by Pa Rock
Genealogist
I met a lady on my recent trip to Salt Lake City who has had her DNA tested by three different companies, each with its own unique slant on results: one was to study family migration patterns (probably the DNA program of National Geographic Society), one was to study her mother's lineage, and the third, I believe, was focused on her paternal lines. What struck me as I listened to her enlighten the small group of people who were trapped at her table for a meal, was the growing sophistication of these tests.
It turns out that America's police agencies are also starting to appreciate the fact that the DNA tests performed by genealogy-based companies are producing results that are ever more intricate in their findings - much more so than the DNA databases maintained and used by American law enforcement. Last year some smarter than average police agencies began submitting profiles to one particular DNA test collection site for genealogists, GEDmatch.com, seeking to be matched with relatives. The profiles were actual DNA samples from crime scenes, and as the names of potential cousins began to appear, investigators had a pool of suspects to begin examining.
It sounded almost underhanded, and according to an article by Heather Murphy in the New York Times this week, the company's founders, two older gentlemen who basically work for free out of their homes, were put off by the prospect that their work was helping the police without the express consent of people who were using their (basically) free service. But, after news of the arrest of a person who appeared to be the Golden Gate Killer (an old, cold, unsolved case) through the use of GEDmatch, customers began to weigh in on their opinion of finding criminals through the use of DNA that had been collected to solve family history mysteries - and the customers were overwhelmingly pleased with the practice.
As of the time Ms. Murphy went to press with her story last week, more than fifteen major crimes (murder and rape) appeared to have been solved through the use of that particular genealogy site.
GEDmatch.com does not do any genealogical testing itself, but it does allow users to upload test data that they receive through other companies - usually for free, but also offering a special, elevated "Tier 1" membership for $10.00. The journal Science has reported that GEDmatch is growing so fast, that within three years every American of Northern European descent will be identifiable through cousins in GEDmatch's database - a fact that raises privacy concerns in a number of quarters - and not just with criminals.
The lady in Salt Lake City who was giving our table an impromptu lesson in DNA said that her husband was vehemently opposed to his DNA being shared with anyone, a fact that seemed to goad her into open defiance of his wishes. She bragged that she had paid to have their adult daughter tested, and now hubby's DNA was part of the great American database - despite his refusal o be tested himself.
And that's how it works. The Golden Gate Killer did not rush out and have his DNA tested and put into a database where law enforcement could eventually find him - but one of his cousins did. Segments of your DNA are already widely available through your "blood" relatives, and anytime you create a child, your DNA is again copied and pushed further along the road to immortality.
From a family history perspective, this stuff is fascinating - but it can also be a horrifying invasion of privacy. The thing to take from all of this is that you don't have to submit a sample of your DNA to be in a vast DNA database. There are many ways to capture your genetic identity without drawing blood or spitting in a tube.
Hiding your DNA from Big Brother is futile. He already has it - or he soon will have.
Genealogist
I met a lady on my recent trip to Salt Lake City who has had her DNA tested by three different companies, each with its own unique slant on results: one was to study family migration patterns (probably the DNA program of National Geographic Society), one was to study her mother's lineage, and the third, I believe, was focused on her paternal lines. What struck me as I listened to her enlighten the small group of people who were trapped at her table for a meal, was the growing sophistication of these tests.
It turns out that America's police agencies are also starting to appreciate the fact that the DNA tests performed by genealogy-based companies are producing results that are ever more intricate in their findings - much more so than the DNA databases maintained and used by American law enforcement. Last year some smarter than average police agencies began submitting profiles to one particular DNA test collection site for genealogists, GEDmatch.com, seeking to be matched with relatives. The profiles were actual DNA samples from crime scenes, and as the names of potential cousins began to appear, investigators had a pool of suspects to begin examining.
It sounded almost underhanded, and according to an article by Heather Murphy in the New York Times this week, the company's founders, two older gentlemen who basically work for free out of their homes, were put off by the prospect that their work was helping the police without the express consent of people who were using their (basically) free service. But, after news of the arrest of a person who appeared to be the Golden Gate Killer (an old, cold, unsolved case) through the use of GEDmatch, customers began to weigh in on their opinion of finding criminals through the use of DNA that had been collected to solve family history mysteries - and the customers were overwhelmingly pleased with the practice.
As of the time Ms. Murphy went to press with her story last week, more than fifteen major crimes (murder and rape) appeared to have been solved through the use of that particular genealogy site.
GEDmatch.com does not do any genealogical testing itself, but it does allow users to upload test data that they receive through other companies - usually for free, but also offering a special, elevated "Tier 1" membership for $10.00. The journal Science has reported that GEDmatch is growing so fast, that within three years every American of Northern European descent will be identifiable through cousins in GEDmatch's database - a fact that raises privacy concerns in a number of quarters - and not just with criminals.
The lady in Salt Lake City who was giving our table an impromptu lesson in DNA said that her husband was vehemently opposed to his DNA being shared with anyone, a fact that seemed to goad her into open defiance of his wishes. She bragged that she had paid to have their adult daughter tested, and now hubby's DNA was part of the great American database - despite his refusal o be tested himself.
And that's how it works. The Golden Gate Killer did not rush out and have his DNA tested and put into a database where law enforcement could eventually find him - but one of his cousins did. Segments of your DNA are already widely available through your "blood" relatives, and anytime you create a child, your DNA is again copied and pushed further along the road to immortality.
From a family history perspective, this stuff is fascinating - but it can also be a horrifying invasion of privacy. The thing to take from all of this is that you don't have to submit a sample of your DNA to be in a vast DNA database. There are many ways to capture your genetic identity without drawing blood or spitting in a tube.
Hiding your DNA from Big Brother is futile. He already has it - or he soon will have.
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