Direct-to-consumer tests are products marketed to any consumer who is willing to pay, without going through their GP. But some could do more harm than good.
Researching family history is a popular hobby. But hobbyists can find themselves unearthing details of ancestors behaving badly or treated cruelly – or family secrets and trauma.
The types of microbes residing in your gut can affect your mental and physical health. Home microbiome tests promise to help consumers improve the composition of their gut microbes.
Both Macron and Madonna have expressed concerns about genetic privacy. As DNA collection and sequencing becomes increasingly commonplace, what may seem paranoid may instead be prescient.
The South African Khoe-San communities are no strangers to exploitative research. One research team is trying to provide genetic ancestry results to community members. But they still face many challenges.
Many people are filing lawsuits after discovering that sperm banks failed to verify information from donors about their medical and personal backgrounds.
Scientists who work in local companies have acquired local knowledge and are therefore able to work with South Africa’s unique genetic diversity better than anyone else.
DNA testing kits will be a popular gift this holiday season. Before mailing off your saliva, it’s important to understand what these kits can and cannot tell us.
Genetic apps claim to reveal fundamental insights about your health, well-being, and even intellect. But it’s not just spurious science - believing these traits are genetic can have harmful consequences.
Genetic testing could help us build targeted and effective training routines for athletes, but the emerging science could also introduce opportunity for discrimination in the sporting world.
Genetic testing companies are offering tests that analyze the ends of your chromosomes – telomeres – to gauge your health and your real age. But is there scientific evidence to support such tests?
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.
New research investigated who uses the wide array of tools available to people who’ve received their own raw genetic data and want to maximize what they learn from it.
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.
Direct-to-consumer genetic testing company 23andMe is now offering a new ‘polygenic risk score’ that reveals your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Does it work? Are our family physicians ready?
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