"8. Anonymous sperm and egg donors could become a thing of the past."<p>As someone conceived with donor gametes who used Ancestry/23andme to find and build a relationship with my biological father - this is a WONDERFUL thing.<p>Depriving people of their genetic history is a terrible byproduct of the multi-billion-dollar fertility industry, and I personally know hundreds of people that have been terribly hurt by the pain caused by anonymous donations.<p>Only thing to correct - anonymous donations very much now ARE a thing of the past, not "could be." Any fertility clinic promising anonymity is knowingly lying to prospective donors and/or recipient parents.
While this list isn't the best and some reasons are a bit silly, I'm happy to see more content that helps inform regular users about the downsides of these practices. Paying to give a company your DNA is absurd. As I stated on this two weeks ago:<p>I will be waiting until I can analyze my DNA myself, without handing it over to a company that is going to do whatever it wants to with it. We are not yet able to fully appreciate how valuable DNA is, and yet everyone seems delighted to pay companies to take it from them.<p>Perhaps they will be less delighted when they are convicted of a crime based off of a false positive, have their DNA shared with Facebook to Improve Their User Experience ™, or have their DNA made public after yet another security breach where it is left on an unsecured server.<p>Remember that your DNA is very valuable, literally. Those who have noticed recent progress in genomics should realize how valuable it would be to a competent advertising company, allowing them to profile and predict users with significantly higher personal accuracy, even if all they are doing is performing basic GWASs (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genome-wide_association_study" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genome-wide_association_study</a>).
> Genes can be hacked. Scientists have discovered how to store data and even animated GIFs in DNA, and even believe malware could be placed in DNA to compromise the security of computers holding databases. Still trust them?<p>Trust who? This bullet makes no sense to me. The entire list seems to boil down to "big company bad, wear tinfoil hat." There are certainly valid reasons one would not want to have their DNA sequenced by a public for-profit company, but this list is reaching.<p>> A pair of socks is a better gift.<p>I mean, really?
>You will jeopardize the anonymity of family members<p>Too late for me. I have 7 siblings and 4 half siblings. I have 10 aunts and uncles who are blood relations (I'm not including their spouses) and about 70 first cousins. Plus my parents and grand parents. To the best of my knowledge, almost all of them have had their DNA work done by ancestry and 23andme. The family has a lot of doctors (some of whom are boarded in genetic medicine) that think everyone (not just in the family, but literally everyone) should get their DNA tested to help answer questions about family history, migrations, diseases, etc. I'm considered odd because I don't want to get mine done, though it's probably pointless since so many people that share my DNA have already done it.
> Genes can be hacked. Scientists have discovered how to store data and even animated GIFs in DNA, and even believe malware could be placed in DNA to compromise the security of computers holding databases. Still trust them?<p>This is really hyperbolic. Who is behind the institution publishing this and what are their motives?<p>Edit: Oh... Mozilla????
I used Ancestry in the past but didn't really get much info, basically I'm Mediterranean which I know I am since that's where I grew up and links to some random 6th degree cousins which TBH could be anyone given that I'm from a country with a total population of ~4M.<p>I ended up downloading my data and canceling my Ancestry service since I wasn't comfortable with how that data could potentially be used in the future (one term of services change from sketchy stuff happening).<p>Question to people here, what can I do with this data I've downloaded? Data was surprisingly small, just 5MB - with 5 rows: rsid, chromosome, position, allele 1, allele 2. Is there any OSS software I can run on my machine to learn something useful about myself?
Unfortunately, you would have to live in a plastic bubble to make that possible. You probably shed many petabases of your DNA every day. Your DNA is no more private than your face. The best you can do of you don't want to reveal it is to never leave the house. Also, don't have family, relatives, or members of the same species to reveal your secret...
I prefer to share. Here is mine.
