<ul class="summary-list"><li><span>This is an excerpt from a story delivered exclusively to Business Insider Intelligence Digital Health Briefing subscribers. </span></li><li><span>To receive the full story plus other insights each morning, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/digital-health?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=content_marketing&amp;itm_campaign=briefing_post&amp;itm_content=top_text&amp;itm_term=bundle_subscription_text_link-ancestrycom-reportedly-preparing-to-go-public-2019-4">click here</a>.</span></li></ul><p>Utah-based direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing company Ancestry.com is reportedly preparing to go public amid amplified demand from consumers and investors for DTC DNA tests,<span> </span><a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmxvb21iZXJnLmNvbS9uZXdzL2FydGljbGVzLzIwMTktMDQtMTgvYW5jZXN0cnktY29tLWlzLXNhaWQtdG8tcHJlcGFyZS1pcG8tYXMtZG5hLXRlc3QtaW5kdXN0cnktYm9vbXM/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B1cedc1cf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmxvb21iZXJnLmNvbS9uZXdzL2FydGljbGVzLzIwMTktMDQtMTgvYW5jZXN0cnktY29tLWlzLXNhaWQtdG8tcHJlcGFyZS1pcG8tYXMtZG5hLXRlc3QtaW5kdXN0cnktYm9vbXM/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B1cedc1cf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1556197925056000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHm9GIMcgvV7FXrHXJ9cAojzURNfg">according to</a><span> </span>Bloomberg.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right no-rightrail"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div></p><p>Ancestry had a brief stint as a public company beginning in 2009 before a $1.6 billion buyout in 2012 brought it back into the private sector. And Ancestry considered going public again in 2017, but put an IPO on the back burner until now, amid a crop of other<span> </span><a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbnRlbGxpZ2VuY2UuYnVzaW5lc3NpbnNpZGVyLmNvbS9wb3N0L3VuaXRlZGhlYWx0aGNhcmUtbGF1bmNoZXMtc29jaWFsLWRldGVybWluYW50cy1wcm9qZWN0LWFsZXhhLWlzLWhpcGFhLWNvbXBsaWFudC1pcy0yMDE5LXRoZS15ZWFyLW9mLWRpZ2l0YWwtaGVhbHRoLWlwb3MtMjAxOS00/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B4c020b8e" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbnRlbGxpZ2VuY2UuYnVzaW5lc3NpbnNpZGVyLmNvbS9wb3N0L3VuaXRlZGhlYWx0aGNhcmUtbGF1bmNoZXMtc29jaWFsLWRldGVybWluYW50cy1wcm9qZWN0LWFsZXhhLWlzLWhpcGFhLWNvbXBsaWFudC1pcy0yMDE5LXRoZS15ZWFyLW9mLWRpZ2l0YWwtaGVhbHRoLWlwb3MtMjAxOS00/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B4c020b8e&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1556197925056000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH7sqe0i8SFtUC08b2EvKhurWs00g">rumored</a><span> </span>digital health IPOs.</p><p><strong>Here's how Ancestry stacks up to its chief competitors:</strong></p><ul><li>Ancestry has sold more tests than its rivals. Ancestry <a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYnVzaW5lc3N3aXJlLmNvbS9uZXdzL2hvbWUvMjAxODExMjkwMDUyMDgvZW4vQW5jZXN0cnktQnJlYWtzLU5vdmVtYmVyLVNhbGVzLVJlY29yZA/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B7d1b3acd" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYnVzaW5lc3N3aXJlLmNvbS9uZXdzL2hvbWUvMjAxODExMjkwMDUyMDgvZW4vQW5jZXN0cnktQnJlYWtzLU5vdmVtYmVyLVNhbGVzLVJlY29yZA/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B7d1b3acd&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1556197925056000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEpNvtxtUhytbZ7xXfwzQEbHgS9XA">reported</a>14 million sales of its DNA kits worldwide as of November 2018, while major competitor 23andMe has only <a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZm9yYmVzLmNvbS9zaXRlcy9xdW9yYS8yMDE5LzA0LzExLzIzYW5kbWUtaXMtZG9pbmctZXh0ZW5zaXZlLWdlbmV0aWMtcmVzZWFyY2gtaGVyZXMtaG93LXRoYXQta25vd2xlZGdlLXdpbGwtYmUtcHV0LXRvLXVzZS8jMTMxNmM4YTU4YmVj/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B3e75123e" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZm9yYmVzLmNvbS9zaXRlcy9xdW9yYS8yMDE5LzA0LzExLzIzYW5kbWUtaXMtZG9pbmctZXh0ZW5zaXZlLWdlbmV0aWMtcmVzZWFyY2gtaGVyZXMtaG93LXRoYXQta25vd2xlZGdlLXdpbGwtYmUtcHV0LXRvLXVzZS8jMTMxNmM4YTU4YmVj/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B3e75123e&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1556197925056000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE3uZJdTJlCZmUFcTszrp_HYLlOkw">sold</a> 10 million as of April 2019, per Forbes.</li><li>But competitors are bulking up their offerings with disease-specific screening tools. Ancestry has stuck to tests pertaining to ethnicity and family history, while the competition has branched out: 23andMe allows consumers to opt into tests that assess risk for prevalent diseases like certain types of<span> </span><a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbnRlbGxpZ2VuY2UuYnVzaW5lc3NpbnNpZGVyLmNvbS9wb3N0L2NvbnN1bWVycy13YW50LWRpZ2l0YWwtaGVhbHRoLTIwMTgtMw/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B102bb040" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbnRlbGxpZ2VuY2UuYnVzaW5lc3NpbnNpZGVyLmNvbS9wb3N0L2NvbnN1bWVycy13YW50LWRpZ2l0YWwtaGVhbHRoLTIwMTgtMw/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B102bb040&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1556197925056000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHuAZ_F2aP6PFZN5TqcW6etVPg_2w">cancers</a>and<span> </span><a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbnRlbGxpZ2VuY2UuYnVzaW5lc3NpbnNpZGVyLmNvbS9wb3N0L2hvc3BpdGFscy1mYWlsLXRvLWV4ZWN1dGUtYW5hbHl0aWNzLXN0cmF0ZWd5LXRydW1wLWJ1ZGdldC1zbGFzaGVzLWhlYWx0aC1mdW5kaW5nLTIzYW5kbWUtZXhwYW5kcy1pbnRvLWRpYWJldGVzLTIwMTktMw/5adde55340f86675182a51c9Bbf45d7d2" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbnRlbGxpZ2VuY2UuYnVzaW5lc3NpbnNpZGVyLmNvbS9wb3N0L2hvc3BpdGFscy1mYWlsLXRvLWV4ZWN1dGUtYW5hbHl0aWNzLXN0cmF0ZWd5LXRydW1wLWJ1ZGdldC1zbGFzaGVzLWhlYWx0aC1mdW5kaW5nLTIzYW5kbWUtZXhwYW5kcy1pbnRvLWRpYWJldGVzLTIwMTktMw/5adde55340f86675182a51c9Bbf45d7d2&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1556197925056000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH23LCSixc8qp2wW5Qvxvyg2teikA">diabetes</a><span>, a</span>nd Helix<span> </span><a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYnVzaW5lc3NpbnNpZGVyLmNvbS9oZWxpeC1uZXctZ2VuZXRpY3MtZG5hLWhlYWx0aC10ZXN0LWJyZWFzdC1jYW5jZXItY2hvbGVzdGVyb2wtMjAxOS0z/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B47de9689" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYnVzaW5lc3NpbnNpZGVyLmNvbS9oZWxpeC1uZXctZ2VuZXRpY3MtZG5hLWhlYWx0aC10ZXN0LWJyZWFzdC1jYW5jZXItY2hvbGVzdGVyb2wtMjAxOS0z/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B47de9689&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1556197925056000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEVP-6MgWVRIp53s3JbQINYwzJXDw">sells</a><span> </span>genetic tests to evaluate cancer and cholesterol risks.</li></ul><p><strong>The bigger picture</strong><strong>:</strong><span> </span>We think market conditions are ripe for Ancestry to secure a booming IPO.</p><ul><li>Investors would likely flock to Ancestry given a growing consumer market for DTC genetic tests. Ancestry has a securefoothold in a market that's recently skyrocketed: In 2018, the number of consumers who used a DTC DNA test nearly tripled, exceeding 12 million, <a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGVjaG5vbG9neXJldmlldy5jb20vcy82MTAyMzMvMjAxNy13YXMtdGhlLXllYXItY29uc3VtZXItZG5hLXRlc3RpbmctYmxldy11cC8/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B5c92e162" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGVjaG5vbG9neXJldmlldy5jb20vcy82MTAyMzMvMjAxNy13YXMtdGhlLXllYXItY29uc3VtZXItZG5hLXRlc3RpbmctYmxldy11cC8/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B5c92e162&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1556197925056000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFdHCGcrJPiCfmJCkP2ldhzifDX4w">per</a> industry estimates. And 7 million of those consumers used Ancestry, up from 3 million in 2017.</li><li>Investors may be bullish on the potential for Ancestry's troves of consumer data to offer access to new markets. For example, Ancestry could follow in the footsteps of 23andMe, which sold access to its consumer genetics database to British pharma GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for <a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbnRlbGxpZ2VuY2UuYnVzaW5lc3NpbnNpZGVyLmNvbS9wb3N0L2FpLXBsYXRmb3JtLWNhbi1wcmVkaWN0LXBhdGllbnQtbW9ydGFsaXR5LWdzay0yM2FuZG1lLTMwMG0tZGVhbC1ncmFudHMtYWNjZXNzLXRvLWdlbmV0aWMtZGF0YS1hdGhlbmFoZWFsdGgtd2VhdGhlcnMtcTItc3Rvcm0tMjAxOC03/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B07dd613d" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbnRlbGxpZ2VuY2UuYnVzaW5lc3NpbnNpZGVyLmNvbS9wb3N0L2FpLXBsYXRmb3JtLWNhbi1wcmVkaWN0LXBhdGllbnQtbW9ydGFsaXR5LWdzay0yM2FuZG1lLTMwMG0tZGVhbC1ncmFudHMtYWNjZXNzLXRvLWdlbmV0aWMtZGF0YS1hdGhlbmFoZWFsdGgtd2VhdGhlcnMtcTItc3Rvcm0tMjAxOC03/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B07dd613d&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1556197925056000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEoQqQR_EA8OxN9A4xYFDNXjRE7zA">$300 million</a>.</li><li><p>And Ancestry's already held a successful IPO, which could heighten investor confidence that Ancestry is IPO-ready. Ancestry has a management team that has experience taking companies public, which is one of the hallmarks of a successful IPO, PwC<span> </span><a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly91c2Jsb2dzLnB3Yy5jb20vZGVhbHMvd2hhdC1tYWtlcy1hLXN1Y2Nlc3NmdWwtaXBvLw/5adde55340f86675182a51c9Bfeaebc0e" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly91c2Jsb2dzLnB3Yy5jb20vZGVhbHMvd2hhdC1tYWtlcy1hLXN1Y2Nlc3NmdWwtaXBvLw/5adde55340f86675182a51c9Bfeaebc0e&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1556197925056000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFwXDzGda-sfkDK2VKDd9ZP2XbUHg">notes</a>. Ancestry CFO and COO Howard Hochhauser has<span> </span><a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlua2VkaW4uY29tL2luL2hvd2FyZC1ob2NoaGF1c2VyLTU3OTFiODEwLw/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B0cdb3e21" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlua2VkaW4uY29tL2luL2hvd2FyZC1ob2NoaGF1c2VyLTU3OTFiODEwLw/5adde55340f86675182a51c9B0cdb3e21&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1556197925056000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEop1k7Mx_I5dYRqbh7CnJPfJ-4OA">served</a><span> </span>in the same roles since before Ancestry first went public in 2009, and Margo Georgiadis - who Ancestry<span> </span><a href="https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlua2VkaW4uY29tL2luL21hcmdvLWdlb3JnaWFkaXMtMzJhNDM0Mi8/5adde55340f86675182a51c9Bfa2b4e32" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://e.businessinsider.com/click/16671657.2/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlua2VkaW4uY29tL2luL21hcmdvLWdlb3JnaWFkaXMtMzJhNDM0Mi8/5adde55340f86675182a51c9Bfa2b4e32&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1556197925056000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFISLt2aZxxlgtRf8yzZSdLy34eDg">crowned</a><span> </span>CEO in May 2018 - oversaw Discover Financial Services' IPO in 2007, per Linkedin</p></li></ul><p><em><strong>Interested in getting the full story? Here are two ways to get access: </strong></em></p><p>1. Sign up for the Digital Health Briefing to get it delivered to your inbox 6x a week. &gt;&gt; <strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/newsletter-membership?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=content_marketing&amp;itm_campaign=briefing_post&amp;itm_content=get_started_text&amp;itm_term=bii_briefing_text_link-ancestrycom-reportedly-preparing-to-go-public-2019-4&amp;vertical=digitalhealth">Get Started</a></strong></p><p>2. Subscribe to a <em><strong>Premium</strong></em> pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to the Digital Health Briefing, plus more than 250 other expertly researched reports. 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Why Ancestry.com's rumored IPO would be booming

