From MIT’s Technology Review:

“With minimal advertising, these companies have captured the imagination of the public,” says Robert Green, a neurologist at Boston University and one of the conference organizers. “The public is eager to know more about genetics.”

Want to share your genome online with friends and family? Find out how well you metabolize B vitamins? Determine if you’re genetically susceptible to forming blood clots on long flights? All of this is possible with a credit card and an Internet connection, thanks to the growing field of direct-to-consumer genetic testing, which aims to move genetic tests out of the doctor’s office and into the hands of individuals.

The first annual Consumer Genetics Show, which started today in Boston, will highlight some of what’s possible with today’s technology, as well as grapple with the controversies that have grown along with the field. First and foremost among these concerns is how well people can understand the information delivered by these tests, and how effectively they can help people manage their health.

To date, medical genetics has been largely limited to tests ordered by physicians for rare disorders triggered by defects in single genes, such as cystic fibrosis. But as the price of genetic technologies has plummeted–the cost of sequencing a genome has dropped 10,000-fold in the past four years–the possibilities for genetic testing have grown. Scientists have identified hundreds of genetic variations that can raise the risk of common diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease; point to particular ancestries; and even influence traits, such as height.

A number of companies offering direct-to-consumer genetic testing have cropped up in the past two years to capitalize on these advances, from 23andMe and Navigenics, which offer genome-wide scans to identify specific disease-linked genetic variations, to Knome, which offers whole-genome sequencing to the wealthy. Any doubts that personal genomics is making its way into the mainstream can be assuaged with a look at Interleukin Genetics, a startup that sells genetic tests for heart-disease risk, B vitamin metabolism, and other factors through Amway, the direct-sales company.

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Quixtar Cult Intervention: Quixtar/Amway Global’s Perfect Water Scam Has Come and Gone: XS Gold Scam Next On the Agenda For the Fleecing of the Duped Cult Flock!

The Perfect Water Scam of 2008 has pretty much fizzled out. Seems like there are a lot of disappointed Amway distributors out there who have gotten fleeced by purchasing many exorbitantly priced cases believing it to be their ticket to retailing profit and success. All the hype has fizzled out, and just like almost all of Amway’s over priced monopoly products, this fancy bottled water has basically only sold to IBO distributors. If they were lucky enough to unload it at cost, they most assuredly aren’t reordering it a second time at least for retail sales. They are the suckers that I described them to be in past posts on this blog!

TelegraphNeighbors.com: Amway Global Awards YMCA $3,000 Grant

The YMCA of Greater Nashua recently received a $3,000 grant from Amway Global. Amway Global’s financial contribution will help the YMCA expand the reach and impact of the YMCA’s efforts to build a healthier community through its Activate America campaign, the YMCA’s response to our nation’s health crisis.

“Through Activate America, YMCAs are engaging their communities to better support people of all ages who are struggling to achieve and maintain well-being of spirit, mind and body,” said Lynne Vaughan, Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer for YMCA of the USA. “This collaboration with Amway Global will provide YMCAs with new opportunities to reach beyond their walls and connect with more health seekers, who can benefit from the YMCA’s holistic approach to well-being.”

MLM – Network Marketing Blog

ADA, Mich., Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ — Quixtar
Inc. today announced fiscal 2007 sales of $1.072 billion, the fifth
consecutive year in which the company surpassed the billion-dollar
mark. The results represented a slight decline from the previous year’s
sales of $1.12 billion, which were the best in Quixtar’s nine-year
history.

Results were affected minimally by actions the company took to
terminate the business of a few Independent Business Owners in August
of 2007 after they refused to change unacceptable practices.

Quixtar Independent Business Owners (IBOs) earned $363 million in
bonuses and other incentives for their business efforts in 2007, which
also included $70.1 million in sales at Quixtar’s Partner Stores.

