Frequently Asked Questions

The genetic test will have its own instructions. But you spit in a tube and send it to our laboratory for processing and analysis.

We try to process as quickly as possible, so we aim to have your results in under 2 weeks.

Of course. Your initial contact person for The Pilot is George.

Perhaps the oldest question there is, people have been asking themselves this since we developed the brain capacity to ask philosophical questions.

Your genes play a big role in defining who you are, and we hope to help unravel some of that mystery.

Absolutely there is. Watch this space!!

The Pilot is a trial to develop a brand new type of product. One that is personalised to you, based on your lifestyle and genetics. It is at a very early stage, and it needs your input to be turned into the final version we will eventually provide to customers.

In short - we will ask you about the things you would like to know and what features you would like to see. So we can develop a service which will ultimately meet your expectations.

We will give you a free genetic test, in exchange for your feedback to develop the features of the final product. The genetic test will be used to create a personal profile, with information about your ancestry and insight into various traits you may have inherited.

The kit contains full instructions to correct use. To provide a sample, you are required you to spit 2mL of saliva into a tube, from which we will extract and analyse your DNA. The important things to remember are:

1) Do NOT eat or drink or chew gum in the 30 minutes before you provide

2) Spit into the funnel and fill the tube up to the line with liquid saliva. Bubbles will happen, but they need to be sitting on top of the liquid, above the line.

3) Close the wide lid to release the "DNA stabilising solution".

4) Carefully remove the wide lid and screw on the cap which came inside the kit. Shake for 5 seconds.

5) Insert ONLY the tube into the return envelope. Seal and post the envelope as soon as possible.

6) Don't worry. The saliva is perfectly safe and cannot be damaged during shipping.

About 2 weeks later, when the results are ready, we will send you an email to let you know that your profile is ready to view.

An account is how you can access you personal genetic and health profile.

Signing up only takes 15 seconds while the short health and lifestyle questionnaire takes less than 5 minutes to complete.

About 2 weeks later, when the results are ready, we will send you an email to let you know that your profile is ready to view.

Genetic testing looks at your DNA, which we extract from your saliva. Australia's leading genetic testing labioratory extracts the DNA from the saliva and then analyses the DNA using Illumina's leading genotyping equipment.

Illumina is the world's leading provider of genetic testing equipment, with over 80% market share in Australia and around the world.

We will show you a few (hopefully) interesting things by looking at your genetics.

Ancestry: We can look at your DNA and compare it to the DNA of people from around the world. This can tell you how much DNA you have in common with people from around the world.

Traits: We can tell you how your genes may influence various non-medical traits. These include things like your hair and skin colour, your metabolism and other factors which are influenced by your genetics. Of course, your your DNA isn't always the full story and environment can also play a part in determining these traits. But we are able to provide insight into your genetic profile, based on research which has linked genetic differences to your traits

The Health and Lifestyle questionnaire is designed to take a snapshot of your health, and it takes about 5 minutes to complete.

We ask you about your health, your lifestyle and some family history questions, and most people take less than 5 minutes to answer all the questions.

Your answers are going to be used to understand your current health and to help you track your health over time.