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Diagnostic or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are currently being used to diagnose patients with COVID-19.<br /><br /></li><li>Antibody tests allow for more accurate tracking of the spread of the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword>. People who test positive for coronavirus antibodies can also donate plasma.</li><li>Antigen testing is not on the market yet, but Massachusetts-based E25Bio is among several companies seeking FDA approval for at-home test kits.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>With new information released all the time, it can be difficult to keep track of how doctors are testing for the coronavirus.&amp;</p><p>While identifying and treating infected patients is critical, some tests add to our greater understanding of the pandemic's size, impact, and direction. Here is a breakdown of the differences between diagnostic, antibody, and antigen testing.</p><h2>Diagnostic testing: the frontline defense</h2><p>A diagnostic or a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test is used for someone suspected of being infected with the coronavirus, usually obtained through a nasal or throat swab. <br /><br />Due to the limited supply in the US, though, typically only people with severe symptoms are tested.</p><p><div type="image" title="Hailey Boland, 20, a certified nursing assistant at John C. Fremont Hospital, receives a test for COVID-19 on the first day of testing for Mariposa residents at the Mariposa Alternative School Gym in Mariposa on April 30, 2020." height="4480" width="6720" msid="75589120" hostid="261"></div></p><p>"This test is looking for the presence of viral genetic material indicating the person has a current infection and is likely infectious," epidemiologist Tista Ghosh told Insider.</p><p>"Pathogens can be seen directly in specimens from the patient, often using a microscope, or grown in the laboratory over a period of days to weeks," Stephen Berger, founder of <a href="https://www.gideononline.com/about/team/">the Global Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology Network</a>, said.</p><p><a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/diagnostics/how-do-coronavirus-tests-work">Nucleic acid tests</a>, which are more sensitive in early detection, have been used extensively during the current pandemic. Results can typically take at least one to two days, though more rapid versions are in development. <br /><br />While they can detect the virus in those who are asymptomatic, diagnostic tests present a <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.02.11.20021493v2.full.pdf">false negative in about 30% of cases</a>. Patients are therefore tested twice before being confirmed as noninfectious.</p><h2><keyword id="9037219" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="antibody-testing">Antibody testing</keyword>: Are you immune?</h2><p>People who may have been infected and recovered <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/testing/serology-overview.html">are checked for antibodies</a>, proteins the body creates to help fight off a particular infection.</p><p>Coronavirus antibodies are generally not detectable until <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/when-to-take-an-antibody-test-for-coronavirus-covid-19-2020-5">14 days after symptoms</a> began. <br /><br />"In most viral infections, specific antibodies can be detected for months to years following infection — and in many cases well into old age," says Berger.</p><p><div type="image" title="A strip running a coronavirus antibody test on a blood samples." height="683" width="1024" msid="75589121" hostid="261"></div></p><p>Once someone is confirmed to have the antibodies they're able to donate plasma to patients who are currently infected. But antibody testing is also used to gain a more accurate representation of the pandemic's overall impact.</p><p>Widespread antibody testing can help track where the virus has spread and its fatality rate, and determine whether or not it's appropriate to ease a lockdown.</p><p>Unlike the swab for diagnosis, antibody tests require a blood sample, usually through a finger prick.</p><p>The blood is then examined for two types of antibodies: IgM antibodies, which develop early during an infection, and IgG antibodies, which are more likely to be detected after you've recovered and are a better indicator of at least partial immunity.</p><p>IgM test results can be available in as little as 15 minutes, while IgG tests are sent away to a lab and <a href="https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/HealthU/2020/05/02/covid-19-antibody-testing-pros-cons/">it can take up to a week for results</a>. But some clinics will only perform IgG blood tests because they're more reliable.</p><p>Does having antibodies to the coronavirus mean you're immune? It's not clear.</p><p>"In theory, the presence of these antibodies indicates a person has a low likelihood of being infected again," Ghosh said. "But we do not yet know the degree of immunity or how long this immunity lasts."</p><p>It's also not clear if antibody tests cross-react with antibodies of other, more common coronaviruses or if immunity provided by antibodies from one strain of the coronavirus extends <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-the-coronavirus-mutations-are-actually-nothing-to-worry-about-2020-4">to another strain</a>.</p><p>And a negative result doesn't necessarily mean you didn't have COVID-19. It could mean you have an active infection and just haven't built up any antibodies. Even without symptoms, you'd still be at risk for spreading the virus.</p><p>The FDA has issued <a href="https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/mcm-legal-regulatory-and-policy-framework/emergency-use-authorization#sarscov2antibody">emergency use authorizations</a> to increase antibody testing for the. Currently, there are over 120 different tests on the market, but not all are effective.</p><p>"<a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/04/417276/testing-tests-covid-19-antibody-assays-scrutinized-accuracy-ucsf-uc-berkeley">Early results</a> suggest that many of the serology tests on the market today are inaccurate and unreliable, and may have a high rate of false positives," Ghosh said. "So employers will need to carefully vet the quality of a given serology test before selecting a vendor, and will need to test employees multiple times to reduce the rate of false readings."</p><p>On Monday, the FDA announced that companies have 10 days to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/04/health/fda-antibody-tests-coronavirus.html">prove the accuracy of their antibody tests</a> or risk removal from the market.</p><h2>Antigen testing: the path to reopening America</h2><p>While PCR tests pick up the coronavirus' genetic material, antigen tests register <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/04/24/1000486/antigen-testing-could-faster-cheaper-diagnose-covid-19-coronavirus/">surface proteins</a> on the virus. They're easier to spot, making testing quicker and cheaper, and potentially available for at-home use. </p><p>"The presence of COVID-19 and many other viruses in patient specimens can be confirmed using these antigen tests, usually within minutes to hours," Berger said. "In COVID-19, the viral antigen will already be detectable at the first sign of disease. In fact, many patients will already excrete viral RNA for several days before there are any symptoms whatsoever."</p><p>An antigen can only indicate if you are currently infected, not if you recovered from the virus.</p><p><div type="image" title="deborah birx" height="1333" width="2000" msid="75589122" hostid="261"></div></p><p>White House coronavirus response coordinator Deborah Birx indicated at a recent briefing that reliable antigen testing could help reopen America, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/antigen-versus-antibody-testing-covid-19/story?id=70409446">ABC News reported</a>. <br /><br />"There will never be the ability on a nucleic acid test to do 300 million tests a day or to test everybody before they go to work or to school," Birx said. "But there might be with the antigen test."</p><p>There are no antigen tests currently on the market, but several companies are working on them. OraSure Technologies is developing a home kit that would allow users to test themselves with a saliva sample.</p><p><a href="http://www.e25bio.com/">E25Bio</a>, backed by MIT scientists, is seeking FDA approval for a rapid-response kit that could provide results within 15 minutes.</p><p><div type="image" title="E25bio testing strips." height="462" width="404" msid="75589123" hostid="261"></div>E25Bio's test resembles an over-the-counter pregnancy test: A nasal swab is taken, with the sample added to a solution and placed on a paper strip treated with artificial antibodies. If the test is positive for coronavirus, a colored indicator forms on the strip.</p><p>While antigen tests ease and speed make them attractive, their lack of sensitivity does not: They've been found to miss about 15% to 20% of infections.</p><p>"If you're using this test to screen people to make sure that they're not infected, and that they go back to work or things like that, then you'd be giving people the message that they are not infected when actually they are — and therefore transmitting the new coronavirus," Jesse Papenburg, an infectious disease expert at McGill University, told <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/04/30/847416695/a-next-generation-coronavirus-test-raises-hopes-and-concerns">NPR</a>.</p><p>For an antigen test for coronavirus to really work, scientists must understand the biology and structure of the coronavirus, something they're only beginning to do.</p>Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/difference-between-coronavirus-antibody-and-antigen-test-2020-5">Business Insider</a>

