The Atlantic

23andMe is in dire shape. If the company is sold to a third party, 15 million people’s DNA might be up for sale too, Kristen V. Brown writes. https://lnkd.in/e9r42XWz 23andMe’s trove of genetic data might be its most valuable asset, but the company is floundering in part because it hasn’t managed to prove the value of collecting it. Although human-genome analysis has allowed people to find long-lost relatives, discover family secrets, and learn more about what’s making them sick, for most customers, 23andMe’s tests don’t offer much beyond a look at ancestors’ roots. “There are only so many people who want to know about their Swedish ancestry,” Brown writes. “Potential buyers may have very different ideas about how to use the company’s DNA data to raise the company’s bottom line,” Brown continues. “23andMe promises to ask its customers’ permission before using their data for research or targeted advertising, but that doesn’t mean the next boss will do the same.” Certain parties might be very interested in knowing what’s in your DNA. Insurers would probably like to know about any genetic predispositions that might make you more expensive to them. Law-enforcement agencies rely on DNA data to solve difficult cases. “You don’t have to commit a crime to be affected: Because we share large chunks of our genome with relatives, your DNA could be used to implicate a close family member or even a third cousin whom you’ve never met,” Brown writes. “Spelling out all the potential consequences of an unknown party accessing your DNA is impossible, because scientists’ understanding of the genome is still evolving. Imagine drugmakers trolling your genome to find out what ailments you’re at risk for and then targeting you with ads for drugs to treat them.” Although CEO Anne Wojcicki said this week she would not sell the company, its precarious position could force her hand. “For nearly two decades, the company had an incentive to keep its customers’ data private: 23andMe is a consumer-facing business, and to sell kits, it also needed to win trust,” Brown continues. “Whoever buys the company’s data may not operate under the same constraints.” 🎨: Akshita Chandra / The Atlantic. Source: Getty.

Many of America’s corporate executives “are convinced that having employees in the office is good for business—and that having them in the office more is even better,” Rose Horowitch writes. But the remote-work debate appears far from settled.

J. D. Vance delivered an impressive performance for much of last night’s vice-presidential debate, David A. Graham writes: “Calm, articulate, and detailed, the Republican parried tricky questions about Donald Trump and put a reasonable face on policies that voters have rejected elsewhere. Vance’s offers were frequently dishonest, but they were smooth. https://lnkd.in/dHAkU9Ek “And then things went off the rails.” Vance claimed that Trump “peacefully gave over power on January 20” and argued that the “threat of censorship” was the true threat to democracy. “This strange misdirection requires Americans to disbelieve what they saw and what Trump said in favor of an extremely online conservative talking point,” Graham writes. Tim Walz sniffed blood and asked Vance point-blank if he believed Trump had lost the 2020 election. Vance refused to answer, and again talked about censorship. “A vice-presidential debate is important not because it is likely to shift the polls—it isn’t—but because it tells voters something about the policies of the two people who could become president,” Graham continues. Although both candidates dodged questions at times, voters likely gained a more complete understanding of the two parties’ platforms on a number of topics. “But Vance’s answer on fundamental issues of democracy—or rather, his refusal to commit to it—suggested that such a basic question should have arisen far earlier in the night.” Walz clearly struggled for much of the debate, while Vance “seemed relatively smooth and competent even though he tried to change the subject or twist the context when asked to defend Trump’s past actions,” Graham writes. “For much of the night, the debate was strikingly boring, in the best way—unlike the NASCAR vibe that we’ve become accustomed to since 2016, where viewers are watching to see if there’s a fiery crash. Vance’s final, appalling answer about January 6, though, was a reminder that Trump is a destructive force, which his running-mate, of all people, can’t hope to escape.”

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“Kamala Harris used Donald Trump’s psychic weaknesses against him in their televised debate on September 10,” David Frum writes. Can Tim Walz do the same to J. D. Vance at Tuesday’s vice-presidential debate? https://lnkd.in/ejhNJvHm “It has been said that the Trump-Vance ticket is the angriest in recent history. But Vance doesn’t rage and roar onstage the way Trump does,” Frum writes. “Instead, he seethes with petty peevishness. His disdain for women who deviate from his script for their life is barely disguised, or not disguised at all. It’s an unattractive look.” If Walz wants to take the advantage in the debate, his job is to provoke Vance into showing this side. Vance has been provoked before, such as when CNN’s Dana Bash confronted him with statements from Ohio officials that led him to confess that he “created a story” about illegal Haitian immigrants eating household pets. “In other words, she presented evidence that people whose opinion matters to him regard him as a liar,” Frum writes. Unlike others in Trump’s orbit, such as the former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, “Vance wants to be seen as more than just another Trump henchman,” Frum writes. “His reinvention was meant to ingratiate himself with Trump and the MAGA movement. That shape-shifting is a pain point for him.” “Even at my best, I’m a delayed explosion,” Vance wrote in his book, “Hillbilly Elegy.” And few things trigger Vance as directly “as challenges to whatever constructed image he is projecting for that moment’s advantage,” Frum continues at the link in our bio. 🎨:The Atlantic. Sources: Jim Vondruska / Getty; Michael M. Santiago / Getty.