Bleed for Citizen Science! Exogen MyDNABreaks Pilot Study

Free workshop sponsored by Raymond McCauley. $5 donation to BioCurious suggested.

Free food and drinks.

How old is your DNA? Is it trashed and thrashed or relatively break-free and in stunningly good shape? Find out!

http://www.my-dna-health.com

Exogen is developing a new test of DNA health, called MyDNABreaks. From a finger stick, they collect a small amount of blood, and then analyze the white blood cells to quantify the number of DNA breaks. This may be a measure of oxidative stress, integrity of DNA repair, and reflect lifestyle factors like diet, exercise, amount of sleep, and general health. In this study, they are testing their processing pipeline and hoping to develop a baseline for all of these factors.

Collections are running all day so Exogen can begin to develop a baseline for the variation in DNA damage over the course of a day. Particpants are encouraged to stop by at different times.

The test takes about 5 minutes. Volunteers read and sign an informed consent document, fill out a short questionnaire, and submit to a quick finger stick. Data will be anonymized, but participants providing email addresses will get their results.

This pilot program is free. Exogen anticipates rolling this out through Kickstarter or another crowd-funding site later this year, where the test may be as high as $50. You must be at least 18 to participate. You must be present to be tested. If you can't be there, or have friends or relatives you'd like to test, Exogen may have sign ups for early access tests available at half price.

At 6:30 pm, Sylvain Costes, Ph.D., Exogen CEO and Co-Founder, and scientist at LNBL, will give a small talk about Exogen's DNA damage-testing technology. He will discuss state of the art technology to measure breaks in your DNA from cells in your blood and how this may relate to long-term health risks. A brief overview of scientific data will be presented before opening the floor for discussion and sample collection for a free analysis of your DNA.

Exogen is an early-stage biotech startup whose goal is to provide tools to monitor the integrity of your DNA. Maintaining the integrity of your DNA over the course of your lifetime is critical for protection against many diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, premature aging, and many other serious medical conditions. You might be surprised to learn that your DNA is constantly being damaged and broken.

For more information, please visit:
http://www.my-dna-health.com