The demise of 23andMe illustrates the vulnerable state of Americans' health data, as med tech companies vacuum up more personal information with little regulatory oversight.

Why it matters: Fitness trackers, wellness apps, genetic tests and other direct-to-consumer tools that capture personal health information aren't subject to federal health data privacy laws. That could open the door to fraud or discrimination.

23andMe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and its co-founder and CEO has resigned as the struggling genetic testing company continues its push to cut costs.

San Francisco-based 23andMe announced on Sunday that it will look to sell “substantially all of its assets” through a court-approved reorganization plan.

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the world’s first medicine based on CRISPR gene-editing technology, a groundbreaking treatment for sickle cell disease that delivers a potential cure for people born with the chronic and life-shortening blood disorder.

The new medicine, called Casgevy, is made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics. Its authorization is a scientific triumph for the technology that can efficiently and precisely repair DNA mutations — ushering in a new era of genetic medicines for inherited diseases.

A DNA sample taken from the estranged wife of alleged serial killer Rex Heuermann matches genetic material found on the remains of three Long Island victims, ABC News reports.

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office has not confirmed the report, but if verified, it would be another bombshell in the case allegedly revealed by DNA.

The purported DNA match between Asa Ellerup’s cheek swab and material found on some of the victims opens new questions about Heuermann’s wife’s possible connections to the murders.

More than 20 years after the first draft genome from the landmark Human Genome Project was released, researchers have published a draft human ‘pangenome’ — a snapshot of what is poised to become a new reference for genetic research that captures more of human diversity than has been previously available. Geneticists have welcomed the milestone, while also highlighting key ethical considerations surrounding the effort to make genome research more inclusive.

Next week, hundreds of scientists from around the world will convene in London for an international summit on genome editing. That technology, which enables scientists to easily excise, alter, or replace specific sections of DNA, was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

It was only three days into 1956 when three boys from Montana, out for a hike on a normal January day, made a gruesome discovery they were unlikely to ever forget.

Edward Holmes was in Australia on a Saturday morning in early January 2020, talking on the phone with a Chinese scientist named Yong-Zhen Zhang who had just sequenced the genome of a novel pathogen that was infecting people in Wuhan. The two men — old friends — debated the results. “I knew we were looking at a respiratory virus,” recalls Holmes, a virologist and professor at the University of Sydney. He also knew it looked dangerous.

We’ve seen many social media posts lately that falsely claim Bill Gates is responsible for, or will somehow profit from, COVID-19.

Most claims are focused on the coronavirus vaccine. The Gates Foundation has been financially supporting the development of a vaccine and posting articles explaining the projected vaccine timeline.