ArticleScience (New York, N.Y.)2018
Identity inference of genomic data using long-range familial searches.
Article in Science (New York, N.Y.), 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 131 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
131 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Multiple modes of data sharing can facilitate secondary use of sensitive health data for research.BMJ global health · 2023Pooled it
- The Ripple Effects of Misattributed Parentage: The Systemic Family Impact of "Not Parent Expected" Discoveries.Family process · 2026Article
- Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Distant Kinship Inference and Forensic Genetic Genealogy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- A Portable, Patient-Possessed Health Record: Architecture for Care Coordination as an Alternative to Centralized Data Aggregation.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Review
- Establishing a health information exchange research network (HIERN) to support population health studies.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Review
- Artificial intelligence enables scale, consistency, and rigor in forensic identity inference.Croatian medical journal · 2026Review
- A bibliometric analysis of investigative genetic genealogy in academic literature: Trends, networks, and emerging themes.Forensic science international. Synergy · 2026Review
- Unlocking the potential of pedigree genomics via precision governance.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2026Article
- Beyond STRs: Integrative Forensic Genomics from MPS to Genetic Genealogy and AI-Based Prediction.Genes · 2026Review
- Sharing digital health data responsibly: Balancing open science with participant privacy.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- Article
- Quantifying the effects of pseudonymisation on epidemiological research reliability: a tailored evaluation using a clinical data warehouse.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2026Article
- From the brain cell atlas to precision neurology: a review of the application of AI-driven multi-omics in brain science.GigaScience · 2026Review
- Polygenic risk scores: Navigating the future of precision medicine through economic, ethical, and scientific advancements.iScience · 2026Review
- Cyberspatial privacy in the digital age: a proxemics-based framework with a healthcare application.BMC medical ethics · 2026Article
- A call for a global cyberbiosecurity framework in genomics.Nature genetics · 2026Article
- Revisiting big data optimism: risks of data-driven black box algorithms for society.Ethics and information technology · 2026Article
- Comparative assessment of SNP genotyping assays for challenging forensic samples utilizing ancient DNA methods.Genome biology · 2025Article
- High-quality Population-specific Haplotype-resolved Reference Panel in the Genomic and Pangenomic Eras.Genomics, proteomics & bioinformatics · 2025Review
71 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Consumer genomics databases have reached the scale of millions of individuals. Recently, law enforcement authorities have exploited some of these databases to identify suspects via distant familial relatives. Using genomic data of 1.28 million individuals tested with consumer genomics, we investigated the power of this technique. We project that about 60% of the searches for individuals of European descent will result in a third-cousin or closer match, which theoretically allows their identification using demographic identifiers. Moreover, the technique could implicate nearly any U.S. individual of European descent in the near future. We demonstrate that the technique can also identify research participants of a public sequencing project. On the basis of these results, we propose a potential mitigation strategy and policy implications for human subject research.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.