DNA testing

23andMe is on the brink. What happens to all its DNA data?

2:03pm October 03, 2024

The once-hot Silicon Valley startup has seen its stock’s value decline 99% and is struggling to survive. That has put the spotlight on the genetic data it has on 15 million people.

Queue Listen Now

National

A boy snatched from a California park in 1951 is found living on the East Coast

10:16am September 24, 2024

Luis Armando Albino was lured away from a California park at the age of 6. He reunited with his biological family this summer after his niece found him through DNA testing and newspaper clippings.

National

She was struck by a car during the holidays in 1989. DNA just helped find the driver

2:38pm August 26, 2024

Ruth Buchanan had just left a department store in Charlotte, N.C., with a friend when she was fatally struck by a car. After 30 years, DNA technology helped police identify the driver.

When women get a blood test during pregnancy that looks at free-floating DNA, they expect it to tell about the health of the fetus. But the test sometimes finds signs of cancer in the mother.

A new kind of blood test can screen for many cancers — as some pregnant people learn

5:08am December 23, 2022

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Testing pregnant people's blood to look at free-floating DNA can tell doctors about the health of the fetus. But these tests sometime turn up DNA that might be shed by cancerous cells.

Alex, at 4 years and 11 months old, throws a toy football.

A Boy's Mysterious Illness Leads His Family On A Diagnostic Odyssey

1:07pm October 16, 2019

by Richard Harris

Alex Yiu was born a seemingly healthy baby. But by age 2, his muscle control and speech were deteriorating. His baffling condition took a decade to diagnose. The reanalysis of a DNA test was the key.

Queue Listen Now

Mika, a pomeranian and poodle mix, ponders his genetic destiny: To test or not to test?

Questions Rise About Shortcomings Of DNA Tests For Dogs

7:00am July 28, 2018

by Carey Goldberg

DNA testing of dogs has become a booming business. But critics say the pet genetics industry is running too wild, and they're calling for it to be reined in.

DNA isolated from a small sample of saliva or blood can yield information, fairly inexpensively, about a person's relative risk of developing dozens of diseases or medical conditions.

Routine DNA Screening Moves Into Primary Care

2:31pm May 22, 2018

by Michelle Andrews

The Pennsylvania-based health care chain Geisinger Health System plans to soon offer DNA sequencing as part of routine care for all patients. Is there a downside?

A 36-year-old woman who had her DNA tested by Ancestry.com says she was shocked to learn that her biological father was her parents' fertility doctor.

DNA Test Reveals Fertility Doctor Used His Own Sperm To Impregnate Patient

5:43pm April 04, 2018

by Vanessa Romo

Kelli Rowlette first thought the results were a mistake when she learned her dad was not her dad. But she learned her mother's OB-GYN had lied and inseminated her using his semen and not a donor's.

As mother and daughter, Carmen and Gisele Grayson thought their DNA ancestry tests would be very similar. Boy were they surprised.

My Grandmother Was Italian. Why Aren't My Genes Italian?

4:19pm January 22, 2018

by Gisele Grayson

Popular DNA ancestry tests don't always find what people expect. That's due to how DNA rearranges itself when egg meets sperm, and also the quirks of genetic databases.

Queue Listen Now

The Boston-based company Orig3n has been offering free genetic testing at pro sports games.

Health & Safety

You Can Get Your DNA Tested At An NFL Game. Should You?

3:44pm November 08, 2017

by Doug Levy

Companies distributing genetic tests at pro sports events say they can help people make the most of exercise and nutrition. But regulators say some are medical tests that could land people in trouble.