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Hi, I'm Sylvain.
And I'm Jon.
We want to tell you about an exciting project
we're working on at Exogen
to give individuals like you
the ability to monitor the health of your DNA.
You might be surprised to learn that
your DNA is constantly being damaged.
Every single cell in your body
Experiences 1-10 DNA breaks per day,
depending on your lifestyle
and your genetics.
Scientists developed the technology to measure
DNA damage in cells over 15 years ago.
They have used this technology in the laboratory
to link DNA damage and poor repair of DNA
to cancer, premature aging, neurological disorders,
and many other serious medical conditions.
Unfortunately, this technology is not yet accessible to the public
and it may take decades before it's available to you and your doctor.
Our campaign wants to accelerate this timeline
by recruiting an army of citizen scientists
to generate the big data needed to correlate DNA damage
to specific diseases,
and environmental and lifestyle factors.
Our society has been focused for many years
on reducing the amount of DNA damage
by minimizing medical x-rays,
avoiding environmental toxins,limiting UV rays from the sun,
taking vitamin supplements,
and eating antioxidant rich foods.
But in the end, how do you know
any of these lifestyle choices are reducing the amount of DNA damage.
That's where Exogen comes in.
Exogen has assembled a kit to measure DNA damage
in your own cells using only a few drops of blood.
The kit consists of commercially available tools
to let you collect your blood samples in the privacy of your own home,
before they get shipped back to us for analysis.
So it's completely safe.
Here's how it works:
Step 1:
You receive your kit in the mail,
allowing you to collect up to three samples within three days.
Step 2:
You collect your blood with a sterile lancet and a mini capillary.
Immediately combine your blood with the fixative solution provided,
so that we get a precise snapshot
of your DNA damage
at the moment of collection.
Step 3:
Log in to our secure web app,
register your samples,
and fill out a short questionnaire.
Step 4:
When you're done, mail them back to us for analysis.
After we receive your samples, state of the art microscopes,
which we will purchase with the funds we raise,
will be used to evaluate how much DNA damage is in your white blood cells.
When we're finished, we format your information
and make it available to only you via secure login.
Imagine what we could discover together if you become a citizen scientist
and help us bring this technology out of the lab and into the public.
For example, by sharing your location,
we can geographically map DNA damage levels
to identify regional hotspots.
And over time, we can see
if there are seasonal patterns.
With a one-time kit, you will know
how your DNA damage levels compare to others.
With a conscientious scientist kit, you get 6 samples
to create your own customized before and after experiment.
At Exogen, we believe regular monitoring has added value
in better understanding how your lifestyle choices
impact your health.
By ordering monthly, or quarterly kits,
you can start tuning your lifestyle for a healthier DNA
So who are we?
Sylvain has a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley
and I received my PhD from UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco.
Together we are working at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
studying breast cancer and radiation carcinogenesis
We also have a team of highly talented scientists, doctors, and engineers
on our scientific advisory board
with profiles listed on our website.
We have the science and the team
to make this a revolutionary weapon against many diseases,
but we need your help to get started
Together, let's promote healthier DNA and a healthier living for all of us.
So, please join us.