Online ancestry DNA tests are changing the scientific and social landscape, but what happens to our biodata in the hands of commercial companies?
Outfits like AncestryDNA and 23andMe are earning millions of dollars from people anxious to uncover their hidden histories. They are also collecting big data from vials of saliva customers are mailing in to find their roots.
In this second half of The Stream’s two-part examination of the DNA ancestry craze, we discuss how making DNA tests more mainstream could bring unintended consequences to race relations, health policies and policing.
On this episode of The Stream, we speak with:
Julie Granka @juliegranka
Population geneticist, Ancestry DNA
ancestry.com
Kevin Jones Giddins
Ancestry DNA user
Joseph Graves @gravesjl55
Evolutionary biologist, North Carolina A&T State University
ncat.edu
What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
Meet the 'Queen Hunter' Aisha who catches Boko Haram fighters and searches for kidnapped children in northern Nigeria.
Dozens of immigrant teens in the US have been unlawfully detained as part of the Trump administration's 'war on gangs'.
The Stream explores the life and times of South Africa's iconic "Mama Winnie".
How China controls its citizens inside and outside the country where no criticism or dissent is allowed.