The difference between diagnostic, antibody, and antigen tests for the coronavirus

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Lydia Ramsey/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">A 23andMe kit</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>The FDA just allowed 23andMe to provide tests that analyze your genetic risk for cancer.</strong></li><li><strong>The test can give you a report about three BRCA1/BRCA2 gene mutations, which are associated with an increased risk in breast and ovarian cancer and are most commonly found in people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent.</strong></li><li><strong>It's the first direct-to-consumer test allowed to provide information about your genetic risk for cancer. Typically, cancer genetics tests require a doctor's prescription. </strong></li></ul><p><a href="http://go.skimresources.com/?id=35871X943606&amp;site=businessinsider.com&amp;xs=1&amp;isjs=1&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jdoqocy.com%2Fclick-7990061-12380996-1458576291000&amp;xguid=&amp;xuuid=25693f258d1b01eaf7b231d8fa4f65c3&amp;xsessid=&amp;xcreo=0&amp;xed=0&amp;sref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2F23andme-genetic-test-what-to-expect-2016-4&amp;pref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fs%3Fq%3D23andMe&amp;xtz=240" target="_blank" rel="noopener">23andMe</a><span> can now tell you about your genetic risk for cancer. </span></p><p><span>The FDA has given the genetics testing company the ok to give its customers a report about three BRCA1/BRCA2 gene mutations that are associated with an increased risk in breast and ovarian cancer. That makes 23andme the first direct-to-consumer test allowed to provide some information about your genetic risk for cancer. Typically, cancer genetics tests require a doctor's prescription. </span></p><p>In<span> </span><a href="http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/2013/ucm376296.htm">November 2013</a>, the US Food and Drug Administration barred<span> </span><a href="http://go.skimresources.com/?id=35871X943606&amp;site=businessinsider.com&amp;xs=1&amp;isjs=1&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jdoqocy.com%2Fclick-7990061-12380996-1458576291000&amp;xguid=&amp;xuuid=25693f258d1b01eaf7b231d8fa4f65c3&amp;xsessid=&amp;xcreo=0&amp;xed=0&amp;sref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2F23andme-genetic-test-what-to-expect-2016-4&amp;pref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fs%3Fq%3D23andMe&amp;xtz=240" target="_blank" rel="noopener">23andMe</a><span>  </span>from sending any data related to health to customers. The FDA cited concerns that the company was misrepresenting genetic tests as medical advice. But when the test relaunched in 2015,<span> </span><a href="http://go.skimresources.com/?id=35871X943606&amp;site=businessinsider.com&amp;xs=1&amp;isjs=1&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jdoqocy.com%2Fclick-7990061-12380996-1458576291000&amp;xguid=&amp;xuuid=25693f258d1b01eaf7b231d8fa4f65c3&amp;xsessid=&amp;xcreo=0&amp;xed=0&amp;sref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2F23andme-genetic-test-what-to-expect-2016-4&amp;pref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fs%3Fq%3D23andMe&amp;xtz=240" target="_blank" rel="noopener">23andMe</a><span> </span>was able to provide health reports showing whether a person carried a variant for a genetic disease that could be passed down to his or her child. The results also included wellness reports with information about caffeine consumption and lactose intolerance.</p><p>BRCA mutations are most commonly found in people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. Their presence indicates an increased risk of breast cancer, but that doesn't mean a person will necessarily get the disease - just that the chances are higher. 23andMe looks at three mutations, but even if you don't test positive for one of them, you could still carry another mutation that the test doesn't include.</p><p>"<span>While the detection of a BRCA mutation on this test does indicate an increased risk, only a small percentage of Americans carry one of these three mutations and most BRCA mutations that increase an individual's risk are not detected by this test," Donald St. Pierre, the FDA's acting director of the Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health, said in a <a href="https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm599560.htm">news release</a>. "The test should not be used as a substitute for seeing your doctor for cancer screenings or counseling on genetic and lifestyle factors that can increase or decrease cancer risk."</span></p><p>According to the FDA, the BRCA mutations are present in about 2% of Ashkenazi Jewish women. 23andMe said in a news release that women with one of the variants have a 45-85% chance of developing breast cancer by the time they reach 70. Most American women have a 7% chance of developing breast cancer by 70, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/features/hereditarycancer/">according to the CDC</a>. </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-would-happen-if-humans-tried-landing-on-jupiter-space-2018-2">What would happen if humans tried to land on Jupiter</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

23andMe can now tell you about your breast cancer risk

<p class="source"><span>Reuters/Tyrone Siu</span></p><p class="caption">A child wears a mask at Hong Kong West Kowloon High Speed Train Station on January 29, 2020.</p><ul class="summary-list"><li>The new coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-spread-every-region-china-2020-1">spread throughout China</a>, and to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-virus-everything-we-know-deadly-2019-ncov-wuhan-spread-2020-1">at least 19 other countries</a> around the globe.</li><li>In China, the virus has so far killed at least 170 people, and sickened over 8,200 more. </li><li>The only way to know for sure that you have 2019-nCoV and not some other viral illness, is with a lab test.</li><li>If you haven't been in China recently, or been around someone who has been to China's Hubei province and is sick, it's very unlikely that you've caught the bug.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>The novel Wuhan coronavirus, formally known as 2019-nCoV, is not easy to diagnose. </p><p>The virus is in the same family as some common cold bugs, and it is related to both SARS and MERS, which are also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/where-coronavirus-name-comes-from-2020-1">coronaviruses</a>. </p><p>At airports and other travel checkpoints around the globe, authorities are now dispatching thermometer-toting health workers to screen for people with fevers, which is one initial indication the virus might be present. </p><p>"The symptoms of this disease early are fever, and cough, and respiratory," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) told reporters on Wednesday. </p><p>But without <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-china-shortage-test-kits-lottery-2020-1">laboratory testing</a>, there's no way to tell for sure if a person has the novel coronavirus, and not a more commonplace viral illness, like the flu.</p><h2>The only way to tell 2019-nCoV apart properly is by studying its viral genome sequence</h2><p class="source"><span>Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins</span></p><p class="caption">A staff member checks the temperature of a passenger entering a subway station in Beijing, China on January 28, 2020.</p><p>Professor Christian Drosten, who studies emerging infections at the German Center for Infection Research, developed one of the first novel coronavirus tests for 2019-nCoV at his lab. He says making a test to screen for a virus like the novel coronavirus is pretty easy to do, once you know what <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genome/viruses/">specific sequences of the virus genome in question</a> look like. </p><p>"We anticipated this would be a SARS-related virus, and we've been working on SARS-related viruses, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-sars-bats-animals-to-humans-2020-1">mainly from bats</a>, for a long time," he told Insider.</p><p>Once news of the new virus outbreak in China reached his lab, his team quickly created several different potential versions of a coronavirus test, hoping some might be a match for <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30183-5/fulltext">the new virus with pneumonia-like symptoms</a> that originated in Wuhan, China.</p><p>"When there was <a href="https://www.who.int/csr/don/12-january-2020-novel-coronavirus-china/en/">the first release of sequence</a> from China [mid-January], we immediately compared our candidate tests with this sequence, and we saw that almost all our candidate tests were right," he said.</p><p>Now, his tests (and others like them) can be dispatched to determine if someone has the new coronavirus in a kind of genetic sequence matching game.</p><h2>Scientists use patient samples of mucus and saliva to study the virus</h2><p class="source"><span>Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Letters display a portion of the genetic sequence of the novel coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China.</p><p>To verify if an illness is the new coronavirus, scientists must first gather viral samples from a patient by taking swabs of saliva or mucus from a sick person's nose and mouth, or a chunk of whatever phlegm the person might cough up. The mucus then gets shipped off (typically on ice pack) to a lab for testing. </p><p>In the US, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/lab/guidelines-clinical-specimens.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fguidelines-clinical-specimens.html">tests are being done only at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> (CDC) in Atlanta, with a <a href="http://csu-cvmbs.colostate.edu/Documents/vdl-lablines-volume-15-issue-01.pdf">reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test</a> (RT-PCR), which can convert RNA into DNA, and amplify genetic sequences, making them easier to study and compare.</p><p>In China, like in the US, virus samples were initially sent only to a Beijing lab for testing, but tests are now being run in Hubei province, where the Wuhan virus originated, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-testing-insight/confusion-and-lost-time-how-testing-woes-slowed-chinas-coronavirus-response-idUSKBN1ZQ21K">Reuters reported</a>. Results from each test come back in 24 to 48 hours.</p><p>Though the testing protocol and machinery is all very similar around the world, Drosten said not every test is exactly the same, and that diversity is a plus. </p><p class="source"><span>Andreas Rentz/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">A scientist operates a RT-PCR machine. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a technique to amplify a single piece (or few copies of a piece) of DNA.</p><p>"The target regions on the genome of the new coronavirus, they are different," he said. "We want, actually, some diversity in test protocols. If we are in doubt about our test, or if there is something wrong with the test targets, the virus mutates or something, we could still switch to the test that another lab uses. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/virus/vssi/#/virus?SeqType_s=Nucleotide&amp;VirusLineage_ss=Wuhan%20seafood%20market%20pneumonia%20virus,%20taxid:2697049">These are all in the public domain</a>, and it's quite easy to switch."</p><p>Drosten also said there is no chance of these tests misfiring, and telling someone they have the new coronavirus when they don't. </p><p>"We've validated the test for exclusivity for the new virus," he said.</p><p>In China, over 8,200 people have been diagnosed with the virus to date. (Chinese patients have said it's so hard to get a test there <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-china-shortage-test-kits-lottery-2020-1">that successfully getting a spit kit is like winning the lottery</a>.) </p><h2>Unless you've recently been to China, or been around someone sick who's been in China in the past 14 days, your chances of contracting the illness are low</h2><p>So far, very few virus samples that have been tested in the US have come back positive for the novel coronavirus.</p><p>The CDC has reported that 68 samples from US patients who thought they might have the coronavirus have come back negative. Only <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-us-cases-health-risk-2020-1">6 cases in the US have turned up positive</a>: one patient in Washington, another in Arizona, two patients from California, and a couple in their 60s from Illinois. </p><p>The husband of that pair is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-person-to-person-spread-wuhan-coronavirus-2020-1">the first known case of human-to-human transmission in the US</a>. Authorities said he caught the virus from his wife, who'd recently been traveling in China.</p><p>"It's important to note that this spread was among two people who were in close contact for an extended period of time," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters on Thursday. </p><p>If you or someone you know has been traveling in China in the past two weeks, watch vigilantly for signs of fever, cough, and shortness of breath. </p><p class="source"><span>Reuters/Thomas Peter</span></p><p class="caption">Nurses in protective gear talk to people in the reception area of the First People's Hospital in Yueyang, Hunan Province, China, January 28, 2020.</p><p>Drosten doesn't anticipate that any other, more rapid forms of testing that don't require lab work will be dispatched in this outbreak.</p><p>"What we need is power to exclude, right? So we need a really sensitive test," he said.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-person-to-person-spread-wuhan-coronavirus-2020-1">The Wuhan coronavirus has spread person-to-person in the US for the 1st time - to the husband of a woman who went to China</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-virus-everything-we-know-deadly-2019-ncov-wuhan-spread-2020-1">The Wuhan coronavirus has killed 170 people and infected more than 8,200. Here's everything we know about the outbreak.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-many-other-disease-outbreaks-to-come-2020-1">We're in an 'age of epidemics,' a scientist says. More diseases like the coronavirus will jump from animals to people.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/wuhan-virus">Click here for Business Insider's full coverage of the Wuhan coronavirus </a></li></ul>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boogers-snot-eat-nose-unhealthy-science-virus-bacteria-2019-1">There are serious health reasons why you shouldn't eat your boogers</a></h3>