In 2007, Quixtar launched a new line of nutritional snacks, juices
and supplements for busy families under the Simply Nutrilite(TM) brand,
as well as the new ARTISTRY(R) essentials line of skin care and
cosmetics products. Quixtar.com was redesigned to improve usability and
to better support IBO sales efforts, and Quixtar University was
launched to provide online and aided sales and brand training to help
IBOs build profitable businesses.

Since 1999, IBOs have earned nearly $2.6 billion based on total
Quixtar sales of more than $7.86 billion and Partner Store sales of
more than $577 million. Driven by its strong Health and Beauty brands,
Quixtar again was ranked #1 in online Health and Beauty sales by
Internet Retailer’s “Top 500 Guide” in 2007, and 22nd overall in
e-commerce.

“Our business is on the right path at the right time,” said Jim
Payne, Executive Vice President – Amway & Quixtar. “New leadership
was brought in this year with Steve Lieberman, the new Managing
Director for Quixtar who joined us in August. We also recently hired a
new VP of Sales, Sandy Spielmaker, who will have a tremendous impact on
our sales team.”

Plans were announced in 2007 to change the business opportunity
brand in North America to better leverage and align with Amway’s $7
billion global business.

“We’re working with IBOs to properly position our North American
business within the context of the larger Amway global brand,” said
Lieberman. “To better support IBO efforts, we are focusing in
particular on how consumers interact with our products and our brands.”

“Our goal is to provide the best business opportunity in North
America,” said Lieberman. “From products and IBO compensation to sales
training and marketing programs, everything we do in support of our
IBOs is being examined to ensure we achieve that goal.”

    ABOUT QUIXTAR

Based in Ada, Mich., Quixtar Inc. is part of the Alticor group of
companies, founded by the DeVos and Van Andel families. Alticor is led
by Steve Van Andel, Chairman, and Doug DeVos, President. Global sales
for the Alticor group of companies, which include Amway, Access
Business Group, Alticor Corporate Enterprises (ACE), and Quixtar,
exceeded $7.1 billion in fiscal 2007.

Quixtar currently supports independent businesses in the U.S.,
Canada, Puerto Rico, and various trust territories and independent
island nations in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and Caribbean Sea.
Quixtar Canada Corp. headquarters are located in London, Ont., Canada.

                                                Website: http://www.quixtar.com/

Pacific Epoch – Amway China Seeks Online Games For New Training Model

Amway China is negotiating with Chinese online game companies on the development of games to train Amway direct sales employees, reports National Business Daily quoting Amway Greater China vice president Liu Mingxiong. Liu said Amway China’s 2008 training budget nears RMB200 million, up from RMB90 million in 2007. Amway China spends an average of RMB3,300 per employee on training each year, according to the report. Liu said 240,000 Amway employees have received their direct sales certification.

Technorati Tags: Amway China

Helping Americans Naturally Lose Weight, Quixtar Introduces Nutrilite Slimmetry

Quixtar Inc. and its sister company, Amway Corporation, launches an all-natural dietary supplement.

Buena Park, CA (PRWEB)
February 21, 2008 — The struggle to shed pounds through diet and
exercise alone is a losing battle for many Americans, yet dietary
supplements designed to help fight the battle of the bulge often over
promise and under deliver. Quixtar Inc. and its sister company, Amway
Corporation, are launching an all-natural dietary supplement that was
shown in a human clinical trial to deliver statistically significant
weight loss when used in conjunction with regular physical activity and
a low calorie diet.

Quixtar is offering NUTRILITE® SLIMMETRY™ dietary supplement as part of
the NUTRILITE product line. NUTRILITE is the world’s leading brand of
vitamin, mineral and dietary supplements*. It’s the only global vitamin
and mineral brand to grow, harvest, and process plants on its own
certified organic farms**. Quixtar chose SLIMMETRY because it is
all-natural and clinically tested, further supporting NUTRILITE’s
commitment to promoting optimal health through natural methods.