🧬✨ Here's what you missed

On genomic tools, synthetic biology, gene editing, measuring aging & more. A recap of biotech trends/companies covered thus far — exclusively here on Health & Wealth.

Hi friends 👋

Welcome to Health & Wealth — your weekly source of the latest health research and biotech trends. I spent last Sunday reading various long-form content I've bookmarked but didn't have the chance to read yet. It occurred to me many of you may not have had the opportunity to read my previous posts — especially if you joined recently. (Thank you to the OG early adopters!)

I started Health & Wealth 2 months ago and have since published seven in-depth essays. My standards are high — I aim to produce best-in-class insights and analyses that you can't get anywhere else.

Here's a tour around!

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Art by ヤツデ

I know you're busy! It takes me a while to digest others' long-form content, too.

To help you out:

• Pieces are organized by category, with estimated reading times included to budget when you might have the time to give it a read.

• Embedded some tweets or threads I shared on these posts along the way, in case you wanted to share soundbites on Twitter.

Genomics

• Bionano Genomics: The Swiss Army knife of cytogenetic testing — and more - On why the genomic revolution needs tools beyond just sequencing (15 mins)

Health & Wealth @healthwealthgen

Here's the Bionano piece I promised. It's a long read but hopefully helpful for those interested in $BNGO stock but feel intimidated. Genomics doesn't need to be like a foreign language — learn about optical genome mapping and why it's vital:

healthandwealth.substack.comBionano Genomics: The Swiss Army knife of cytogenetic testing — and moreWhy the genomic revolution needs tools beyond just sequencing — and how Bionano is in a league of its own

• MaxCyte's snowball effect: Riding on the shoulders of top CRISPR companies - On how you can cheaply, quickly, and reliably deliver CRISPR components into a lot of cells to do its gene-editing magic (12 mins)

Health & Wealth @healthwealthgen

A key challenge in unlocking #CRISPR's potential is delivery. 🧬 🚛 How can you cheaply, quickly, and reliably deliver CRISPR components into a lot of cells to do its gene-editing magic? $MXCT is a company that does just that (ex vivo) Here's a breakdown🧵

Synthetic biology

• Ginkgo Bioworks: Audacious vision — but unproven track record playing in major league, pt 1 - A high-level overview of the bull and bear case on Ginkgo and how we got here (14 mins)

Health & Wealth @healthwealthgen

Love or hate them — Ginkgo is quickly becoming one of the most talked-about biotech companies today. Is $DNA a scam or the next $TSLA of biology? Dunno. If it's either, will you have a massive advantage by learning about it now? Definitely. #SynBio

healthandwealth.substack.comGinkgo Bioworks: Audacious vision — but unproven track record playing in major leaguePart 1 — A high-level overview of the bull and bear case on Ginkgo and how we got here

• A look under Ginkgo Bioworks' hood — Understanding their science and business, pt 2 - On a closer look at Ginkgo's biofoundry, specific products they've designed, and the value of a horizontal model (16 mins)

Health & Wealth @healthwealthgen

The jury on whether Ginkgo will succeed or fail is still out. To understand the company, you need to understand the purpose of biofoundries and what they've achieved to date. My part 2 piece on $DNA 🧬🧫🔬⚙️ healthandwealth.substack.com/p/ginkgo-biowo…

healthandwealth.substack.comA look under Ginkgo Bioworks’ hood — Understanding their science and businessPart 2 — Taking a closer look at Ginkgo’s biofoundry, specific products they’ve designed, and the value of a horizontal model

Aging

• A test to measure how fast you age — and whether you could be aging better - On how to extend the human lifespan, we must first develop a muscle as a civilization for actually measuring it (12 mins)

Health & Wealth @healthwealthgen

How old are you, really? We know by intuition that some people seem to age slower (or faster) than others. But is there a way to quantify that? A thread on epigenetic clocks ⏱🧬 👇

• Bezos funded longevity startup, Altos Labs — more than just clickbait (hopefully) - On what Altos is actually trying to do and why this is more than just a bunch of billionaires throwing money at a problem until it goes away (8 mins)

Health & Wealth @healthwealthgen

The announcement of Altos Labs has generated a LOT of clickbait headlines, to the point where it obscures what this #longevity startup will focus on in the 1st place. Preview👇 Expanding on this in newsletter tomorrow. Subscribe below to learn about epigenetic reprogramming✨

Personalized health

• So you want a CGM (but don't like needles) - On how to make CGMs painless and hassle-free without compromising too much on accuracy and cost (13 mins)

Health & Wealth @healthwealthgen

HbA1c vs. CGM, explained: HbA1c is like only seeing a stock price's 3 mo average No insight on current price, past trends— nothing The price could be fluctuating wildly or be a static flatline, but you would never know With a #CGM, you see everything in real-time @Levels

Who the f*** are you, anyway?

If you've scrolled this far, you might be wondering who I am and why I'm doing this.

Short answer:

I'm Christina, a genetic counselor who seeks to simplify where others complicate and become a polymath. I believe in the need for expert content curation in the age of abundant information:

"In a world of the infinite scroll, content is unlimited. However, time and attention are not, so filtering and trusting information are becoming more important and more valuable. Substack's bet is that some people will get sick of empty calories from bottomless candy bowls of social media and will be willing to reclaim their attention."

— Kevin LaBuz, Below the Line

This is sorely missing in the field of biotech and health research. So I started Health & Wealth to fill the biotech domain knowledge and insights gap.

Learn more on my About page — full personal story to be shared at a later time. Or, if you're keen, connect with me. I love to hear from my readers and what you guys are interested in.

I published a post celebrating 100+ readers a few weeks ago — happy to now welcome over 250 subscribers. This was built entirely from scratch — published with my first name only and a new Twitter account @healthwealthgen starting with 0 followers. My sincere gratitude to you all 🙏

This is just the beginning. More interesting and relevant content to come. Next week I'm thinking of writing about CGM-based personalized nutrition programs like Levels and January AI.

If you're new, subscribe to get my free insights directly to your inbox:

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First cross-promo on here! I love supporting fellow creators and curators in the biotech and health optimization space 🙌

A note from Jason Levin, creator of Wellness-Tech Biweekly

Curious about the business of sleep tracking and meditation apps? Data engineer and writer Jason Levin profiles key players and companies in the wellness-tech industry in his free newsletter Wellness-Tech Biweekly. And look out on the 2nd and 4th Mondays for the Biweekly Breakdown covering new articles, books, podcasts, products launches, videos from the industry.

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Most people seem to find Health & Wealth through Twitter or word-of-mouth. But I find toggling between researching/writing and distributing difficult, so it would mean the world to me if you helped by sharing my work within your social media channels and network.

Feel free to suggest ideas for future pieces — reply to this email or tweet me @healthwealthgen

Thanks for reading!

Christina