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Parkinson's disease patients get free lifetime access to 23andMe personal genome service.

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American



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23andMe are offering free lifetime access to their personal genome service to people who have been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease for their participation in their Parkinson's disease research initiative.

Below is a promotional video for the project that highlights Muhammad Ali's struggle with Parkinson's disease and his participation in 23andMe's research program. If you or someone you know has Parkinson's disease, watch the video, check out the website, and explore your options for participation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B9cgyEeULU

"Life creates [the Force], makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter," Yoda explains in The Empire Strikes Back, gesturing to Luke's physical body. This quote is striking because of the apt juxtaposition of the wonder of life with its often disgusting vessel. Like many other animals, we secrete, excrete, expectorate, defecate, flatulate, regurgitate, urinate, circulate, masticate, menstruate, ejaculate, and ventilate. We are filled with gas and feces and blood and guts and mucus and any number of rude things. Life as we know it is possible because of the countless impolite things we do every day. Are we luminous beings? Perhaps, but that's neither here nor there. This blog is about the crude matter that keeps us alive.

Michelle Clement has a B.Sc. in zoology (with a minor in American culture studies) and a M.Sc. in organismal biology from The Ohio State University. Her thesis research was on the ecophysiology of epidermal lipids and water homeostasis in house sparrows. She now works as a technical editor for The American Chemical Society. Her broader interests include weird human and animal physiology, obesity and enteric physiology, endocrinology, sexual and reproductive health, personal genomics, anthropology (physical and cultural), sociology, and science education and communication. She lives in Ohio with her boyfriend and two cats.

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