right now on "news4 this week," family secrets. >> it opens up doors tos conversand family secrets that people may not be ready to chlk about and hear about. >> cg criminals. >> a family member puts their dna into one o these family search databases by dna and law enforcement can make a family connection and further tir investigation. and curbing your curiosity. the test that helps you sort through thewisted strands of your dna. but what happens after your information is collected? >> announcer: welcome to "news4 this hello, everyone, i'm leon harris. recently news4 featured s aies of stories on the growing use of

dna. now millions of people are turning to home dna kits to unlock information about thend healthheir family history. over the next 30 minutes, news4's doreen gentzler will walk us through a series of stories, and we're going to start with reaction from a northern virginia woman who took several tests and is now sharing her surprising results. >> it's a secret julie newberger's parents took to their ave. >> i w adopted at birth, but it was a family secret. a cousin came and told me that there was something that she felt that i had the right to know. >> and so began the journey to find her birth parents. >> at that time i was interested in having a child of my own, and for that reason and others i really wanted to learn more out my ancestry and healthst hiory. >> with her adoption records sealed, julie turned to those at-home dna test kits for clues. she sent in a tube of spit. her results went into the

database for locating possible matcs. >> so this chart shows each of my cousins' chromosomes and where we overlap. >> wow. it looks like a lot. >> eventually six months later, she finally got a close match. it was her uncle. >> he was relatively anonymous, but tough some google searches and amateur detective work, i was able to figure out who he was. >> as julie pored over the complicated strands of her family's dna, she tracked down re relatives, and finally connected with her biological mother by phone. >> i think the first thing she said to me was, julie, i was 15 pregnant. >> it turned out her parents were high school sweethearts,he but weren't ready to raise a baby. >> i think when i first saw a picture of my birth dad, that's when i knew it was areal. er putting their baby up f adoption, the couple went their separate ways, only to reunite

years later. >> but later on in life they found each other again, and got back together and got married. so they had two children of their own, my fullgi biol brother and sister. >> at one point, all of them were living just a few miles apart in new york. a >> the many possibilities of us having crossed paths.ac and the that they had tried to find me and we were so close together but weren't able to is just incredible but we had to go through this. >> and the dna test revealed more than a new family. >> were there things that urprised you along your journey? >> yes, very much so. so my adopted family, i had been told that i was russian, ange polish, raised in a jewish family. sure enough when i tested my dna, it came up that i was primaril italian, so that was a

big shock because, you know, when you grow up feeling t s kinship, you know, with a group of people and then you find out that that's not really who you ar -- >> julie's search had an amazingly happy ending, b she knows it could have been muc different. >> i know that it opens up doors to you know, conversations and family secrets that people may not be ready to talk about and hear about. thosedna home test kits, though, can raise a whole host of new privacy concerns. you can buy one of those tests for about $100, but as doreen found out, the results may end up costing you more in the long run and could end up in the wrong hands. >> family intrigue led larry gernsey to buy his wife a dna test kit for the holidays. >> she's always been interested in genealogy. >> the $99 ancest.com dna test uses a saliva sample to unlock your lineage.ow

here's the company says it works. >> a simple test can reveal your ethnic mix, like if you're irish or scandinavian or both. po for the gernseys this test was sd to be fun, but their curiosity twisted to suspicion when they read the fine print. by taking the test, they were giving ancestry a, quote, perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide transferable license to use their dna. >> that entire phrase, perpetual, royalty-free, yorldwide transferable, it sounds like left it open to do whatever they wanted with it. >> larry worried they could p it into the hands of an insurance company that mightny them coverage over a gene that carried the risk of a life-threatening condition. >> you could get into weird scenarios. >> under federal law companies are not allowed tose your genetic information against you for things like health insurance or a job, but that protection

does not applyo thing like life insurance or long-term care insurance. and the laws are constantly changing. privacy is a big concern because many genetic testing companies sell their information to drug companies and others for research. and what would happen if the databases were hacked? all the big companies have safeguards iplace, but more than 92 million accounts from the genealogy dna testing service my heritage were found on a private server last summer, even though dna data wasn't breached in that episode, it showed the potential risk. hank greeleys a professor at stanford university who writes books about the intsection of biotechnology and the law. his advice is simple. u, if it bothers you, if it offends if you're worried about what might be in there, then you shouldn't sign this contract. >> now, bothancestry.com and

