“How are you different from 23andMe?”. If we had a penny… Although companies like Ancestry.com, 23andMe, and even Helix have made DNA testing the norm, they have frozen public perception of what DNA testing means. Here are 6 reasons why Chronomics is so much more than just another genomics company:
1. We care about you and your data.
The user always comes first! No matter what channel, the end result is a human being with feelings and emotions logging in to their secure online health hub. Chronomics had the ‘luck’ of founding just as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force in 2018. And the company has been built around it, for a while being the only GDPR compliant DNA testing company.
Chronomics will never sell your data. Recent news about the GSK and 23andMe deal was met with mixed reactions from uncomfortable users, who’d had no precedent to warn them what the t’s and c’s might have in store for them later on.
But you can still contribute. The potential for public health insights and research resulting from Chronomics users may well eclipse that of static genomics. Therefore, there will always be the option to opt in and contribute to external studies.
2. We do epigenetics.
Epi-what!? Epi-genetics. What kind of epigenetics do you look at? Now you’re talking. Chronomics analyses DNA methylation (DNAm). While consisting of only a single carbon atom and a few hydrogens, the elusive methyl-tag is an essential and fundamental part of DNA.
It's how you USE it. Genetics on its own is strange if you think about it. Our bodies and our health are constantly in flux and DNAm is the switchboard of our cells. DNAm can switch genes on or off, and is the reason one genome can become hundreds of cell types. It also responds to changes in internal health as we age and external factors in our lifestyles.
The ultimate biomarker. Unlike other epigenetic mechanisms DNAm is highly stable and can be deciphered using the latest in next generation sequencing technology. This means high quality, high throughput data. A simple, wide spread, easily read, highly responsive biomarker that is uniquely placed at the intersection of environment/exposome and genetics/health. You couldn’t ask for more.
3. Quality AND quantity.
“Don’t waste your money on a cheap DNA test, get your genome sequenced properly.” – Jim Mellon, CEO of Juvenescence.
Chronomics does DNA properly. Genome plus epigenome. All the bumps, bruises and nobbly bits. Whole genome sequencing means everything, all 3.2 billion base pairs. Add to that epigenetic analysis to bring your DNA to life with 5 million methylation sites and you’ll soon be empowered by over 10,000 times more data that 23andMe.
Every base is read. Our technology is only possible using the most advanced next generation sequencing (NGS) technology around. Unlike array based technology with its 40% irreproduceability rates and low accuracy, NGS is thorough and comprehensive.
Epigenetics is hard. Chronomics insights are built from the core up using machine learning. Each health indicator has been trained and built from thousands of data sets.
4. Epigenetics changes.
Your health today, your goals tomorrow. Whether by the steady rate of the biological ageing clock, or caused by your environment or lifestyle, time leads you away from your genetic predispositions. This is the first repeatable and actionable DNA test that lets you track improvements to your health and biological age over time.
Truth in numbers. By making the unseen actionable you don’t have to wait until the first redirect sign is deteriorating health. What is more affirming than seeing an objective measure of how you have improved.
Slow and steady wins the race. The warning signs we should listen to are the ones that are still ringing as the seasons change. Living a full and varied life is part of the whole picture of health. It is the long term trends in health we need to keep an eye on.
5. You have the choice.
If you could do nothing about it, would you want to know? Some would, some wouldn’t. But if you CAN do something about it, who wouldn’t want to know? Epigenetics based health insights put the individual back in control.
You are not your genes. The contribution of genetics to ageing and age-related diseases is under debate, but one recent paper put it at just 7%.
The path to healthy ageing. We all know that some of our daily habits are the leading risk factors for chronic illnesses later in life. It takes a conscious choice to make those changes that will add years of health to our lives. Removing all the guesswork of what to do makes those choices easier and pain-free.
6. The future is personal.
Epigenetics transforms DNA based health analysis both by adding the dimension of time as we age and space by measuring factors inside and outside the body.
Epigenetics is just the beginning. We are a galaxy of molecules, proteins, and cells, at the end of the day, all omics matter.
In the near future, we will all be empowered by knowledge of the state of our bodies as we progress through life. Prevention will be the unthinking norm, and your health hub will become more than just a lifestyle planning guide, it will help shape your healthy future. A future powered by Chronomics.
So whats not to like about a bunch of guys and girls who genuinely want to improve human health using the latest technology available.
