NOVA "Secrets in Our DNA" Screening & Panel Discussion

Some 30 million people have sent their DNA to be analyzed by companies like 23andMe and AncestryDNA, hoping to obtain clues to family origins and forecasts of their future health. Some users have found family members and discovered lurking genetic risks. But what happens once the sample is in the hands of testing companies? What are they looking at and how accurate are their results? What is the promise and peril of personal DNA? 

NOVA explores the power of this information and the unintended consequences that can arise from sharing our data with these rapidly growing online databases. DNA results that offer estimates of health risks can be misleading, and the discovery of intimate family secrets can tear relationships apart. Meanwhile, law enforcement is increasingly turning to the DNA-sharing website GEDmatch as an extraordinarily powerful tool for cracking cold cases, as demonstrated by the 2018 arrest of California’s notorious Golden State Killer after 42 years at large. NOVA Secrets in our DNA—produced by Menlo Park, California-based Kikim Media—premieres Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 9 p.m. ET / 8C on PBS. 

Join us for virtual screening of a selection of clips from the film paired with a panel discussion featuring leading experts in the science and business behind personal genetic testing. 

Partners

NOVA is a production of GBH Boston.

"Secrets in our DNA" is a NOVA Production by Kikim Media for GBH Boston.

Funding for the film NOVA Secrets in our DNA was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Draper, the David H. Koch Fund for Science, the NOVA Science Trust, with support from the Kaia and Jonathan Goldstein Family Fund, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

MISS THE EVENT?

You can catch the full program here and enjoy reading the blog recap here.