So many people have had their DNA sequenced that they've put other people's privacy in jeopardy (HT:RG)

So many people have had their DNA sequenced that they've put other people's privacy in jeopardy

"This new reality represents the convergence of two long-standing trends.

One of them is the rise of direct-to-consumer genetic testing. Companies such as Ancestry.com and 23andMe can sequence anyone’s DNA for about $100. All you have to do is provide a sample of saliva and drop it in the mail.

The other essential element is the proliferation of publicly searchable genealogy databases like GEDmatch. Anyone can upload a full genome to these sites and powerful computers will crunch through it, looking for stretches of matching DNA sequences that can be used to build out a family tree."

HT:RG