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An estimated 50m people worldwide have spit into tubes for direct-to-consumer genetic testing. This paper uses actor-network theory to consider ‘spit’ as an actant which catalyzes new networks and (sometimes unforeseen) relationships, transforming some ‘testers’ into ‘searchers’ along the way.

Paper long abstract

An estimated 50 million people worldwide have spit into a tube with one of four major direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies (Ancestry, MyHeritage, 23andMe and FamilyTreeDNA) seeking knowledge about their genealogy, ethnic background and/or health risks. Although the technical journey to transform spit into information is roughly the same, each company provides a distinct mixture of post-test services, analytic algorithms and user-friendly tools, along with unique comparative databases for family matching. While recreational ‘testers’ generally choose just one company, ‘searchers’ using DTC testing specifically to identify unknown close relatives or for advanced genealogical research are encouraged to “fish in all ponds”, i.e. to test at all four companies. While this expands the potential pool of relatives, it may also result in conflicting information, particularly with regard to ‘ethnicity’ estimates, which can differ wildly with each update. At the same time, DTC results may challenge accepted family narratives, in particular attributed paternity, sometimes several generations back, bringing distant cousins into the foreground in novel ways. This paper uses actor-network theory to consider ‘spit’ as an actant which catalyzes new networks and (sometimes unforeseen) relationships, widening existing work which rarely looks beyond tester and immediate family. Through this we interrogate the capacity of ‘spit’ to enroll actors such as search angels, genetic cousins and various tools of analysis into genetic genealogy communities as ‘testers’ transform themselves into ‘searchers’ of answers to familial mysteries through their DNA.

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This paper examines online genetic genealogy communities as sites of distributed expertise and citizen science, analyzing how 'search angels' and lay networks actively reshape genetic knowledge and renegotiate kinship outside institutional frameworks.

Paper long abstract

Direct-to-consumer DNA testing has prompted adoptees, donor-conceived individuals, and people discovering misattributed parentage to turn to unofficial online genetic genealogy communities (GGCs) for support and expertise. Despite massive public interest in DNA testing, these community networks remain understudied. In our proposal we discuss a multidisciplinary project plan which examines how GGCs function as sites of distributed expertise, knowledge production, and norm-making operating outside official institutional frameworks. Central to our analysis are "search angels" - volunteers who have developed sophisticated methods for interpreting DNA data and reconstructing biological lineages - whose practices we examine as a form of grassroots citizen science. Drawing on biosocial frameworks and the concept of kinning, we analyze how biological materials, technological platforms, and social practices become entangled in processes of relatedness-making. Using digital ethnography across international Facebook communities, complemented by interviews with search angels and active members, we investigate three interconnected questions: how alternative approaches to sharing and interpreting genetic information emerge and stabilise; how kinship relationships are renegotiated through collective sense-making, ethical discussion, and norm production; and how shared practices generate new forms of connection and belonging. We wish to make four contributions: establish GGCs as a distinct form of citizen science; advance postgenomic scholarship by documenting grassroots bioethical labor; redefine epistemic authority by showing how lay networks actively reshape, rather than merely consume, genetic knowledge.

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The paper draws on the sociology of associations and critical kinship studies to examine how commercial DNA technologies generate unexpected, contested, and emotionally laden processes of making and unmaking family.

Paper long abstract

The use of commercial genetic testing in genealogical research has increased rapidly worldwide in recent years. These technologies have a significant impact on people's access to information about biological relations. Drawing on Latour's sociology of associations the paper follows the journey of a DNA saliva test through a series of translations: from a living room to a laboratory, from a laboratory into digital databases, and from databases into socio-material networks that reconfigure relationships between diverse actors. The databases of commercial service providers house the DNA profiles of millions of people, and with a few clicks a user may connect shared DNA sequences with ancestral birthplaces, discover new siblings, or expose hidden family secrets. Through ethnographic observations in online search groups and an in-depth case study of one person's written account of searching for biological father, we trace the processes of problematisation, interessement, enrolment, and mobilisation that structure these searches. We show how saliva acquires new agency as it passes through successive translations. We demonstrate how potential relatives must be actively recruited and how affective intensities become central to stabilising, or destabilising, the resulting networks. Crucially, we show how DNA databases do not merely reveal existing collectives but actively produce, dissolve, and reorganise them: old kinship assemblages fracture while new ones are assembled from heterogeneous elements. The paper draws on the sociology of associations and critical kinship studies to examine how commercial DNA technologies generate unexpected, contested, and emotionally laden processes of making and unmaking family.

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This paper explores how the rise of cheap and accessible Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing (DTCGT) affects people impacted by donor conception. It looks specifically at how such people navigate relating after a positive match, showing how a fine-tuned 'ethics of relating' mark interactions.

Paper long abstract

This paper explores how the rise of cheap and accessible Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing (DTCGT) affects families impacted by donor conception. At the heart of our interest is the relational impact of the social management of genetic ties because whereas DTCGT operates in the service of laying bare hidden genetic connectedness, donor conception is predominantly organised to hide said connections, raising pressing questions about how people at the intersection of the two respond to a DNA match. This second paper, in an analysis in two parts (for part one see Nordqvist et al 2025), takes as a starting point our previous claim that a genetic match discovered using DTCGT can be understood to bring about an ‘accelerated kinship’, that differs in style and texture to relationships known as kinship; the type Edwards (2000) call ‘born and bred’ kinship. We explore the nature of relating and how relating unfolds in the context of such ‘accelerated kinship’ from making introductions to seeking to establish a more ongoing relationship. We show that relating in this context is marked by an ‘ethics of relating’, shaped by extreme tentativeness, responsiveness and care.

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The use of Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) in criminal investigations is growing, although it presents ethical and legal issues. This study highlights variations in governance, privacy protections, and oversight by comparing regulatory approaches in the US, UK, Sweden, and Australia.

Paper long abstract

Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) provides a forensic tool to identify criminal suspects and the unidentified human remains by linking DNA analysis with genealogy databases that are publicly available. While this technique is useful for solving serious crimes, its application raises legal, ethical, and human rights issues such as informed consent, privacy protections, the use of third-party genetic data, and the growing role of commercial companies in forensic investigations.

This paper examines how IGG is governed in four jurisdictions (the UK, the United States, Sweden, and Australia) through doctrinal and comparative analysis of the laws and regulatory frameworks governing its use in criminal investigations. The findings of this work highlight differences between jurisdictions in their approaches to regulating IGG. The United States represents the most permissive environment, with the availability of IGG based primarily on federal policy and evolving state legislation. While Sweden has adopted a comprehensive statutory scheme in Europe, which includes judicial oversight and safeguards, Australia relies on pilot programs, privacy impact assessments and expert guidance. Finally, the United Kingdom takes a conservative approach to IGG due to its strong data protection and human rights laws.

This comparative analysis highlights key regulatory challenges, including ensuring investigative tools are used appropriately, protecting third-party genetic data, regulating private actors, and enabling cross-border data exchange. It also identifies emerging regulatory trends and gaps that may affect legal certainty and public trust. The research contributes to international discussions on how IGG can be responsibly integrated into criminal justice systems while protecting fundamental rights.