There is only one way to know if you have the coronavirus, and it involves machines full of spit and mucus

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Courtesy Color Genomics</span></p><p class="caption">What's inside a Color Genomics testing kit.</p></div><p></p></div></div>For $249, Color Genomics wants to tell you if you have the genetic mutations that could predispose you to certain types of cancer.</p><p>Color launched last April with its breast and ovarian cancer screening test, which looked at 19 genetic markers, parts of our DNA that have been linked to certain conditions. On Thursday the company expanded the test to include <a href="https://getcolor.com/learn/why-get-tested">11 more genetic markers</a>, including those that have been linked with a higher risk of developing colorectal, melanoma, uterine, pancreatic, prostate, and stomach cancer.</p><p><span></span>Here's how it works:</p><ol><li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Call your doctor. Because it gives out some serious medical information, Color requires that you have a physician involved. If you don't want to include your own doctor, Color will link you with a physician who'll evaluate your information and assign you a test - if they decide it's the right move. Either way, you or your doctor can order the test directly through <a href="https://getcolor.com/providers/about-test">Color's website</a>. </span></li><li>After registering online, you'll get a testing kit in the mail. </li><li>Collect your spit, like you would with many other genetics tests. It <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/i-tried-the-new-23andme-genetic-test-2015-12">might feel a bit awkward</a>.  </li><li>Send in your spit for Color to analyze. They'll return the results to you and your doctor.</li><li>Still want to learn more? Color provides a free genetics counselor to discuss your results further as part of its process if you're so inclined. </li></ol><p>Knowing what mutations you have is a key part of understanding your genetic risk of certain types of cancer, a highly complex <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">science</keyword> that researchers are still teasing out. Other lifestyle factors, like how often you exercise and what you eat, play a role too, but tests like those Color offers look specifically at your genetic risks.</p><p><span>"That risk is there in your genes independent of whether you know about it or not," Color President Othman Laraki told Business Insider.</span> "T<span>he way modern medicine is conducted, prevention is dramatically still underweighted, relative to its impact. But it's a trend that's on the up."</span></p><p>For example, the risk of getting breast cancer goes <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/features/hereditarycancer/">from 7%</a> to an <a href="http://www.cancer.org/cancer/breastcancer/moreinformation/breastcancerearlydetection/breast-cancer-early-detection-risk-factors-you-cannot-change">average of 55-65%</a> when you have the BRCA1 or 2 gene mutation. Knowing you have one of these genetic tweaks, then, could ostensibly help you make more proactive decisions, like getting more frequent cancer screenings or eating healthier.</p><h2>Here's a chart showing which genetic mutations Color screens for, and their association with increased cancer risk:</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Color Genomics</span></p><p class="caption">A map of the genetic markers related to each type of cancer's risk.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><span>The price of Color's test will remain the same, even with the additions. Laraki told Business Insider that the choice to keep the price point was "very deliberate," as other tests for hereditary cancer risk can tend to run much higher costs up to the $1,000s without insurance (though some, like Counsyl's inherited screening test g<a href="https://www.counsyl.com/price/preorder/">o for $349 without insurance</a>). </span></p><p><span>"The goal is to minimize the cost barrier in terms of access," Laraki said.</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/valentina-tereshkova-was-first-woman-space-2016-4">The first woman in space almost didn't make it back to Earth and she had to keep it a secret for 30 years</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="tiYTd3eDpEgMUhQYbjGVPozOisTBoq6h" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

This company wants to sequence your DNA and tell you your risk for 8 different cancers for $249

