DNA startups have a new target market: the dead for a long time



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Dance with the dead

Start-ups that are sequencing your DNA to replenish your ancestors have a new target market, according to a history of L & # 39; Atlantic: your deceased ancestors, who may have inadvertently left genetic material after licking stamps and envelopes.

"Maybe our ancestors did not understand it," MyHeritage founder Gilad Japhet said at an industry conference last year, according to MyHeritage founder Gilad Japhet. L & # 39; AtlanticBut "when they licked these stamps and envelopes from the envelope, they sealed their precious DNA for you forever."

Mausoleum

MyHeritage, which is the thirdBehind 23andMe and AncestryDNA, the largest DNA testing company, is one of many companies interested in extracting genetic data from deceased people – an intriguing yet vaguely troubling example of how big data helps distinguish the past as the present.

Japhet even said that the DNA of famous historical characters, such as Winston Churchill and Albert Einstein, "Arrive very soon at MyHeritage", according to The Atlantic – However, a spokesman for the company declined to comment in the magazine the moment when the profiles of these historical personalities will be available on the site.

DNA OK

The analysis of old DNA is much more complex than a new sample, according to the Atlantic – meaning that not all old envelopes can be extracted for genetic material.

"We need to improve our results if we can support it commercially," said Joscelyn McBain, founder of Totheletter DNA, another company experimenting with this service. L & # 39; Atlantic.

READ MORE: Does the DNA remain on the envelopes? A game to test?[[[[L & # 39; Atlantic]

More about DNA testing: This DNA testing company transmitted its data to the FBI

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