Found your DNA on the web: reconciling privacy and progress.

In less than a decade, whole genome sequencing has moved from a big science, moon landing-style federal project to a seedbed of entrepreneurial activity. One important resulting development is the emergence of online genetic genealogy companies that enable individuals providing their own genetic samples to search extensive genetic databases for ancestral origins and more specific family connections. This is possible in large part because the Y chromosome and (in nearly all cultures) the family surname are passed from father to son; unique, highly polymorphic short tandem repeats across the Y chromosome (Y-STRs) can thus be identified and linked to family names. Individuals have used this capacity increasingly successfully to track down family relations who—through giving up a child for adoption or confidential sperm donation—originally intended to remain anonymous. In one instance, a fifteen-year-old was able to track down Found Your DNA on the Web: Reconciling Privacy and Progress