Genetic paparazzi: scientists fear the appearance of DNA hunters

The development of technology gives impetus to the emergence of new types of crimes. Even 20 years ago, the theft of money from an account by a hacker was an extraordinary event, but today it is the most common thing. But recently, scientists are afraid of the appearance of more dangerous offenses. The DNA of people, and not ordinary, but famous, may be under the gun of villains.

Professors Lisa Vertinsky and Yaniv Heled from University of Georgia and The University of Maryland, USA, believes that "genetic paparazzi" will soon appear. These people will hunt for the genetic material of politicians, public figures, big businessmen, showbiz and sports stars.

Now no one is surprised by the sale of souvenirs such as Britney Spears gum. You might think that the purchase of these items may interest only fanatical fans, but not everything is so simple. The leftovers of food, clothing, hair and saliva of celebrities contain their DNA samples.

Quite recently, this did not play any role, and attackers could not use such material. But with the development of the technology known as IVG, everything has changed.  Now stem cells can be obtained from skin, mucous or hair cells by reprogramming. And already from them it will not be difficult to create reproductive material in the laboratory, for example, eggs.

There are such technologies, but so far they are available only to scientists. Vertinsky and Heled believe that if they go beyond the university laboratories, then there will be trouble. Vertinsky says this about it:

Lawyers, in turn, predict chaos in the legal system. The experience of recent years has shown that the laws of most countries are poorly adapted to modern realities. Everything related to reproduction remains the cornerstone of jurisprudence and problems arise even in connection with surrogacy.

Currently, there are no legal mechanisms in the United States that can protect against theft and unauthorized use of DNA. Experts believe that this gap needs to be filled as quickly as possible. Otherwise, when the cases of genetic theft come to court, the judges will face unsolvable questions. Can genetics be considered the basis of personality and someone's property?