Sunday, March 10th, 2019 (
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Apparently, some genealogy freaks have begun cataloging their relatives' DNA without their knowledge.
Unlike paper records, which can be hard to come by and harder to verify, a genetic test can quickly and definitively tell if someone is a relative.
...
Some funeral homes now offer post-mortem DNA collection. But Linda Jonas saw no need for professional help when she tugged several hairs from her grandmother’s head as she lay in her casket.
She made sure to get the root.
"Obviously, it’s not going to hurt her, " said Ms. Jonas, a family historian in McLean, Va. "I had a little Ziploc. "
Tags:
Data Abuse,
DNA,
Genealogy
Tuesday, March 5th, 2019 (
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A depressing post on Slashdot recently indicated that forced DNA collection will become standard in criminal investigations.
The goal is to make DNA collection as routine a part of detainment as fingerprinting and photography.
Peter Neufeld, a lawyer who is a co-director of the Innocence Project, which has exonerated dozens of prison inmates using DNA evidence, said the government was overreaching by seeking to apply DNA sampling as universally as fingerprinting.
"Whereas fingerprints merely identify the person who left them, " Mr. Neufeld said, "DNA profiles have the potential to reveal our physical diseases and mental disorders. It becomes intrusive when the government begins to mine our most intimate matters."
Tags:
Big Brother,
DNA
