Flash Report: Genome can reveal your surname!

Researchers from the Whitehead Institute using a computer, an Internet connection, and publicly accessible online resources were able to identify nearly 50 individuals who had anonymously submitted personal genetic material as participants in genomic studies.
The group’s work was described in a paper (Identifying Personal Genomes by Surname Inference) published this week in the journal Science. The study sought to show how the full names and identities of genomic research participants can be determined under certain circumstances, even when their genetic information is held in de-identified form within databases. Through surname inference, the study was able to discover the family names of the men by submitting their short tandem repeats on the Y chromosomes to publicly accessible databases maintained by genealogists and genetic genealogy companies, which store the Y-STR data by surname. The algorithm identified the surname of one in eight tested. In one case, the researchers managed to identify the name and the fact that he lived in California, all according to his Y chromosome. They also found the chromosome Y information about Craig Venter, who headed the Celera Genome Project, after narrowing down the identity to only two men in California. The significance of the research involves more than a handful of useful applications such as locating relatives and identifying bodies in natural disasters and other calamities. But there is also something sinister, as if a person publishes his genome on the Internet, even if done anonymously, his identity could be exposed.