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Rapid, on-site <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> testing is generally less accurate than tests which are sent back to labs for analysis.</li><li>But rapid <keyword id="8913051" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Covid-19-testing">COVID-19 testing</keyword> is still a useful screening tool, especially if it's conducted frequently. It can be cheap, and it's fast.</li><li>A negative rapid test result may still need to be confirmed with a lab test before a person can assume they're virus-free.</li><li>A rapid test can't be used as a hall pass to get close to other people, or as reassurance that you're doing a good job preventing yourself from getting sick. The virus is still here.</li></ul><p>Every day, people around the world are becoming makeshift coronavirus detectives, putting long swabs into their mouths and noses, and spitting into straws.</p><p>They're scouring for any rapid in-throat or in-nostril evidence that the novel coronavirus may be at hand — hunting for clear signs that they might have an infection of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. </p><p>When test results from these swabs and tubes come back negative, minutes later, some go off to play club <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=67&amp;v=R4EohtIn2BQ&amp;feature=emb_titlemb_title">soccer,</a> or <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2020/07/12/coronavirus-sports-leagues-burdening-covid-19-testing-resources/5404426002/">major</a> league <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/is-it-a-problem-that-sports-gets-fast-test-results-and-you-dont-11594897200">sports</a>. Others emerge from the comfort of their cars to attend <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/16/style/does-rapid-covid-testing-work-weddings-parties.html">chic parties in the Hamptons</a>, or venture to<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=47&amp;v=DCRK7frO-qo&amp;feature=emb_titlemb_title"> summer retreats</a>. The <a href="https://sleeplessthemusical.com/">cast and crew of the musical</a> "Sleepless" in the UK now <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53995747">takes coronavirus nose swab tests each morning,</a> before performing their socially-distanced shows.</p><p>But <a href="https://www.fda.gov/media/140161/download">rapid diagnostic tests for COVID-19</a>, which range in cost from a <a href="https://covidtrackerct.com/about-salivadirect/">couple dollars</a> to several hundred and take as little as 15 minutes to yield results, are not fail-safe, nor are they a free pass to live as if the virus does not exist.</p><p><keyword id="6364896" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="public-health">Public health</keyword> experts caution that rapid COVID-19 tests may only pick up about 70 to 80% of all infected people they test.</p><p>"I would still say that distancing and outdoor air are your best friends," Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told Insider. "To me, that would provide me much more assurance that I was not going to either get infected, or infect others, than would a rapid-detection test." </p><p>Yet from <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/16/style/does-rapid-covid-testing-work-weddings-parties.html">luxe party</a> entrances to <a href="https://news.yale.edu/2020/08/15/yales-rapid-covid-19-saliva-test-receives-fda-emergency-use-authorization">pro sports locker rooms</a> and <a href="https://www.thejakartapost.com/travel/2020/08/13/indonesian-travelers-enjoy-convenience-of-covid-19-testing-at-airports.html">vacation hotspots</a>, gatekeepers are using these tests as a ticket to entry, briefly pausing to register a negative result before letting people go on their way.</p><div type="image" title="rapid coronavirus testing line ny" height="1582" width="2100" msid="78245698" hostid="261"></div><p>These tests would be better dispatched as crude monitoring and surveillance systems, aimed not at catching every single case of the virus and declaring people safe to party, but instead dealing with the virus's still-rampant spread across countries around the globe.  </p><p>"Point of care tests are extremely useful if you have symptomatic people, or if you're contact tracing, or if you're in a place like a nursing home where we're going to be testing repeatedly," US coronavirus testing czar Admiral <keyword id="9562854" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="brett-giroir">Brett Giroir</keyword> told Insider during a press call on August 19.</p><p>"You can lose a little sensitivity, which generally these tests do, because you're going to have repeat testing."</p><p>Rapid tests tend to be less accurate than PCR diagnostic tests, which have taken days and (sometimes) weeks to get back from labs. Most of these <a href="https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-emergency-use-authorizations-medical-devices/vitro-diagnostics-euas#individual-antigen">newer, faster turnaround tests</a> are hunting for the presence of antigens, bits of protein that sit on or in the virus, instead of doing a more in-depth scouring for the virus's genetic code, as the more accurate molecular tests do.</p><p>The US Food and Drug Administration <a href="https://www.fda.gov/media/140161/download">cautions</a> that negative rapid test results may need to be confirmed with a more accurate lab test, and the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/lab/resources/antigen-tests-guidelines.html#table1">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says</a> the tests are "generally less sensitive than viral tests." So far, only <a href="https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-emergency-use-authorizations-medical-devices/vitro-diagnostics-euas#individual-antigen">four rapid antigen tests</a> have received emergency use authorization from the FDA. </p><h2>Negative test results can encourage risky behavior</h2><div type="image" title="covid abbott rapid test swab" height="1236" width="1648" msid="78245701" hostid="261"></div><p>Even if rapid test results are correct, when negative, they often lead people into drawing false conclusions that they're safe to take lots of risks without consequence.</p><p>"It does send a message basically that if you're negative at this point, you must be doing something right," Osterholm said. "When I would say [if] you're negative at this point, you might just be lucky, and your luck's going to run out."</p><p>Giroir stressed that the incubation period for the virus can often stretch to seven days before people get sick.</p><p>"If you're closely exposed to a [sick] person, if you get a test on day three, it's negative, it doesn't mean you're going to be negative on day four, day five, or day seven, or day 10, or day 12," he said. "So it still does not obviate your strict adherence to physical distancing, wearing a mask, avoiding crowded places. Do not risk the vulnerable." </p><h2>Rapid tests are still helpful screening tools</h2><h2><div type="image" title="free rapid covid test india" height="1467" width="2200" msid="77679034" hostid="261"></div></h2><p>Giroir expects several more rapid tests to be green-lit for emergency use by the FDA soon — enough to have 40 million point of care tests (the kind that don't need to be rushed off to a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-coronavirus-throat-tests-work-rt-pcr-method-explained-2020-4">lab's PCR machine</a>) available by the end of September. </p><p>"Random testing of healthy people, just all over the country, is not what we're advocating for," he said. "All tests need to be used for the right person, at the right time, in the right situation."</p><p>In addition to the rapid <keyword id="177408" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Antigen">antigen</keyword> tests, teams of <a href="https://news.yale.edu/2020/08/15/yales-rapid-covid-19-saliva-test-receives-fda-emergency-use-authorization">scientists at Yale</a> and at the <a href="https://news.uillinois.edu/view/7815/1904934500">University of Illinois</a> have also been developing simple <a href="https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/1795135071">spit test protocols that</a> don't require people to succumb to intrusive, almost brain-scratching nose and throat swabs. Instead, test-takers expel their saliva into vials, and then that material is tested for the virus in a lab — a process that can take anywhere from several hours to more than a day. </p><p>The tests, which <a href="https://covidtrackerct.com/about-salivadirect/">should cost about $10</a> for labs to process, aren't meant to be precise. </p><p>"We're using the increase for frequent testing of different populations so that we can get a handle on this virus," Anne Wyllie, one of the researchers behind Yale's new SalivaDirect test protocol, said.</p><p>"This is definitely more for screening," she said of the protocol, which could "remove infectious people from the chain of transmission."</p><p>The SalivaDirect method (which is a procedure other labs can copy and use, and not a testing kit) got FDA emergency use approval in August. It could be most useful for "frequent testing" Wyllie said, like at schools, workplaces, and on sports teams.</p><p>Saliva, Wyllie said "can be tricky to work with," but the process she's developed skips some of the usual steps of other lab testing for the coronavirus, and she's hopeful that the ease of collecting spit will help speed diagnoses up, especially in the critical early days of an infection.</p><p>"Imagine if they had overnight labs running, and you deposited your saliva sample before you went to bed at night," she said. "Then your results were out by the morning."</p><p>Even if these kinds of screening measures pick up just seven in every 10 coronavirus cases they test, that's far better than picking up none.</p><p>But it's still not an indication that it's safe to get cozy again with whoever you want. </p><p><em>This story was originally published on August 21, 2020. It has been updated as the FDA approves more antigen tests for emergency use.  </em></p>

Rapid coronavirus tests can give results in 15 minutes, but they aren't a pass for partying or seeing your parents

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Lydia Ramsey/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">A 23andMe kit</p></div><p></p></div></div>The president of 23andMe, a consumer genetics company, is stepping down, Recode reports.</p><p>Andy Page, who has been at 23andMe since 2013, will remain on the company's board, while all of his direct reports are going to report to CEO Anne Wojcicki, according to a letter sent to employees <a href="http://www.recode.net/2016/11/16/13650410/23andme-president-andy-page-departs">obtained by Recode</a>. </p><p>The news comes only a few weeks after <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniemlee/23andme-anne-wojcicki-next-generation-sequencing?utm_term=.oyZRBDJLv#.kkl7mNxqM">Buzzfeed reported</a> that the company won't be pursuing next-generation sequencing, a new, more expensive area of genetic testing that companies have been adopting.</p><p>23andMe's chief medical officer Jill Hagenkord left the company in October and is <a href="https://blog.color.com/fixing-healthcare-from-the-outside-why-this-m-d-returned-to-silicon-valley-1931b56bd51f#.cryxw27bv">now working at Color Genomics</a>, a genetics testing company that uses next-generation sequencing for its cancer screening tests, <span>under the same title.</span></p><p>In September, the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/23andme-99-ancestry-test-2016-9">company also said</a> that it would now offer two versions of the test, including a $199 version, which comes with both the health and ancestry components, and a $99 version, which will just have the ancestry test.</p><p>Business Insider has reached out to 23andMe for comment.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/second-animation-perception-human-body-2016-6">The DNA in your body stretches 12 times farther than Pluto</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="1sbjRhNDE628gEC8Mv2mUZ51WMvGkJlX" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