23andme say that they will destroy your dna results if you ask them. there's an online setting on their site to do that. in the future some experts think these dna companies could end up givinghe customers choice. the more privacy you want, the more you'll have to pay. when we come back, are you tempted tt your dna based on your family medical histor why doctors don't recommend that for everyone, and what you should expect when you d it. plus dna websites collect genetic information. now police are using that to solve crimes. up next, how they're doing it even wn suspects have never taken a genetic test themselves. -guys, i want you to meet someone. this is jamie. you'rea oing to be seeing t more of him now. -i'm not calling him "dad." -oh, n-no.

-look, [sighs] i get it. some new guy comes in helping your mom bundle and save with progressive, but hey, we're all in this together. right, champ? -iting more nuggets. -how about some carrots? you don't want to ruin your dinner. -you're not my dad! -that's fair. overstepped.

welcome yback. if are at risk of developing a life-threatening disease or condition, would you want to know? well, genetic testinguts that information right at your fingertips, but tests may not a good fit for everyone. once again, here's doreen gentzler. >> it's critically important to understand what those home dna

tests are and what they're not. >> it's a combination of cutting edge science, curiosity and convenience. do it yourself genetic test kits offer an easy and affordable way to study your dna from the comfor of your own home, but consider this -- >> they are not genetic tests that are designed to answer a medical question abo a condition that aer pn may have or that other members of their family may have. >> dr. leslie biesecker is a geneticist at the national institutes of health in bethesda. he's one of the leading researchers in the world when it comes to inherited disorders and admits he hasn't had his own dna tested. w so i have not had mine tested because i practict i preach. you don't go into a doctor and have anyelood tests d just for curiosity. you do it when you need it. and if you need it, then it's >> 23andme is the first and only

test with fda approval to screen for certain cancer risks, or alzheimer's, or rkinson's without a prescription. they can also test to see if you're aarrier f inherited conditions bikelike c fibrosis or sickle cell anemia. for some, knowledge about tt power. but there are limitations. >> they are not testing for the overwhelming majorityf gene changes or mutations or whatever you want to call them that could be causingthat. so, for example, for the hereditary breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility geneer s over 1,000 knownene changes that can cause those traits. the company tests for three. >> there'slso significant concern that the results could develop your risk of developing a disease that has no cure. >> and they sometimes generate answers to questions you might not want. >> a troubling test result that comes without any guidance from a doctor or genetic counselor to

help you understand what it reallymeans. and if you decideo take the test, be sure to read the fine print, because companies can sell your dna for profit. >> they are in many cases also doing research on your dna, and so you need to be aware that they may keep that and they may want to do research on that and make discoveries onthat. >> when we come back after a break, online dna testing solving cmes even without dna o om the suspect. what you need tknow before turning over your geneticin rmation. we're weighing safety and we're weighing safety and we're weighing safety and now that kate and joe have been sleeping on an ikea mattress, joe's suddenly into making everyone's morning easier. i made you breakfast. i also made the kids lunch and i made myself a mixtape. and it's good. oh! be the morning person you're not. the butter.

