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DNA Dilemma Part Two: What Do Genetic Tests Show?

To start my examination of whether it’s worthwhile to get a direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic test, I wanted to know exactly what I should and shouldn’t expect to learn from the results. How much would the analysis tell me about my health risks compared to the average person’s? Were studies linking genes to diseases really translatable into useful predictions? And—on a more light-hearted note—what might ancestry testing tell me? I sought advice from five people (including the founder of the biggest DTC genetic testing company) who I thought would have different takes on some of the questions.