23andMe's president is stepping down

<ul><li>All shaving ads include a petite woman taking a bath in a tub full of bubbles, grabbing a razor in hand to shave her hairless legs and flawless hands.</li><li>We speak to women from the advertising and digital world to understand why brands hesitate from showing body hair in advertisements and what kind of ads they wish to see as we move forward.</li><li>We also discuss Veet’s latest ad starring Shraddha Kapoor and Ahsaas Channa that targets school girls and claims to offer a ‘skin whitening’ mechanism in its cream.</li></ul>“I vividly remember asking my mother after our send-off in high school, "Why am I so hairy?" ⁣I had draped a beautiful sari that day, as the tradition goes. I felt pretty and confident until I saw the other girls in my class had waxed their arms. It made me feel a little uncomfortable,” shared Yugandhara Shinde, a 24-year-old graphic designer, as she tried to recall the first time she felt uncomfortable with her natural body.<br /><br />While Shinde blames social conditioning, unsolicited judgements from people and societal beauty standards for making her uncomfortable about her body hair until today, these standards have been perpetuated through advertising and media that expect women to be hairless all the time. Thin and fair-skinned models in ads across the world have made women like me feel uncomfortable with my body. We look in the mirror only to notice our flaws, turn to beauty products to fix ourselves and hide our body hair. Advertisements have been profiting from these vulnerabilities and feeding on our insecurities. They portray women achieving happiness and success after hair removal. <br /><br />                                          <div type="image" title="Shaving" msid="82165665" hostid="261"></div><br />All shaving ads include a petite woman taking a bath in a tub full of bubbles, running a razor through their already shaven and almost flawless hands and legs. For example, look at the petite, fair-skinned and hairless women in Gillette Venus’ ads over the years. <br /><br />                                          <div type="image" title="venus collage" msid="82165673" hostid="261"></div><br />Chances are, you will need a microscope to find a single strand of unwanted hair on their bodies, forget a hint of stubble! While it is absolutely okay to shave your bodies, this article is about those who choose not to.<br /><br />You would feel a penetrating gaze, full of judgement, coming from people around if you decide to just sport your body hair one day. We have spent years hiding our body hair under long sleeves and jeans or shaving every strand off our armpits before anyone else catches a glance. <em>"Hww, log kya kahenge," </em>has haunted us for years. While half this blame goes to our biased society, the rest is on unreal ads and cinema that have made us feel like less of a woman if we choose not to shave. <br /><br />Last week, we happened to stumble upon Hair Removal brand Veet’s advertisement starring actor Shraddha Kapoor and Digital Creator Ahsaas Channa. It is about a young school girl, played by Channa, feeling anxious about going to a salon because well, we all know how uncomfortable that is. She is wearing a full-sleeved uniform to hide her body hair. Kapoor comes to ‘her rescue’ and offers her Veet’s shaving cream. Much to our surprise (but frankly, not so much), she shaves her already-shaved armpits and hands. As per the brand’s ad, the product also gives you smoother and visibly ‘brighter’ underarms.<br /><br />                                          <div type="Youtube" id="p8AeyIGEuVo" title="Veet Hair Removal Cream- Mini Pack |Shraddha Kapoor | Hinglish : 30 sec" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/p8AeyIGEuVo/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />Veet isn’t the first brand to sell us underarm lightening cream. There’s Dot &amp; Key, Sanfe, Nimaya and <a href="https://youtu.be/RP7SkFUCcLc">Venus</a> that help you ‘glow.’ According to ResearchAndMarkets, the Indian female grooming market stood at $152 million in 2018 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 26% to surpass $623 million by 2024.<br /><br />We reached out to Dr Tanaya Narendra, Doctor and Content Creator, aka Dr Cuterus to find out if hair removing creams can brighten your armpits. She said, “Unless the hair removal cream contains bleach, I wouldn't imagine it would be possible to actually lighten the skin. Even then, the effect would be temporary. Actually putting clinically effective skin lightening formulations in their OTC cream would not be permitted, so this is a blatant lie. It also feeds into the larger message of ‘lighter skin is better skin’, which, I do not need to point, is based on our colonial past and its associated hangups.”<br /><br />Elaborating on how having darker skin parts is completely normal, Dr Cuterus added, “We continue to idealise Eurocentric beauty standards, in people of non-European descent. It is perfectly normal for the skin of our genitals, underarms, and skin folds to be darker than the rest of our body. It's the result of hormones, constant friction, and our genetic skin type. Companies like Veet, Nimaya, Dot &amp; Key, Sanfe, etc capitalise on this insecurity and sell expensive skin lightening serums, which obviously don't work (as they don't contain any clinically effective ingredients), leading to more insecurity, and more sales for the companies.”<br /><br />While we are used to seeing hairless bodies on the big screen by now, Veet’s latest ad targets school girls this time. It is reaching out to young, impressionable minds, suggesting that you cannot go to a party unless you shave your body. <br /><br />Telling us how the ad made her feel, Akshara Vasavda, Creative Lead, Schbang, shared, “It makes me feel like we're devolving instead of evolving. It's like Indian advertising is still stuck in the past while the rest of the world is moving on. It's a bad ad, to begin with, even just creatively speaking, and on top of that, they've taken the most overused, mind-numbing route to showcase their product. '<em>Ghisa Pita'</em> is the word we use in Hindi. That's this ad.” <br /><br />She also pointed out that we need more representation in our ads to help women accept their bodies, and even its darker areas. <br /><br />“In Veet's ad, we have a young student probably in high school who is more worried about waxing than whatever is going on in school? Because that's the only thing girls care about, of course. Then we have Shraddha Kapoor entering the picture, looking like she just stepped off a red carpet. Have SOME aspect of realism to your ads at least? And then there's the whole issue of colourism that these brands constanty reinforce. Most girls do not have smooth, even-toned underarms. Brown skins are bound to be pigmented and the entertainment industry is 100% responsible for making millions of girls conscious about their dark underarms. I think most of us spent our entire lives trying various methods to fight pigmentation and ingrown hair. We need more skin colours in these ads. We need pigmented underarms without the false promise of 'whitening' them because a) our skins simply do not work that way b) it's entirely unnecessary. These brands need to be held accountable for misinformation in my opinion,” added Vasavda. <br /><br />Sharing how DIY has become the need of the hour due the lockdown, Ashwini Deshpande, Co-founder &amp; Director, Elephant Design, said, “Selfcare &amp; DIY grooming products is absolutely the need of the hour. Hair removers, hair colours, pedicure kits, facial kits etc are here to stay. Grooming is also gaining popularity irrespective of gender. Boys seem equally concerned about their look as girls. I do not see all advertisements of grooming products as gender misappropriation issues. It is mostly about turning out well and feeling good/ confident about oneself. However, the didi giving a solution to the younger sibling in the latest VEET commercial is quite the beaten path. I don't believe GenZ is looking for advice from millennials. So the story just wasn't convincing for me.”<br /><br />Alpa Dedhia, Business Director, VMLY&amp;R India said, “The larger issue here is pushing younger girls to focus on these set beauty norms like she should look a certain way, act a certain way, dress a certain way. I also believe putting pressure on teens on how they should look or be a certain way impacts the overall confidence of young girls. No girl should have to worry about the way she looks. Brands should be taking the baton and training these minds to think beyond superficial beauty norms. Campaigns like #likeagirl have done a similar job in a great way.”<br /><br /><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="So, what should the brands do?" text="So, what should the brands do?"><span data-til="noop">So, what should the brands do?</span></cmsannotation><br /><br />While some people feel empowered by shaving or waxing their bodies, it is their choice to shave or not to shave. However, it is often considered that body hair is ‘unhygienic’, when it is in fact a natural gift and meant to protect us from bacteria. <br /><br />We also asked ad women and Content Creator Dr Cutreus about the kind of ads they wish to see now.<br /><br />“What I would like to be discussed more is how having body hair is not unhygienic, and this is a personal choice. I understand that this is difficult, as having such a disclaimer in ads would be weird. That said, it would be incredible to see more representation about body hair from more mainstream celebrities, rather than "radical" Instagram influencers. Another welcome change would be to see some actual body hair being removed in these ads. I mean, they're marketing a product whose efficacy has a giant question mark on it as we cannot see any body hair on these people anyway! They shave hairless legs! If we can have ads that show a man with a five o'clock shadow, and a fancy animation showing the blades slicing away his facial hair, why can't we see that with a woman's underarm hair,” asked Dr Tanaya. <br /><br />Dedhia said, “All hair removing brands have focused on the same messaging.. ‘Set yourself free from unwanted hair,’ ‘hairless arms will make you more attractive, beautiful and more feminine.' I want to see ads that are progressive in their thinking and approach. Instead of saying that you will miss out on all the fun if you don’t do this or that, maybe we could focus on hygiene?” <br /><br />Vasavda said, “When it comes to the target audience of these brands, the majority of women should not have an issue with slightly more realistic depiction of hair removal, even if we don't go all out like some international ads. And like I said earlier, there is zero excuse for these brands to continue propagating such harmful beauty standards. This is one issue that is completely in the hands of the media, and if they are still making such regressive content, it's because they want to. They want to maintain a certain aesthetic for their brand imagery because of personal biases, and that's it. Hair removal is a basic need. No one's going to stop buying their products. If I need to shave, I'm going to buy a razor and it's probably going to be Gillette because they own the market share and my chemist only stocks that up. They don't have the pressure of fighting for market share at this point, so what's stopping them? Nothing but the mindset of people running these brands on the client side.”<br />

Leg hair, don’t care: Why showing women’s body hair in Indian ads is long overdue

