Editorial

摘要

If TV screenplays are a good barometer of public knowledge, then most people know that DNA left behind on everyday objects can be used to identify individuals, and to identify a child's biological father. For instance, one 2005 episode of the BBC sitcom My Family featured a light-hearted plot in which one character arranged stealthy paternity tests.rnFewer people may be aware that, under most circumstances, doing DNA tests without consent has since become a crime in the UK, under a pioneering genetic privacy law that could help shape legislation elsewhere. Only this Christmas, a soap opera viewed by millions used the result of a coerced test to spice up the episode's climax at the family lunch.