal Risk Screen uses patented Quantitative Counting Template™ (QCT™) technology to analyze both maternal carrier status and fetal cell-free fetal DNA (cfDNA) from a single blood sample. QCTs count cfDNA molecules with single base pair precision, accurately assessing fetal risk for recessive conditions when the mother is a carrier, without requiring partner testing.4 This technology represents the highest level of resolution, advancing beyond the detection capabilities used for aneuploidies and microdeletions to accurately assess recessive conditions. "At BillionToOne, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of molecular diagnostics and improving prenatal care," said Oguzhan Atay, Ph.D., Co-founder and CEO of BillionToOne. "By expanding our products to include a 14-gene offering that includes these prevalent and actionable conditions, we're providing healthcare providers and expectant parents with vital information that can significantly impact pregnancy management and long-term health outcomes." The 14-gene offering provides several key advantages for both healthcare providers and expectant parents: Earlier detection of up to 14 genetic conditions at nine weeks gestation Precise, pregnancy-specific risk assessment from a single maternal sample Timely information for early intervention planning, including access to gene therapies, dietary modifications, and specialized care Simplified testing process without the need for partner samples For more information about UNITY, visit About BillionToOneHeadquartered in Menlo Park, California, BillionToOne is a precision diagnostics company on a mission to make molecular diagnostics more powerful, accurate, and accessible for all. The company's single-molecule NGS (smNGS) platform, which includes the patented Quantitative Counting Template (QCT) technology, is the only multiplex methodology that can accurately count DNA molecules at the single-molecule level. For more information, please visit Media Contact: billiontoone@ 1 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2017). Carrier screening in the age of genomic medicine (Committee Opinion No.690). Obstetrics & Gynecology, 129(3), e35–e40.2 BillionToOne, Inc. Carrier frequencies. Retrieved April 2025, from Hoskovec, J., et al. (2023). Maternal carrier screening with single-gene NIPS provides accurate fetal risk assessments for recessive conditions. Genetics in Medicine, 25(2), 100334.4 Tsao, D. S., et al. (2019). A novel high-throughput molecular counting method with single base-pair resolution enables accurate single-gene NIPT. Scientific Reports, 9, 14382. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE BillionToOne Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
You Can File a Claim for Part of 23andMe's $30 Million Data Breach Settlement Right Now
Claims are now open for individuals impacted by DNA-tracking company 23andMe's 2023 data breach, and we've got all the details about how to opt in and how much you might be able to get paid. The San Francisco-based company, which allows people to submit genetic materials and get a snapshot of their ancestry, announced in October 2023 that hackers had accessed customer information in a data breach, but the company didn't confirm the full extent of the incident until December. Around half of the company's 14 million people saw their personal information exposed in the leak, which first began in April 2023. The lawsuit, filed in January 2024, accused 23andMe of not doing enough to protect its customers. It also accused 23andMe of not notifying certain customers with Chinese or Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry that their data was targeted specifically and spread on the dark web. The company opted to settle the suit for $30 million. "We have executed a settlement agreement for an aggregate cash payment of $30 million to settle all US claims regarding the 2023 credential stuffing security incident," a 23andMe spokesman told CNET. "We continue to believe this settlement is in the best interest of 23andMe customers, and we look forward to finalizing the agreement." Now, a few months on, there's finally an official method available for you to make your claim and potentially get paid by 23andMe, in some cases as much as $10,000. Keep reading to get all the details you need, and for more, find out why T-Mobile settlement checks have been delayed and see if you're able to claim a piece of Apple's Siri privacy settlement. Read more: Best Identity Theft Protection and Monitoring Service The settlement could cover roughly 6.9 million 23andMe customers whose data was targeted in the leak. To qualify for the proposed settlement, 23andMe users must also have been a US resident on Aug. 11, 2023. That 6.9 million number includes around 5.5 million users of 23andMe's DNA Relatives profiles, which lets users find and connect with genetic relatives. The other 1.4 million people affected by the breach used another service known as Family Tree, which predicts a family tree based on the DNA users share with relatives, 23andMe said. At the top end, 23andMe has said that it will pay out up to $10,000 with an "Extraordinary Claim" to users who can verify that they suffered hardships as a direct result of their information being stolen in the data breach that resulted in unreimbursed costs. This includes costs resulting from "identity fraud or falsified tax returns," from acquiring physical security systems, or from receiving mental health treatment. Residents of Alaska, California, Illinois and Oregon who were impacted by the breach can also apply for a payment as part of the proposed settlement, since those states have genetic privacy laws with damages provisions. The payments for these individuals are expected to be around $100, depending on how many people file for them, a settlement document said. Also, a smaller subset of affected users whose personal health information was impacted by the breach will be able to apply for a payment of $100. Infographic credit: Gianmarco Chumbe/CNET; Background image:Beyond those payments, 23andMe will also offer impacted users three years of a security monitoring service called Privacy Shield, which filings described as providing "substantial web and dark web monitoring." In order to file a claim electronically, you can do so using this official online portal from the Kroll Restructuring Administration. An additional online form is available if you would like proof of your claim sent to you. Potential claimants can also download and print out hard copies of the claim form and proof of claim form if they wish to submit them by mail. If you're planning to use this method, send your forms to one of the addresses listed on the official claims website. The deadline to make your claim is July 14. For more, read this explainer on how class-action lawsuits work. Protect your personal data and get peace of mind with CNET's top pick for identity theft protection. See at Aura
