Take an online DNA test and you could be revealing far more than you realise
By Andelka Phillips,
The Conversation
| 01. 12. 2016
Untitled Document
Getting your DNA sequenced is now so cheap and easy that you don’t need to see a medical professional. A variety of online companies are offering direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic tests for health or recreational purposes. These tests claim to detect a wide range of characteristics, from the risk of diseases such as breast cancer or Alzheimer’s or other conditions such as baldness, to specific talents or even romantic compatibility. But when you purchase one of these tests there’s a good chance you don’t know everything you’ve agreed to.
The DTC industry is new, growing and largely unregulated. As with many online companies, genetic testing firms rely on contracts to govern relations with their customers. Contracts are everywhere online, appearing as terms and conditions that you agree to with a click of a button or even just by browsing a website – and so they are known as clickwrap or browsewrap contracts.
Whether logging into Facebook or downloading a film, you’ve probably “signed” one of these contracts, perhaps without even realising. But do you have any...
Related Articles
By Jeffrey Gettleman and Maya Tekeli, The New York Times | 09.24.2025
For some Greenlanders, sorry isn’t enough.
The prime minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, made a special visit Wednesday to Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, to apologize in person for a traumatic chapter in Greenlandic history, when Danish doctors forced birth control on...
By Emma McDonald Kennedy
| 09.25.2025
In the leadup to the 2024 election, Donald Trump repeatedly promised to make IVF more accessible. He made the commitment central to his campaign, even referring to himself as the “father of IVF.” In his first month in office, Trump issued an executive order promising to expand IVF access. The order set a 90-day deadline for policy recommendations for “lowering costs and reducing barriers to IVF,” although it didn’t make any substantive reproductive healthcare policy changes.
The response to the...
By Marianne Lamers, NEMO Kennislink [cites CGS' Katie Hasson] | 09.23.2025
Een rijtje gespreide vulva’s gaapt de bezoeker aan. Zó ziet een bevalling eruit, en zó een baarmoeder met foetus. Een zwangerschap, maar dan zonder zwangere vrouw, gestript van zorgen, gêne en pijn. De zwangerschapsmodellen en oefenbekkens, te zien in de...
By Johana Bhuiyan, The Guardian | 09.23.2025
In March 2021, a 25-year-old US citizen was traveling through Chicago’s Midway airport when they were stopped by US border patrol agents. Though charged with no crime, the 25-year-old was subjected to a cheek swab to collect their DNA, which...