One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Working with the FBI

Re:One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Worki... by oh_sigh on Friday February 01, 2019 @04:16PM (#19058711)

Personally, I'm okay if my DNA sample helps catch a cousin, brother, or other family member that is a murderer/rapist/etc. Less okay with them using my sample for promotional material, but I've never really seen that done except for people who clearly consent(ie by starring in a commercial or photo shoot for the company).

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Re:One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Worki... by TomK32 on Friday February 01, 2019 @04:30PM (#19058843)

Until false positives land you in prison. https://gizmodo.com/when-bad-dna-tests-lead-to-false-convict...

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Re:One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Worki... by oh_sigh on Friday February 01, 2019 @04:38PM (#19058923)

That is a general problem with DNA tests, regardless of how samples are collected or potential perpetrators are identified. And it seems like the solution is known and accepted by the courts now, at least in Taiwan: "don't rely on just 17 markers when performing DNA matching tests"

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Re:One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Worki... by mikeash on Friday February 01, 2019 @04:55PM (#19059108)

It’s not, however, a problem that can affect you if your DNA isn’t in any database in the first place.

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Re:One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Worki... by googlryas on Friday February 01, 2019 @05:00PM (#19059150)

The man in the linked story did not have his DNA in any database that the police used - they got his name volunteered from the people present at the crime scene. So yes it is a problem that can affect you if your DNA isn't in any database.

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Re:One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Worki... by rixrax on Friday February 01, 2019 @04:49PM (#19059031)

Until another regime shows up that decides to neuter or eradicate people with a specific trait.

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Re:One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Worki... by googlryas on Friday February 01, 2019 @04:56PM (#19059111)

Isn't this an argument against doing anything except living the life of a hermit deep in the woods?

Have a drivers license? Murderous regime will know where you live and come kill you.

Use the internet via an ISP? Murderous regime will know what you look at and come kill you.

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Re:One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Worki... by fucking_tragedy on Friday February 01, 2019 @05:47PM (#19059520)

History is littered with attempts at eradicating certain ethnicities and purging those deemed genetically inferior.

> Use the internet via an ISP? Murderous regime will know what you look at and come kill you.

This is a legitimate concern for some, hence why things like Tor exist. We don't just throw our hands up in the air and go, "What can be done?" We acknowledge that risk exists and try to mitigate it.

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Re:One of the Biggest At-Home DNA Testing Companies Is Worki... by toomuchtodo on Friday February 01, 2019 @04:51PM (#19059058)

You can do this already with a gene drive, no need to identify everyone with the trait.

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