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/buenosaurus/3670109860/in/photolist-6AjgNd-iSF3fH-4yPMCs-oW74pN-i5Pvme-n3Un1i-9KRUw8-bbFu5e-iskfWt-oagFho-4EedX-k5tr2B-DoqdK-pBMZpM-538EWQ-7Dzqaj-4mXTjC-eDiz-rDRJRh-6NvBhy-9uTea-4TMgrX-abuHTQ-mKZGRa-9aNBn9-fRW4aY-7VS1dL-91kBPJ-rMiCS7-9VKNgz-8oF32k-82thNJ-e7npo8-6wydL-e4C8TE-dBMbQR-aAgeLT-owQrxr-hLXJ2X-6nhJqF-et4Bh9-pzuUtQ-fKpT2p-4253d-bukBm-b1adyc-HQYvsG-aKFCDB-9dUQLv-9EWiK3">Flickr/Jane Rahman</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Several companies make DNA tests that claim to tell you how well you'll respond to certain antidepressants based on your genetic profile.</strong></li><li><strong>Two personalized medicine companies - Assurex and Genomind - offer some of the most popular tests and work with physicians and pharmacists to provide them to patients.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>A chain of Albertsons pharmacies in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boise is running a pilot program in which pharmacists can offer the Genomind test.</strong></li><li><strong>Silicon Valley genetics testing startup <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/genetics-test-for-cancer-cholesterol-2018-5">Color Genomics</a> recently began offering a similar test as part of its services.</strong></li><li><strong>The costs of the tests range from $250 to $750, but some scientists say it's not worth the money. </strong></li></ul><p>Around the time that 26-year-old Courtney Luk got in line at the pharmacy to pick up her 25th depression medication, she decided she'd had enough.</p><p>Over the previous two years, Luk had been prescribed everything from Klonopin to Xanax to treat the anxiety and depression she'd experienced since adolescence. Nothing seemed to do the trick. One medication would make her feel numb; others seemed to make her symptoms worse.</p><p>Then a psychiatrist suggested she try a genetic test that could provide guidance about which drug Luk should try next. They swabbed the inside of Luk's cheek for a spit sample and sent it off to get tested.</p><p>Using DNA testing to determine how well a given depression medication will work with a patient's genetic makeup is becoming a popular approach. More than 750,000 people have taken one such test, called GeneSight, which is made by personalized medicine company Assurex, according to its website. A network of 28 Albertsons pharmacies offers a similar test made by a company called Genomind as part of a pilot program. And just last month, Silicon Valley genetics testing startup <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/genetics-test-for-cancer-cholesterol-2018-5">Color Genomics</a> began offering a test as part of its $250 kits.</p><p>But some scientists say the tests have limited utility.</p><p>That's because they doesn't tell providers which specific medication is best to prescribe patients, according to Alan Schatzberg, a Stanford University psychiatrist. And Cristina Cusin, a Harvard psychiatrist, said the test won't give helpful results to patients who take more than one medication.</p><p>Plus, the tests may give conflicting results to the same patient for the same medication, according to a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41397-018-0027-3#Ack1">peer-reviewed analysis</a> of four different gene tests published this summer.</p><h2>A pricey test with a lofty goal</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Getty Images/William Thomas Cain</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Since adolescence, Luk had experienced debilitating anxiety that sometimes turned into panic attacks, along with mood swings and depression that sometimes led her to contemplate taking her own life. Despite trying more than two dozen different medications, Luk and her psychiatrists had yet to come up with a combination of drugs that significantly lifted her mood without contributing to her anxiety.</p><p>Luk had heard of genetics tests for antidepressants before, but previously declined to take one since she couldn't afford the $750 price tag.</p><p>But when a psychiatrist suggested a test she could get for free through insurance, a kit from Genomind called the Genecept Assay, Luk said yes. The test appealed to her as a potential way to eliminate the trial-and-error process of starting a new drug and waiting - sometimes up to six weeks, the standard for most antidepressants - to see if it worked.</p><p>"I don't feel like my medications right now are working optimally, and I was hoping to learn if there's a cocktail of medications that would do that," Luk said.</p><p>Her psychiatrist told her the test might show them what to do next. Perhaps they'd learn that one medication wasn't right for her body and could be replaced with a different drug. But when the results came in, they were murkier than Luk anticipated.</p><p>Her report listed all the antidepressants she'd taken along with several she'd yet to try. Each got a colored check mark: red checks suggested Luk would likely have negative reactions to a drug, green checks suggested no negative reactions, and orange checks indicated something in between.</p><p>Next to a popular antidepressant called Celexa, for example, Luk's test showed an orange check mark and said, "increased risk for adverse events or poor response." That meant that because of the way her body processed the drug, Luk was more likely than the average person to experience negative side effects or see no positive results.</p><p>Sure enough, Luk recalled that when she'd taken Celexa several years earlier, she had experienced painful bruising across her arms and legs.</p><p>But another drug Luk had recently begun taking, called Topamax, carried a green check and said "use as directed - no known gene-drug interactions." Despite taking that medication for several weeks, however, Luk said she hadn't experienced any change in her symptoms.</p><p>So she went back to trial and error.</p><p>Daniel Dowd, Genomind's vice president of medical affairs, acknowledged that some patients may read too much into the test.</p><p>"I think patients do tend to think, 'OK, this is going say exactly what this specific drug is going to do for me,' and that's not what this test is," Dowd told Business Insider. "Like any other branch of medicine, [the test] provides an estimation of risk."</p><p>Genomind funded a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/da.22742">2018 study of its test</a> that analyzed patient spending in the six-month period following use of the test. The authors - one of whom sits on Genomind's scientific advisory board - compared roughly 800 people with mood and anxiety disorders who took the test with nearly 3,000 people who didn't take it. They found that people who took the test spent nearly $2,000 less on healthcare on average, mostly because they visited ERs and hospitals less frequently in the months following the test than people who didn't take it.</p><p>The researchers wrote that it could represent "a promising strategy to reduce costs" in people with depression and anxiety.  </p><p>To Dowd, the finding was a big endorsement of the test.</p><p>"If we can get this test embedded in the healthcare record, that could mean a big cost savings," he said.</p><h2>Who the test may - and may not - help</h2><p>Once you swallow a pill, various genes control how your body will break it down. One gene in particular, called CYP2D6, is one of the <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2706179">most closely studied</a>. Some people have faulty or abnormal copies of that gene, meaning they don't process drugs like antidepressants as they should. That increases the chances that someone could have an adverse reaction like bruising or not respond to a medication at all.</p><p>The gene tests are designed to assess whether a patient is likely to have a negative outcome on any common antidepressants. In theory, that would help patients and their providers narrow down the list of potential medications to try.</p><p>"In these cases, I think there is clear evidence" for using a gene test, Michelle Whirl-Carrillo, a senior research scientist at the Stanford University School of Medicine, <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2706179">told the author of an article published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)</a>. </p><p>But Schatzberg, the Stanford psychiatrist, said a narrower list is not what his patients need.</p><p>"What's really needed is a test that says, 'You have this profile, these are the two drugs you need to use.' That's what's missing," he said.</p><p>Instead, the tests merely tell him if someone's body doesn't process a drug properly - a conclusion they'd reach anyway after trial and error.</p><p>"I don't need to know if a person is a poor drug metabolizer. I need to know what drug to use where I'm going to get the positive effect," Schatzberg said. "These tests don't do that."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>perfectlab/Shutterstock</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Cusin, the Harvard psychiatrist, specializes in treating people with severe depression. She agreed with Schatzberg.</p><p>"I don't think psychiatrists get much information about the costs and benefits or much predictive value for this type of test," she said.</p><p>Cusin added that she doesn't think the test helps in cases where people are taking multiple medications or when patients have a history of failing to respond to medications. Plus, she said, a recent study made her hesitant to use the tests in her own practice.</p><p>That <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41397-018-0027-3">study</a> found major inconsistencies among four different gene tests (including Genomind's). In roughly one out of five cases, the authors said, different tests gave conflicting advice to the same patient.</p><p>"The level of disagreement in medication recommendations … indicates that these tests cannot be assumed to be equivalent or interchangeable," the researchers wrote.</p><h2>'I jumped on it because I was tired of trial and error'</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>iviewfinder/Shutterstock</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Unlike Luk, Allyson Byers, a 27-year-old in Los Angeles, said taking a genetic test saved her time in the quest to find the right medication.</p><p>Byers took Assurex's GeneSight test after trying several drugs for her depression. </p><p>"I jumped on it because I was tired of trial and error," she told Business Insider.</p><p>Byers said she paid $60 for the test after talking with her therapist and an Assurex representative (though she initially received a bill for several hundred dollars).</p><p>Her results weren't perfect. Byers had been taking the antidepressant Zoloft for nine months, but she experienced several negative side effects, including weight gain. On the Assurex test, however, Zoloft was green-lit.</p><p>"When the results came back, I was questioning myself and thinking, 'Did I make that all up? Did I really gain weight?'"</p><p>But the test also suggested another medication called Pristiq that Byers had not previously taken, she said. So Byers' therapist suggested they try that instead of Zoloft. Several weeks later, Byers said she felt better - and thanked the test for helping her find a different medication.</p><p>"I've had to go up in dose a couple times, but I feel like I've finally found the right dose," she said. For her, the test was "just another tool to help narrow things down."</p><h2>Coming to a pharmacy near you?</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/Paul Sakuma</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Increasingly, some patients are learning about genetics tests for antidepressants from their pharmacist instead of a psychiatrist.</p><p>In Chicago, Boise, and Philadelphia, 28 Albertsons drug stores are offering the Genomind test, according to Kimberly Hecht, a patient care services coordinator with Albertsons who leads the project.</p><p>She told Business Insider that <span>mental health became a focus at the pharmacies she oversees</span> when they began offering medications for drug addiction. Plus, because Albertsons' pharmacies are open longer and on more days of the week than others nearby, they sometimes function as a default mental health provider, Hecht said.</p><p>"It just made sense with what we were offering and also because of our position in the community," Jennifer Rapley, a marketing manager with Albertsons who works closely with Hecht, told Business Insider.</p><p>The project is currently in a pilot phase, but Genomind hopes to eventually offer its gene test in all 1,760 Albertsons-owned pharmacies throughout the country, <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2706179">JAMA reported this month</a>.</p><p>But some components of the Albertsons program - such as how pharmacists determine whether a patient is a good candidate for the test and how it evaluates whether the results are effective - remain hazy.</p><p>For example, a patient does not have to have a history of using antidepressants to be offered the test, Hecht said.</p><p>"Typically it's going to be patients who've tried a couple different things and it's not working, but we kind of leave it up to our pharmacists' professional judgment," she said.</p><p>That makes Schatzberg wary. </p><p>"I think it presents real problems," he said. "It's practicing a level of medicine and offering a test where it's not clear whether and how it should be used. It's hard for me to believe that's a good idea."</p><h2>The future of genetic testing for depression</h2><p>Last month, Silicon Valley genetics testing startup <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/genetics-test-for-cancer-cholesterol-2018-5">Color Genomics</a> began offering a test for antidepressants as a component of its DNA tests<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/genetics-test-for-cancer-cholesterol-2018-5"></a>, which screen for gene variations linked to cancer and heart disease. Color's service includes a professional genetics counselor who walks a patient through their results.</p><p>Othman Laraki, the company's founder and CEO, told Business Insider that he sees the new test in a similar light to Color's cancer test, which the company began offering in 2013.</p><p>"Like we saw with cancer, it's definitely a moving target, it's definitely still early, and there's still a lot of uncertainty," Laraki said. "But there's enough support and enough scientific validity where it makes us feel comfortable enough to offer it."</p><p>Hecht, the Albertsons coordinator, agreed.</p><p>"These types of tests really are the future and have the potential to really help people," she said.</p><p>But for some patients, that future may not have arrived yet.</p><p>"After 25 different drugs, I may just be one of those people whose bodies doesn't respond to medication," Luk said. "In the end, it's still trial and error, but it's a little bit more of a targeted trial and error - a little bit more of an educated guess."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-new-way-fight-depression-study-sadness-happiness-2016-6">Scientists say combining these 2 activities could be an effective way to fight depression</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

A DNA test claims to tell you how you'll respond to depression medications. Here's what scientists think of it.