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how does ron make sure he's on time to face brock the sadistic strength trainer? his ikea dresser helps him organize his... equipment? woo! be the morning person you're not. welcome back to ews4 this week" and our special dive into dna. it's been a powerful tool for police for decades. movies. but home dna testing has opened up a new frontier in crime fighting with police using science and skill to track down

suspects. even someoneho has never taken a genetic test could potentially be exposed. >> it all srts with a swab of your cheek or a tube of your saliva. that's all you need to dig into your unique dna for clues about your health and heritage. now with theit popul of companies like 23andme, ancestry.com and my heritage, forensic genealogy has become a powerful tool iiging crime. >> but if a family member puts their dna into one of these family search databases by dna, law enforcemen can make a family connection and further their investigation. >> the technique got national attention last year after the notorious golden state killer was captured in california nearly 40 yea after his reign of terror began. the big break in the case, dna from a distant relative on a public genealogy website called

jed match, and police didn't nera a w to tap into it. >> there are no specific parameters for going into those sort of databases. the comnies themselves have certain restrictions. >> a home dna kits become more popular, those databases are growing larger, giving police a chance at making an arrest. >> any time you smoke a cigarettr you drink from a cup or you eat with a utsil, those all potentially are sources of your dna. >> this is a rare look inside d.c.'s crime lab. the work that's being done here every day has already helped to solve hundreds of sex assaults, murders and cold cases. what's more, it could prevent future crime. >> dr. jennifer smith is the director of d.c.'s department of forensic sciences with decades of past experience working at the fbi. she's seen the science evolve. >> a in that day age, we needed a stain about the size of a nickel.

now we can get dna and amplify it or copy it from very,ery all stains, even stains you can't see. we actually had a case where an individual was wearing a hat, and they went into a store.ho they someone. when they came out the hat blew off their head. we were able to retrieve the hat, and from th inside of that hat, we were able to get that individual's dna and through the database comparison we were able toind that individual. >> as for what's next -- >> in the future we're going to be able to perhaps even predict what a person's hair color is or what their eye color is. we might ber able to dne what their ancestry is. >> critics say the raises significant questions about privacy. but for those in law enforcement, the public safety aspect outweighs those concerns. >> apprehending crimina to me is the highest, highest priority to consider. if it's working and it gets the case solved, then all the better. >> just know this, by taking any

of those genetic tests, you'rey essentiaiving up the rights to your dna, potentially becoming a genetic informant for officers and exposing everyone on your family tree. when we comellback, we' wrap up our dna special w h a look at how those home testsyond genetic information could change the future of medical research.

our final piece in this special edition of "news4 this week" has to do with the future. about those you home dna tests and the major companies that have millions of customers. we end our series with a closer ok at what c happen with all that genetic data that's collected. >> it's the silicon valley company with the world's largest database for genetic research. >> meet your genes. >> over the past 1 years, ann, co-founder and ceof 23andme,

has turned her dream into a billion dollarempire. >> we have over 5 million customers. people are empowered with their genetic information. once you get this first taste of learning about urself, it really changes how you think about your health overall and your own sense of empowerment snd your health. >> now she venturing into new territory, offering customers a chance to give their dna a second life through medical research, searching for cures to age-old diseases. >> how is it i can crowd source all this information and then can. i can partner with academic researchers, i can partner with biotech companies, pharma mpanies, to sayow can we all who have a common interest come togethernd say i want a solution and i want information. >> more than 4 millionrs custo have opted in, and the results have already helped break scientific ground on everything from migraines to cancer.he one ofost significant genetiche first-ever link to depression, thanks to a

partnership with drug manufacturer pfizer. >> i think about successor me for the company is the impact that we have on human life. >> and she's done yet, now turning her attention to a topic that hits close to home. >> myex-husband sergei has the genetic factor for parkinson's. >> sergei, the father of ann's uto children found he was a carrier of parkinson's disease after taking his en-wife's test. last summer 23andme announced a $300 million partnership with pharmaceutical giant gl glaxosmithkline to find a cure for the disease that impacts a person's movement causing stiffness and tremors. thecompany's massive database may be making strides for scienc yet it also poses some q seriousuestions about privacy. but ayjitski s your participation doesn't have to be

permanent. >> you can delete your account. if you don't wantci to parte anymore, withdraw, totally. >> and that's all for tdis specialon of "news4 this week." i'm leon harris. you can mind oute information concerning dna on the nbc washington app. just go to thite and search dna. thanks for joining us and have a great and healthy week. the ross spring dress event is here-finally!

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