Not so long ago, people who provided DNA in the course of research studies were told that their privacy was assured. Their DNA sequences were on publicly available Web sites, yes, but they did not include names or other obvious identifiers. These were research databases, scientists said,... [More]

The US Supreme Court’s ruling upholding Maryland’s law allowing law enforcement to collect DNA upon arrest and prior to conviction fails to protect the privacy of Americans’ DNA and is a serious blow to human rights in the United States. In Maryland v King the Court has no... [More]

If you want to keep your DNA to yourself, be sure not to leave any stray hairs, Q-tips or underwear lying around. There are genetic testing companies out there willing to reveal your most intimate biological secrets to anybody -- without your knowledge or permission. And under California l... [More]

Imagine you stop by a Starbucks one morning, and the shop is robbed only minutes after you leave. Witnesses say the perpetrator was drinking coffee, so investigators retrieve dozens of cups from the trash, looking for genetic evidence. When they analyze it, they may find the robber’s DNA,... [More]

    Dr Helen Wallace, director of GeneWatch UK, warned at a MedConfidential event in London that, beyond electronically storing patient records, the next step for the UK is linking these records with DNA and genetic information on an all-in-one database. It is already public policy,... [More]

LAST week, scientists sequenced the genome of cells taken without consent from a woman named Henrietta Lacks. She was a black tobacco farmer and mother of five, and though she died in 1951, her cells, code-named HeLa, live on. They were used to help develop our most important vaccines and cancer med... [More]

The Supreme Court will revisit the crossroad of privacy and evolving science later this month when it considers whether officials can take the DNA -- without a warrant -- of someone who has been arrested but not convicted of a crime.   While all states require DNA from individuals convi... [More]

San Bernardino District Attorney, Michael A. Ramos, drafted a hand-delivered a letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner and the Senate majority leader Senator Harry Reid asking for DNA collection to be added to a proposed immigration reform package.   "With this request, I tepidly pu... [More]

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has approved mandatory confirmation of sickle cell trait status in Division III student athletes, despite the objections of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).   NCAA delegates voted 254 to 200 in favor of the measure at the 2013... [More]

The RCPI has expressed "serious concern" at what it termed HSE plans to permanently destroy the DNA records of every baby born in Ireland between 1984 and 2002. "This will result in the permanent loss of a genetic database of the Irish population, a unique bio-historical archive of pre-immig... [More]