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Nurx</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Nurx, a Silicon Valley prescription drug delivery startup that once <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-birth-control-online-app-nurx-2016-7">solely dispensed birth control</a>, is launching a new service that allows patients who want HIV-prevention drug Truvada to do the required testing at home.</strong></li><li><strong>It's a big move for the company, which recently <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-birth-control-online-app-nurx-2016-7">raised $36 million</a> and added Chelsea Clinton to its board of advisers.</strong></li><li><strong>It's also a big deal for people <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nurx-is-the-uber-for-birth-control-2016-3">seeking HIV-prevention drugs</a>, who currently battle stigma and potentially wait months to get the medication.</strong></li></ul><p>In a move that could hint at bigger plans for prescription drug delivery, Silicon Valley startup Nurx on Wednesday launched the first at-home test of its kind for HIV-prevention drug Truvada.</p><p>Getting the daily pill, which is estimated to <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/risk/prep/index.html">reduce infection among high-risk people by more than 90%</a>, is no easy task. It <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4909282/">can take several months</a> for someone who wants PrEP to actually receive the drug. Nurx's new service is designed to shrink that waiting period to just a few days.</p><p>After starting as a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-birth-control-online-app-nurx-2016-7">birth control-only delivery service</a> in 2015, the California-based startup added a second medication, Truvada (also known as PrEP), to its list of available medications <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nurx-is-the-uber-for-birth-control-2016-3">last year</a>.</p><p>Last month, Nurx <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-birth-control-online-app-nurx-2016-7">raised $36 million</a> with help from top Silicon Valley venture capital firms. It also added Chelsea Clinton to its board of advisers.</p><p>There are a handful of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cvs-prescription-drug-delivery-missing-human-element-2018-6">startups offering quick on-demand delivery of prescription medications</a>. But this is the first time one of these companies has tackled at-home lab testing - the hardest part of getting access to PrEP.<span style="background-color: #ffcc00;"></span></p><p>"This is a game-changing step towards preventing the spread of HIV," Hans Gangeskar, co-founder and CEO of Nurx, told Business Insider. "It takes away a key barrier to treatment, and so we really hope to reach the folks that great places like community clinics are still missing."</p><p>Currently, access to PrEP is limited. Beyond simply requiring access to a health care provider, getting a prescription also requires patients visit a clinic, ask about PrEP (which can be a scary conversation for many), and hope the provider can prescribe the drug. Oftentimes, patients are referred to infectious disease specialists who require several visits and extensive testing.<span style="background-color: #ffff00;"></span><span style="background-color: #ffff00;"></span><span style="background-color: #ffff00;"></span></p><p>"There's a big drop off in potential PrEP users at the stage when they need to physically show up for lab testing," Jessica Horwitz, Nurx's head of clinical development, said. "Getting in the door in the first place is often the hardest part. We're missing whole swaths of people who need access."</p><h2>How to get PrEP with Nurx</h2><p>To get PrEP, patients first <a href="https://www.nurx.com/">visit the Nurx website</a> and fill out an assessment with a healthcare provider in the startup's network to figure out if the drug is a good idea.</p><p>Over <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/overview/ataglance.html">1.2 million people in the US have HIV</a>, and men who have sex with men are at the highest risk. Heterosexual men and women who have unprotected sex or use injectable drugs are also at risk.</p><p>Then, patients get a testing kit from Nurx in the mail. In a process that's somewhat similar to at-home genetics testing services like Ancestry or 23andMe, patients collect personal samples and mail them back to Nurx's certified lab partner for processing. Instead of simply taking a spit sample, the Nurx kit requires patients to also send along small samples of blood and urine. This is done to make sure patients aren't HIV positive and to ensure their kidneys are functioning properly, both of which are requirements for the drug.</p><p>Once those steps are complete, patients get PrEP delivered straight to their door - all without ever stepping foot in a physical clinic.</p><h2>The 'GrubHub for prescriptions' model is gaining steam</h2><p>The no-visit-required model for prescription drug delivery is a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cvs-prescription-drug-delivery-missing-human-element-2018-6">big trend</a> across the US right now.</p><p>In June, Amazon inaugurated its latest push into the healthcare industry by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-pharmacy-pillpack-acquisition-merger-latest-push-into-healthcare-2018-6">buying online pharmacy PillPack</a>.</p><p>Just days earlier, pharmacy giant CVS Health <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cvs-health-offers-prescription-delivery-2018-6"> announced a plan</a> to deliver prescriptions from nearly 10,000 of its retail stores to customer homes by contracting with the US Postal Service. And a handful of startups like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cvs-prescription-drug-delivery-missing-human-element-2018-6">Nimble</a> and Capsule currently <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cvs-prescription-drug-delivery-missing-human-element-2018-6">provide similar services</a> with independent pharmacies using courier delivery services.</p><p>Although Nurx currently dispenses only birth control and PrEP, Horwitz told Business Insider there are plans to expand to other medications.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Nurx</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>"PrEP was the next logical step for us because it can be done seamlessly through telemedicine, but our balance in terms of growth is finding clinical areas where there's need and where access is an issue," Horwitz said.</p><p>The new at-home testing kits for PrEP will be available in 19 states and Washington, DC as of Thursday; Nurx's birth control delivery service is currently available in 20 states and is covered by most forms of health insurance - meaning that for most of its customers, the service is free.</p><p>The Nurx team is currently looking at adding sexual health screenings, something it plans to do by the end of the year. Horowitz said next year will be dedicated to thinking more about avenues for growth in primary care.</p><p>"We're always thinking about new avenues where we can disrupt things," she said.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-meteor-shower-perseids-orionids-leonids-2018-8">What you're really seeing during a meteor shower</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

A Silicon Valley startup with Chelsea Clinton on its board is launching the first at-home test for an HIV prevention drug, and you can try it right now

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>We don't traditionally think of flushing the toilet as an action that costs money. But actually the cost of a flush comes in at about 1 cent. Imagine if sequencing a genome was that easy and cheap? Soon, that could be a reality, according to a leading genome researcher. He predicts we will be sequencing genomes for pennies as soon as 2020.</p>
<p>And when genomes are that cheap to come by, the information they provide will completely revolutionize medicine as we know it.</p>
<p>You'll be able to monitor your health, discover diseases like cancer before they became obvious, and profile your microbiome - all the microorganisms that call your body home. That will allow you to catch potential health problems much earlier than is possible right now and even before symptoms show.</p>
<p>"And I always like to say, also, whenever we flush one of those toilets, we're going to go ahead and analyze everything in there, there'll be a little genome sequencer sitting there," Raymond McAuley predicted in a lecture at Singularity University's Exponential Finance conference in June. And he should know: he's the Biotechnology and Bioinformatics Chair at Singularity University and an advisor to a number of biotechnology companies.</p>
<h2>The evolution of the genome sequencer</h2>
<p>As of January 2014, sequencing a human genome cost just under $1000 - less than the cost of a chest X-ray, as McAuley had predicted previously. And the price is only going to fall further. McAuley points out that genome scanning is dropping in cost faster than computers can keep up.</p>
<p>Moore's Law observes that computing power doubles every two years, but the cost of sequencing a genome drops by 5 or 10 times per year, which you can see in the following graph.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Even now, services like <a href="https://www.23andme.com/" target="_blank">23andMe</a> are able to offer direct-to-consumer genetic testing for $99. These aren't full genome scans, but a partial scan of genetic variations known as single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs. The human genome contains more than 10 million SNPs, of which 23andMe analyzes a few hundred thousand. As technology improves, these kinds of tests should improve with them, and drop in cost. (The $99 price point for 23andMe is somewhat misleading; observers have noted that <a href="http://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog/2012/12/16/december-dna-doings/" target="_blank">the individual testing kits are being sold at a loss</a> so the company can amass a database of genetic information.)</p>
<h2><strong>Shifting to forward-looking medicine</strong></h2>
<p>Once the marginal cost of sequencing and analyzing the all these "omes" - the genome, the exome (the genes that are actively being expressed by any given cell), the microbiome, and so on - become negligible, the stage will be set for truly radical changes to begin.</p>
<p>McAuley sees a shift happening from reactive medicine - our current mode of operating, in which a person gets sick and then goes to a doctor for treatment - to predictive medicine, in which people are screened thoroughly and in advance, perhaps on the day they're born. Such a test might flag any genetic vulnerabilities to rare diseases, predispositions to cancer, provide information on expected longevity, and inform doctors about which medications to use or avoid for a given patient.</p>
<p>We might not even have to wait for a person to be born to screen for chromosomal disorders; invasive amniotic fluid tests, which screen the health of a fetus, will soon be supplanted by a non-invasive blood test that analyzes fetal DNA in the mother's blood.</p>
<p>Similarly, McAuley predicts that mammograms and colonoscopies will be replaced by blood tests powerful enough to catch microscopic tumors, well before cancer has a chance to grow, let alone metastasize. Coupled with genome analysis, this will enable doctors to choose the best form of treatment, ideally rendering long, painful struggles with cancer a thing of the past.</p>
<p>We can even use these tools to sequence the bacteria in and on our bodies: our microbiome. These bacteria, viruses, and fungi impact our health, and may even <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/probiotics-can-make-you-skinny-and-happy-2014-6">contribute to our moods</a>. We are still learning the roles that the microbiome plays on our health, but as the field advances being able to sequence all these bugs in and on your will be a useful tool in manipulating our health.</p>
<h2>What's standing in our way</h2>
<p>That all being said, a person's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-cheap-genome-sequencing-means-for-the-future-of-medicine-2012-8">genetic code isn't much use without the tools to analyze it</a>. This is the big problem in genomics right now - we don't have the processing power to deal with all the raw data we are compiling from genome sequencing. The cost of sequencing is falling more than twice as quickly as the cost of computing, so that the cost of sequencing has more to do with data analysis than data collection:<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div>You can watch McAuley's entire lecture below. In addition to cheap sequencing, he also talks briefly about the future of lab-grown food and genetic engineering.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j88APStUcp4"></a></p>

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