Franken-Facial MLM
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 7:10 pm
A new MLM (GeneWize Life Sciences) purports to tailor its skin-care and nutritional supplement products to your specific DNA. No, I'm not kidding. According to that page, they test your DNA, then fashion customized products - and, of course, want you to pay them to distribute their stuff. There appear to be slight problems with each of their steps.
First you prepare a buccal swab - swipe the inside of your cheek with what amounts to a Q-tip - and send it to them. They then supposedly look for specific "SNPs" - single nucleotide polymorphisms - at certain places in your DNA profile. (An SNP is basically a mutation in your genome where a single nucleotide - A, C, G or T - differs from that in other members of your species or in a paired chromosome in you.) There is no question that the use of SNPs is promising technology. See here for a short summary. But the state of the art is nowhere near being able to use information about a single SNP to tailor a cosmetic (or supplement - they say that's next). In any event, genes don't work alone, so even with more complete knowledge of human genetics it is not at all clear that knowledge of a single SNP will be useful.
Second, they claim that they will make a "comprehensive personal formula created just for you, utilizing over 177,000 possible ingredients combinations". 177,000? It would probably be cheaper to mine moon rocks for them. Au contraire, they say - they will use "innovative
manufacturing technologies that make it possible to mass customize your product". "Mass customize"? Isn't that a little like "generally specific"? Or "logical gobbledygook"? Or "honest ripoff"? Anyway, if you don't need a supplement - something true of virtually everyone with a healthy diet and not requiring DNA analysis to determine - what good will supplements do you regardless of how many SNPs you have?
Finally, of course, they want you to sell their stuff using a somewhat unusual "compensation plan" - enroll four new suckers and get your own next month's stuff free. Someone explain to me why this is not perforce a pyramid - if your goal is to get your own free, you (along with everyone else) must keep enrolling four per month. At best, they are blatantly selling a non-existent "opportunity" rather than a product.
One final thing I couldn't resist including. They brag about their "Profiling technologies by GeneLink BioSciences, Inc. U.S. Patent No. 6.291.171". Ohh - they have a patented process for profiling your DNA, right? Well, not exactly. Check out this patent with the USPTO. They patented a Q-tip with a little sterile stand and container to keep it from getting contaminated. Good job, guys.
First you prepare a buccal swab - swipe the inside of your cheek with what amounts to a Q-tip - and send it to them. They then supposedly look for specific "SNPs" - single nucleotide polymorphisms - at certain places in your DNA profile. (An SNP is basically a mutation in your genome where a single nucleotide - A, C, G or T - differs from that in other members of your species or in a paired chromosome in you.) There is no question that the use of SNPs is promising technology. See here for a short summary. But the state of the art is nowhere near being able to use information about a single SNP to tailor a cosmetic (or supplement - they say that's next). In any event, genes don't work alone, so even with more complete knowledge of human genetics it is not at all clear that knowledge of a single SNP will be useful.
Second, they claim that they will make a "comprehensive personal formula created just for you, utilizing over 177,000 possible ingredients combinations". 177,000? It would probably be cheaper to mine moon rocks for them. Au contraire, they say - they will use "innovative
manufacturing technologies that make it possible to mass customize your product". "Mass customize"? Isn't that a little like "generally specific"? Or "logical gobbledygook"? Or "honest ripoff"? Anyway, if you don't need a supplement - something true of virtually everyone with a healthy diet and not requiring DNA analysis to determine - what good will supplements do you regardless of how many SNPs you have?
Finally, of course, they want you to sell their stuff using a somewhat unusual "compensation plan" - enroll four new suckers and get your own next month's stuff free. Someone explain to me why this is not perforce a pyramid - if your goal is to get your own free, you (along with everyone else) must keep enrolling four per month. At best, they are blatantly selling a non-existent "opportunity" rather than a product.
One final thing I couldn't resist including. They brag about their "Profiling technologies by GeneLink BioSciences, Inc. U.S. Patent No. 6.291.171". Ohh - they have a patented process for profiling your DNA, right? Well, not exactly. Check out this patent with the USPTO. They patented a Q-tip with a little sterile stand and container to keep it from getting contaminated. Good job, guys.