Ask HN: Is 23andMe DNA testing worth it?

Re:Ask HN: Is 23andMe DNA testing worth it? by smilesnd on Wednesday October 03, 2018 @05:20PM (#18134924)

It makes it simpler for police and three letter agencies to gain access to your dna without needing to go through proper channels. It is how that famous serial killer/rapist got caught on a 30 year old cold case.

I know the response is "Well I ani't killing/raping so it doesn't matter."

A lot of people have been sent to jail on false positives on dna results. It takes to much time to actually compare a large chunk of dna so they select certain parts to compare it to and if you fall into the unlucky percentage then you are screwed.

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Re:Ask HN: Is 23andMe DNA testing worth it? by oceanghost on Wednesday October 03, 2018 @05:26PM (#18134953)

You're entirely correct about the three letter agencies.

HOWEVER

If any of your family members have done a test like this, the cat is already out of the bag. My parents have done genetic tests, as have several of my cousins. So in effect, my DNA is already on file.

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Re:Ask HN: Is 23andMe DNA testing worth it? by monocasa on Wednesday October 03, 2018 @05:56PM (#18135175)

And that's how the got the serial killer, from his family's genetics, not his direct samples.

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Re:Ask HN: Is 23andMe DNA testing worth it? by smilesnd on Wednesday October 03, 2018 @06:21PM (#18135315)

I feel like you are informing me I need to make all my family just disappear to safe guard myself >.>

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Re:Ask HN: Is 23andMe DNA testing worth it? by hex1848 on Wednesday October 03, 2018 @05:29PM (#18134978)

At this point if anyone in your family (including cousins) submit dna to one of those sites, they can use it to track it back to you with basic sleuthing skills. They've solved a handful of cold cases this way.

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Re:Ask HN: Is 23andMe DNA testing worth it? by waserwill on Wednesday October 03, 2018 @05:28PM (#18134967)

Which is silly, since comparing two individuals is very quick; when you get a hit for a subset, you can just do a one-to-one comparison to check.

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Re:Ask HN: Is 23andMe DNA testing worth it? by smilesnd on Wednesday October 03, 2018 @06:19PM (#18135307)

True, but labs are backed up. There are thousands of rape kits sitting some where just waiting to be tested. Plus most people, police, lawyers, and etc don't understand how DNA comparison works. You will even hear in court that DNA match 96.8% instead of 100%, because that is what the lab said. People prefer ignorance so they look like they understand then to question what that percentage actually means.

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Re:Ask HN: Is 23andMe DNA testing worth it? by monocasa on Wednesday October 03, 2018 @05:18PM (#18134899)

We've seen police using this information without warrants.

Of course, we've also seen them reconstructing likely genetics from family members on these sites, so it doesn't really matter whether you personally opt in or not.

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Re:Ask HN: Is 23andMe DNA testing worth it? by sliken on Wednesday October 03, 2018 @05:34PM (#18135013)

https://www.businessinsider.com/dna-testing-delete-your-data...

Seems kind of scary to me. What happens if I'm denied insurance, or a job because of some risk factor I have. Or even my kids?

Or even discover a way to make an drug even more addictive.

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Re:Ask HN: Is 23andMe DNA testing worth it? by blacksmith_tb on Wednesday October 03, 2018 @05:51PM (#18135149)

There are federal and state laws in the US which prevent health insurers from denying you based on your DNA test, but that isn't true for life insurance[1].

1: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/04/4--risks-consumer-face-with-...

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Re:Ask HN: Is 23andMe DNA testing worth it? by cascom on Wednesday October 03, 2018 @05:41PM (#18135073)

Potential discrimination or other adverse consequences (insurability, hiring, etc.) down the road (3,5,15 years from now) based upon the results.

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Re:Ask HN: Is 23andMe DNA testing worth it? by casper345 on Wednesday October 03, 2018 @04:55PM (#18134747)

They have my DNA in their system. A lot of rich information for companies to seel that to with that, no?

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Re:Ask HN: Is 23andMe DNA testing worth it? by toomuchtodo on Wednesday October 03, 2018 @05:00PM (#18134774)

The value is in the aggregate dataset, not single genotypings.

If anyone is interested in a 23andme $40 settlement coupon from a class action I was part of, email me (email in profile), and I will provide a coupon code (I have three available).

Disclaimer: 23andme customer, genome is public as part of Harvard’s Personal Genome Project

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Re:Ask HN: Is 23andMe DNA testing worth it? by JauntTrooper on Wednesday October 03, 2018 @05:09PM (#18134837)

What about 40 years from now?

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Re:Ask HN: Is 23andMe DNA testing worth it? by toomuchtodo on Wednesday October 03, 2018 @05:11PM (#18134854)

I refuse to be paralyzed by a future so distant it's opaque. I'll be in my 70s at that point, and either dead, head in a jar, or living on Mars. My genetic data may help people today, and that is what matters most to me.

EDIT: @monocasa: The future is what we make of it.

jstarfish: As a parent, I have to make what I consider to be the best choices for them until they're able to make their own choices. As an educated parent, I believe I made the appropriate choice. Everyone's DNA will be sequences eventually.

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Re:Ask HN: Is 23andMe DNA testing worth it? by monocasa on Wednesday October 03, 2018 @05:18PM (#18134904)

By the time we're in our 70s, we'll probably not even have retired. : \

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Re:Ask HN: Is 23andMe DNA testing worth it? by jstarfish on Wednesday October 03, 2018 @05:26PM (#18134954)

You're selling out your kids for the sake of irrelevant novelty though. You're taking away any choice they have to abstain from being part of the system.

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Re:Ask HN: Is 23andMe DNA testing worth it? by 0xfeeddeadbeef on Thursday October 04, 2018 @05:31AM (#18138359)

I am surprised nobody has referenced "Gattaca" (1997) yet.

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