MIT Reveals Over 26 million People take DNA Tests at Home in Search of Roots:

As per a report by the MIT Technology Review, by the start of 2019, 26 million people had taken an ancestry DNA test at home. Airbnb’s recent partnership with DNA lab 23andme now encourages travellers to go in search of their roots. The tests cost as less as $59 and give consumers a chance to discover family secrets, for example, find about siblings they did not know. Additionally, they get to know about their ancestry and also get entertained while they take the test.

 

But with this data comes in serious privacy issues as the growing database makes it possible to even find a relationship between those Americans who never even purchased a test. The two main players Ancestry and 23andMe who are in the genetic and ancestry testing business stated Ancestry collected 14 million DNA samples as of Jan. 1 and 23andMe collected 9 million samples. Other companies reported collecting a combined total of 3.5 million samples.

 

As per the vice president of consumer marketing and acquisition, at 23andMe, Jon Ward, consumers are interested to know information such as their background, where their ancestors came from to identifying their lost relatives and know more about their health.

Even the Police have used DNA results from an ancestry company database to identify criminals. In 2018, investigators stated about Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., 72, a former police officer who murdered at least 12 people and raped 45 in California in the 1970s and ’80s.

23andMe’s privacy statement also warns that certain things discovered about family members may even cause anxiety as you may not be able to change them.

So, if you are curious about where your forefathers came from, it’s time to travel back to your roots with DNA Travel and find your ancestry!