<a href="https://github.com/sbassi/MiGenomaSbassi" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/sbassi/MiGenomaSbassi</a>
The genie is out of the bottle; wait ten years and DNA will be mandatory to include in passports, drivers licenses, etc.<p>Same thing with facial recognition. I still hate fingerprinting.<p>None of these biometrics are perfect, and my core objection to all is that they make every one a suspect. Suddenly, it's possible that any person in the nation could be "matched" and, simply by the say-so of the all-powerful computer, determined guilty.<p>My math professor used to make fun of students for relying too much on calculators. He would tell a story of a student who received an answer of several million miles from his calculator on a problem concerning distance between two cities in America. Because it came from his calculator, he took it as gospel, even though it was obviously wrong. There is no reason to expect better of our law enforcement or of our governments. See the cases of incorrect DNA testing getting people locked away for years.<p>I hope there is some way to eradicate biometric technology. I do not see a huge benefit, as it can be forged. And if the information is ever leaked, it cannot be changed. Fingerprint got uploaded to the internet? Nothing to be done.<p>Is any American politician actually advocating to stop this, possibly outside of the Libertarian Party (which I generally like, but will sadly never be elected, especially if they keep putting up Gary Johnson)? This might just be enough to convince me to support a candidate of one of the main parties.
I actually want to submit some other person's DNA to them, so it can be in the DB as mine. Would they notice this, assuming I find another <same race, same sex> person?
I paid 23&me to test my DNA. I have received the results. Now I have no idea how that information is being re-used or sold. I plan to submit a delete request of my data when CA’s CCPA law goes into effect.
An unknown half-brother found me after an Ancestry.com DNA test. It's been a weird but very fulfilling experience for me. I realize it's not that way for everyone.
About a year ago I saw a link here on HN from an Intel(?) guy in which he listed ways that DNA info can be abused. I tried to find the talk but have been unable to. Does anyone remember the talk and has a link?
If pharmaceutical companies want access to my DNA then fine... they can pay me for that access. I will not give it away for free and certainly not let them charge me money for it.
I thought these companies didn't actually sequence your DNA. Smarter Every Day did a video where they showed how your DNA samples are checked for several know markers to see if they attach. Unless you specifically allow it, the samples are then destroyed.<p>I still wouldn't get one of these tests, mostly due to accuracy issues and because I really just don't care, but I feel like some of this article is fear mongering.
Oh, that's cute, thinking you have a choice. As DNA tests get cheaper and more powerful, a rando could get it just from hair or skin cells you leave behind.<p>Similar issue for giving your full legal name to a stranger, which will be hard to protect has facial recognition gets better.
>4. Racists are weaponizing the results. White nationalists have flocked to commercial DNA companies to vie for the highest race-purity points on extremist websites.<p>Hitler drank water. Stay away from it.<p>Also, from the original quoted guardian article: "like many things in life, direct-to-consumer genetic testing is tailored for white people".<p>> 10. A pair of socks is a better gift.<p>The smartest question I can ask about this: what the fuck is this shit?
The danger about making these lists is that you may end up thinking that you have to get a high number of reasons to make your claim seem valid. I would not be surprised if the author started stating five to ten reasons and then thought that 23 was a good number for the reference, therefore proceeding to fill up the article with whatever nonsense. That's the only process I can think of that nets you "they sell your DNA to other companies", "scientists can make gifs with your DNA" and "companies buy ads" to be arguments in the same hierarchical level.<p>Some of them are pretty serious consequences of using their services: some of them involving the company's practices, and others involving the dangers of developing this industry. Both should be considered in separate to get a clearer picture of the issue. This article is treating it as BuzzFeed treats a new game of thrones episode, therefore depriving it of any legitimacy.<p>I'd like to see more elaborated on three points particularly: the privacy implications of having your DNA shared, the accuracy and precision of the purported results and the possible dangers of applications of this industry.
They do not mention the real reason why governments are scared to death by systematic DNA testing: it trivially reveals paternity fraud. In the current climate of rampant promiscuity and related deception, it could very well affect the amount of money men provide, while inflating the already ballooning welfare budget. It is clearly a gender issue.
<p><pre><code> 1. The results may not be accurate
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23andMe and ancestry.com are accurately sequencing DNA and providing ancestry interpretations in line with peer-reviewed science.<p><pre><code> 2. Heritage tests are less precise if you don’t have European roots.
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Human ancestry is extremely well-studied. These studies have included large numbers of genomes from many different ancestry groups. Certainly, the common ancestry groups among the likely readers of this article are well-represented and studied.<p><pre><code> 3. Your DNA says nothing about your culture.
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From a statistical point of view, your DNA contains information about the ethnic groups to which your ancestors belonged. That in turn contains information about the culture in which your ancestors, and you, find themselves. If the author means "says nothing" in a sense other than "statistical information" then it would be interesting to learn what this sense is.