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DNA companies have started to pop up all over. While some are excited to make new familial connections, others have wondered if it’s responsible or safe to give companies your DNA. After all, who else would have access to it? Now, it seems DNA testing company FamilyTreeDNA — one of the largest at-home testing companies — is doubling down on a previously reported partnership with the FBI through a new campaign titled Families Want Answers. In a statement , FamilyTreeDNA’s president and founder, Bennett Greenspan, said, “The genealogy community has the ability to crowd-source crime solving.” According to the press release, the company’s terms of service only lets law enforcement get private customer information through a “valid legal process such as a subpoena or a search warrant.” The rules — and transparency around them — are new. Only two months ago, Buzzfeed News revealed that FamilyTreeDNA partnered with the FBI, giving them access to the agency’s genealogy database. This raised...
Nobel scientist James Watson has been stripped of his remaining honorary titles at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory following the racist statements he made during a recent episode of the PBS documentary “American Masters: Decoding Watson.” During his interview, Watson claimed that genes are the reason for black people’s lack of intelligence. “Dr. Watson’s statements are reprehensible, unsupported by science, and in no way represent the views of CSHL, its trustees, faculty, staff, or students,” CSHL said in a statement . “The Laboratory condemns the misuse of science to justify prejudice.” This is not the first time Watson has come under fire for racist and prejudice remarks. In 2007, CSHL removed Watson from his position as Chancellor and from all administrative duties in the lab after an interview in the Sunday Times where he claimed that black people’s genetics make them inferior and less intelligent than white people . Watson issued an apology after the interview, but CSHL said...