Is your identity really safe?

Genetics
Most of us are pretty hesitant to give out our social security numbers. While we have a vague idea what somebody might do with it, it's something deeply personal, connected to our financial wellbeing. We are worried about our credit and credit history and are even willing to pay companies to monitor our credit histories for anything questionable to deviating from the norm. When it comes to something far more personal, we don't seem to be as worried. Our DNA might contain the most personal information about ourselves that could exist and yet, we seem a lot less hesitant to hand over this information to people and companies we don't even know that well. The recent proliferation of genetic ancestry services is a case in point. Many of us are…
Read More

Are You Genetically Predisposed to Root for a Particular Team?

Genetics
Of course not. But with World Cup hysteria taking over much of the world (even causing a minor earthquake in Mexico), with no US team to root for, many Americans aren't interested. To try to generate some excitement and impetus for people to root for a particular country, 23andMe, the innovative DNA and ancestry research firm, is trying a new marketing trick - why not pick a team based on your genetic roots? [embed]https://youtu.be/grQTx2hbg0o[/embed] If you can't pick who to root for, why not pick a team with whom you might share some genetic affinity? Apparently, some think that this isn't so simple. Art Caplan, director of Medical Ethics at NYU Langone Medical Center, argues that this is a form of racism, since There is no correlation between genetics and…
Read More