The Golden State killer case spotlights how genetic testing can affect your—and your relatives'—privacy

How uploading your consumer genetic testing could lead to a distant relative's arrest

This podcast includes a discussion about how law enforcement can compare DNA samples from a crime scene against voluntarily uploaded DNA on consumer genealogy databases to close cases. Investigators can and have cross-referenced a suspect's crime scene DNA with that of a suspect's relatives who happened to have chosen to upload their genetic information to an open-source genealogy database.

The first criminal conviction through the use of DNA evidence was in 1988

Chromosomes contain markers where short DNA sequences repeat a variable number of times from person to person. A DNA profile is constructed by identifying the number of repeats across 20 regions throughout a genome, which can be compared against a database. DNA paternity tests work similarly by comparing markers between children and their fathers. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

The lack of diversity in DNA databases limits their applications

European ancestry dominates genetic research, hindering the usage of genetic databases for precision medicine for other groups, including African Americans, who face higher health risks due to genetic variants. Many Indigenous communities have also resisted genetic research due to past exploitation. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

At-home genetic testing results commonly led users to healthier lifestyles

Italian research that aimed to investigate what people do longer-term after receiving direct-to-consumer genetic test results indicated that whether the results were positive or negative, people tended to adopt a healthier diet after receiving the results, and they'd still maintained it a year after receiving their results. Some users also reported an overall reduction in stress over their health concerns. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

Ancestry testing matches DNA to known genetic variants found in specific ancestries

After a lab receives a person's sample, the DNA is separated into single strands, which are chemically cut into smaller fragments. The fragments are then fed into an array of variants of known origins, and technicians observe if a person's fragments bind to specific variants.

True crime fans can derail lives with misguided accusations

In the wake of four stabbing deaths at the University of Idaho in November 2023, online sleuths, without any supporting evidence, were quick to point accusatory fingers at potential perpetrators. Poring over news reports, social media pages, and internet interactions can reveal viable information that can help solve crimes. Such (sometimes monetizable) behavior can also easily give rise to rumors and threats while impeding official investigations.(Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Advance genetic research by playing these scientific video games

Computers produce so much information that researchers can’t properly analyze all the data produced, and the overload can also lead computers to make mistakes. Researchers are increasingly turning to citizen scientists—members of the public who are willing to volunteer—to help them make sense of data when computers can’t. This article details a few of the ways you can contribute to genetics research by playing video games.

True crime survivors often deal with the fallout from their association long after the case is closed

Collier Landry was a preteen when he notified police and later testified that he had overheard his father killing his mother. His role in the case cost him his dog and adoptive sister, and, as recently as 2023, led his extended family to reject him.

About 70% of the Human Genome Project's reference genome came from one donor

Volunteers who donated blood to the Human Genome Project consented to using no more than 10% of their DNA, raising questions about the project's legality. Listen to how pressure from a private competitor may have driven officials to ignore ethical standards.

Silicon Valley startups Orchid, Nucleus, and Genomic Prediction are selling so-called polygenic tests for prospective parents

These tests claim to show how at-risk a hypothetical baby would be for genetic syndromes. The newfound industry has prompted ethical and medical debates, with critics questioning their accuracy and highlighting the potential problems behind pursuing the perfect baby.

Searching for a hate crime's unknown victim

In 2004, two federal agents heard a rumor: two white men, one under investigation for an unrelated crime, had gotten away with killing a Black man 15 years earlier as a requirement to join a white supremacist group. One of the men confessed to the crime, though he didn't know who was killed. This series dives into the search for the slain man and the justice he deserved.

When America's deadliest serial killer went undetected

Samuel Little, who, for years, washed in and out of the justice system on violent charges eroded into lesser offenses, ultimately admitted to killing 93 people, mostly women, over more than 30 years. He tended to target those on the fringes of society—runaways, drug users, sex workers—people whose deaths were more likely to go unnoticed, he remarked, referring to them as fruits to be plucked at will.

23andMe declared bankruptcy in March 2025

The consumer genetic testing company, which offered detailed genetic profiles from users' saliva samples, suffered financially after they suffered a major data breach affecting almost 7 million customers in 2023. Its flagship product was a one-time genetic analysis which also made retention of users challenging.

Here’s how different genetic disorders get passed on

The human genome is complex, as identified by the Human Genome Project. This article digs in to genetic disorders, the most common ones, and how they are diagnosed.

Scientists can suck animal DNA from the air

A look at how researchers filtered the air around two zoos and identified genetic material from dozens of species, a technique that could help track and conserve wildlife.

How personalized gene-editing saved a baby's life

KJ Muldoon had a 50% chance of surviving a genetic mutation until doctors developed a one-of-a-kind gene-editing therapy. In an interview with one of the researchers behind the treatment, learn what it will take to make personalized genetic medicine possible for everyone.

Svante Pääbo's life work was to discover the Neanderthal in our genes

Geneticist Svante Paabo reconstructed the genome of long-extinct human relatives, showing we have more in common with Neandertals than previously thought. Read up on his research and its impact on the wider scientific community.

The woman erased from the DNA breakthrough

Rosalind Franklin captured “Photo 51,” the key to DNA’s double helix. Her data, shared without her knowledge, helped Watson and Crick win a Nobel. She never got the prize, but today, her role in unlocking life’s blueprint is finally recognized.

In 2023, at least 6 people were charged with stealing body parts

A recent case involving alleged trafficking in stolen human body parts charged that there was a nationwide network of individuals who bought and sold human remains. The charges alleged, among other things, that from 2018 through 2022, the manager of the morgue at Harvard Medical School's Anatomical Gifts Program stole organs and other parts of cadavers that had been donated for medical research and education. In late 2025, that Harvard morgue manager was sentenced to 96 months in prison.

Advanced forensic science has helped identify killed sailors decades later

When the USS Oklahoma capsized amid the attacks, hundreds of sailors were buried within the ship's hull. Officials have used advances in forensic science to analyze DNA and dental evidence to help identify nearly 400 sailors decades after the fact.

A man’s genes can predict his hairline

There’s actually some truth to the idea that you should look at your mother’s father. But genetic research tells us that the full picture is somewhat more complicated. An interesting read on how to use genetics to figure out if you'll go bald (with illustrations).

Genetic blood test offers an estimated clock on when Alzheimer's symptoms may appear

The 2026 research finding from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis—if validated in broader populations—suggests that an already available blood test could estimate when Alzheimer's symptoms may begin within a margin of several years. The test detects a protein called p-tau217 found in blood plasma and the researchers incorporated the findings from that blood test into a statistical model to come up with the symptom timeline predictions.

Investigating the death of a 5,300-year-old mummy

Authorities generally consider a case to have gone cold once they've run out of leads or the ability to collect and consider new evidence, usually within a few years of the instigating event. Now imagine being a detective charged with investigating a death that happened more than 5,000 years ago. This article details how Alexander Horn, a then-detective inspector, attempted to solve the mystery of Ötzi the Iceman's death.

How a Cleveland woman who slammed the door on police changed the Fourth Amendment

In 1957, a bomb exploded under the front porch of boxing promoter Don King in Cleveland. When police received a tip to search Dollree Mapp's home, she refused to let them in. Her case went to the Supreme Court, resulting in a ruling that barred illegally obtained evidence from state criminal trials.

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

Food poisoning investigations have led to more than 1 billion pounds of food recalls

PulseNet is the US government’s real-time foodborne illness tracking system for leading causes of food poisoning. There, a network of labs and scientists share DNA sequences for pathogens collected from contaminated food and also from sickened individuals, looking for patterns in the pathogens’ genome sequences that will help them hopefully finger a certain food, warehouse, producer, or restaurant.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.

When you complete a CAPTCHA on a website to prove you are human, you may be unknowingly training algorithms for self-driving cars, whose systems require training data to help identify crosswalks, bicycles, and other outdoor objects.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

Against his wishes, Albert Einstein's brain was removed before his cremation, and the pathologist responsible stored it for decades in mason jars within a beer cooler.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples, the genre's foundational looped tracks

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

Recent research found that the brain doesn't seem to massively rewire following amputation—upending earlier beliefs about the cause of phantom limb pain.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Marburg virus, related to Ebola, is also extremely deadly, and has no available vaccine.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

Urushiol, the oily toxin in poison ivy, can remain allergenic on clothing for years.

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.