This Article was about using Genetic makeup to help identify a Woman that had no idea who she really was. Lisa Jensen was a woman who was kidnapped at 2 then later abandoned by her supposed father at 5, she had no knowledge of her past or identity. Using 23andme, ancestry.com, FamilyTreeDNA, and GED match, her and a team of investigators were able to identify distant relatives that matched her genetic makeup. From tracking down and interviewing these relatives, she was able to slowly build a family tree that linked those distant relatives closer and closer to herself. During the research however she discovered her birth mother had passed away long before the search began but from this information Lisa was able to identify her birth name: Dawn. Because of these databases and the process of linking people from their genetic makeup, Lisa was able to meet her blood relatives and find more about her true self that couldn't be identified without DNA.
From discussing the true process of Gene sequencing done by these companies however the databases that they keep are extensive and do prove their worth in this case. IN the article it states that she would have no clue what her past was if not for the help of these databases. Because of this this I believe that the so called “mail order genetic sequencing” companies do have some importance to mapping lineages based off DNA. Although they aren’t extremely accurate to tell you health risks or potential concerns based upon your genes, they can tell you who you are related and not related to. Because of this property, these companies are a good thing to have due to their enormous databases of DNA and lineages of people.
References
Corum, J., & Murphy, H. (2018, October 15). How Genetic Sleuthing Helped a Kidnapped Girl Recover Her Identity. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/15/science/gedmatch-genetic-sleuthing.htm
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