Here's a Bump in the Business Plan

Following in New York's footsteps, California's state health department has sent cease-and-desist orders to 13 consumer genomics companies, reports Forbes.com. In California, the law is that laboratory tests -- including genetic tests -- have to be ordered by a physician and must be validated for accuracy and medical utility. A spokeswoman said that California's investigation was prompted by consumer complaints. "The consumers were unhappy about the accuracy [of the tests] and thought they cost too much," she said.

At Genetic Future, Daniel predicts that this is just the beginning. "To a large extent what's going on here is a turf war between proponents of the old-school medical regulation model and upstart advocates of the free information paradigm of the Google generation."