Most common chronic diseases are the outcome of complex interactions between genetic, environmental and social risk factors, so a genetic risk score, on its own, isn’t much help.
What are the rules that make a man a father?
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Before the advent of genetic testing, definitions of paternity were primarily social and legal. Science has destabilized these older definitions, but it has not replaced them.
We’ve underestimated the extent of mixing between ancestral groups throughout human history.
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Estimating our ancestry is hard – because our backgrounds are much more mixed up than we thought. So don’t take your DNA ancestry test results literally: they’re just a prediction.
Some American Indian tribes, including the Navajo Nation, have moratoriums on genetic testing.
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Why is Elizabeth Warren’s DNA test so controversial with Native American groups? Two Indigenous geneticists explain the history and science behind the debate.
Genetic ancestry testing might all seem like harmless fun, but there is a downside.
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The results of genetic ancestry tests are grossly over-simplified. A new study shows the tests reinforce what you want to believe rather than offering objective, scientific proof of who you are.
We now have the capacity to quickly and cheaply sequence an individual’s genome and scour it for disease-causing genes. But how much, and what type, of information does a parent-to-be want to know?
Users may want to know more than what’s in a basic report from a genetic testing company.
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Data and privacy issues are tangled up in the DNA reports consumers get from big genetic testing companies – and the third-party sites they turn to in order to glean more from their raw DNA.
It all begins with spitting in a tube like this one.
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More people are sending off saliva samples to find out about their genetic roots. But the raw DNA results go way beyond genealogical data – and could deliver unintended consequences.
A scientist works with DNA samples in a New Orleans laboratory in 2011.
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The rapid growth of genetic testing and data-gathering could revolutionize health and medicine if governments work to protect people against privacy and societal risks.
Listening to audio derived from DNA may help scientists better understand how cell biology works.
Mark Temple
When men deny the paternity of children, many South African women feel like they have no recourse. Making DNA tests affordable and accessible could change this.
The market for personal genome services is facing a reality check. While the most prominent and innovative company 23andMe has flourished so far, in the past few years many of its competitors have gone…
Genetic testing is a powerful tool. Two years ago, with the help of my colleagues, it was this tool that helped us identify a new disease. The disease, called Ogden Syndrome, caused the death of a four-month…
Visiting Professor in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Children's Research Institute; Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, University of Melbourne; Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford