I have avoided these DNA kits like the plague. Even more so now that I see that they are cooperating with the authorities. Maybe I'm being overly paranoid, but you just don't know where this technology will take us next or how it will be used in the future.

My GF got me a kit for Christmas. She was aware of how I felt, but got me a kit from a British company...

Living DNA

...in the probably misguided attempt to overcome my objection to participating. They say that they will delete your data upon request. Again, paranoia - how would we ever know?

So what says the collective Sig brain trust - am I being too paranoid. Should I just go ahead and take the test, or should I just give it back with a polite, "No thank you."?

Adios,

Pizza Bob

Toss it, I would.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
Toss it, I would.

Agreed. Toss it, with extreme prejudice. The health insurance industry's wet dream is deregulated insurance AND access to your DNA. No way that DNA research data could ever be hacked...right?

Well, since you asked... I'd return it, and I wouldn't be polite about it. This was a flagrant passive-aggressive attempt at manipulation, and it doesn't bode well for any relationship.

Tell her to exchange for something you would like instead. No harm, no foul b/c you made it clear to her how you felt regarding such tests prior to Christmas. Not to mention that such tests are shit.

quote:

Originally posted by whanson_wi:
Well, since you asked... I'd return it, and I wouldn't be polite about it. This was a flagrant passive-aggressive attempt at manipulation, and it doesn't bode well for any relationship.

I agree 100%

I don't think most of Britain (Tac being the obvious exception) holds personal freedoms and privacy rights in as high regard as we do. Why should your girlfriend trust them any more than our own people?

On a practical note, can she return the kit for a refund? And if she really wants to buy you something British, may I recommend Swayne Adeney and Brigg umbrellas? Very high quality and very British!

Oh, and whanson is right.

quote:

Well, since you asked... I'd return it, and I wouldn't be polite about it. This was a flagrant passive-aggressive attempt at manipulation, and it doesn't bode well for any relationship.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yep. Good advice. Red flag.

Ain't you got a dog or a cat?

Personally no and an Absolute No if you're mailing your DNA to Britain?

Let's face it, there is nothing secret, or that will remain secret, in this world. If some nefarious person or entity wanted your DNA, they will eventually get it, whether you are aware of it or not.

I had both the Ancestry and the 23andMe tests and found them very useful. They turned my genelogical, of what I thought I knew, background inside out. The Health input from 23andMe has been useful with updates on genetically predisposed conditions.

Am I a little uneasy about some organization having my DNA....hell yes! But, as I said in my opening paragraph, what's to stop some hospital or clinic from getting your DNA if they really want it?

Have some fun with it...get a bunch of saliva from your dog and send it in. Let's just see how accurate they really are.

quote:

Originally posted by jcsabolt2:
Have some fun with it...get a bunch of saliva from your dog and send it in. Let's just see how accurate they really are.

I was going to say trash it, but I really like this idea.

If anyone in your immediate family has done the test, you are already "in the system" (see links below). So, once my brother did his test, I stopped caring. My wife bought them for us, and I'm waiting on results - should be interesting to compare results with my brother...

We did one for my daughter (adopted from Hunan, China) and found a cousin a few years older in Holland that was adoped from the same orphanage - according to the DNA, they share a grandparent. They have corresponded a little bit on Facebook. They both thought is was cool to identify an actual blood relative.


https://listverse.com/2018/08/...genealogy-dna-craze/

https://www.businessinsider.co...es-dna-online-2018-4

https://www.wired.com/2015/10/...nto-crime-suspects/

Although the responses were overwhelmingly negative, I think feersum hit it on the head. IIRC, the criminals apprehended were not as a result of their DNA being in the system, but that of a close relative. The criminal was then tracked through them. So, if my sister, or any of my first cousins, have already done this, it really makes no difference.

OTOH, I'm not really worried about any criminal enterprise, but a more relevant fear of insurance companies, big pharma or the medical profession in general gaining access and either using the data to discriminate or experiment. Is this fear founded?

BTW, whanson, our whole relationship has been based on passive/aggressive chip-shots and it has lasted, thus far, thirty-two years, so that's not really my concern - shouldn't be yours either.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

My wife and I did the Ancestry.com version a couple of years ago. It has greatly aided in our genealogical research.

My wife's family had a professional genealogy study done years ago and a two volume book was published. They traced some the family to before Christ. Documentation showed her grandmother was adopted during a second marriage. The natural father from a previous marriage family tree was explored for many generations. DNA showed that the adoptive father was also the natural father. A huge chunk of published professional genealogical research had to be tossed.

We did the 23andme version this Christmas and are waiting on the results.

quote:

Originally posted by jcsabolt2:
Have some fun with it...get a bunch of saliva from your dog and send it in. Let's just see how accurate they really are.

Great Idea!
I have filed this one in the "use when the opportunity arises" category.

Thanks

quote:

If anyone in your immediate family has done the test, you are already "in the system" (see links below). So, once my brother did his test,

^^^^^^^ Too True^^^^^^^

My Niece asked me to have the test done so that she could compare my results with hers and those of various cousins on all sides of the family. Obviously there was no point in my objecting to what has already been published. People who post potentially embarrassing data and photos on social media think that on-line DNA information is not a big deal. Good luck changing their minds.

The testing "Companies" are not so much co-operating as they are helpless. Anyone with a basic knowledge of how the systems works can access the published data. Since those family members active in genealogical research are not going to have their info deleted, you as a relative are on-line whether you like it or not.

And yes, it is the relatives of the criminals whose data led indirectly to convictions in the published cases. I strongly suspect that many others have fallen to the same tools of investigation without the public being aware of it.

I've had Y-DNA and autosomal DNA done by FTDNA and it has been somewhat helpful in my attempts at genealogical research. My doctor has apparently done some DNA checking because I receive specific treatments (prescriptions) to counter genetic faults in my genome.

I don't consider the revelation of where your ancestry came from as particularly accurate or useful, so have never paid much attention to it. To the extent that I know who my ancestors were, I pretty much know where they lived--the situation prior to that is of no great interest to me.

flashguy

Where are some of you getting the notion that your DNA is the same as your relatives? You're acting as if being linked to a crime is the only reason one wouldn't want his DNA out there.

I'm not handing my DNA voluntarily over to a private organization. Just ain't doing it.

As far as the government, I was in the armed forces, so I already know that they have it.