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The lost family : how DNA testing is upending who we are / Libby Copeland.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Abrams Press, 2020Description: 294 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781419743009
  • 1419743007
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Prologue -- Alice is not Alice -- Crude beginnings -- Somebody ought to start a business -- Your truth or mine? -- Non-paternity events -- Alice and the double helix -- Eureka in the chromosome -- Search angels -- 27 percent Asia central -- What to claim -- The mystery of Jim Collins -- The simplest explanation -- The American family -- Your genes are not yours alone -- Late night -- Alice redux -- Where we're going.
Summary: "You swab your cheek or spit in a vial, then send it away to a lab somewhere. Weeks later you get a report that might tell you where your ancestors came from or if you carry certain genetic risks. Or the report could reveal long-buried family secrets and upend your entire sense of identity. Soon a lark becomes an obsession, a relentless drive to find answers to questions at the core of your being, like "Who am I?" and "Where did I come from?" Welcome to the age of home genetic testing. In The Lost Family, journalist Libby Copeland investigates what happens when we embark on a vast social experiment with little understanding of the ramifications. She explores the culture of genealogy buffs, the science of DNA, and the business of companies like Ancestry and 23andMe, all while tracing the story of one woman, her unusual results, and a relentless methodical drive for answers that becomes a thoroughly modern genetic detective story. Gripping and masterfully told, The Lost Family is a spectacular book on a big, timely subject" -- Goodreads.com.
List(s) this item appears in: FPL Jewish American Heritage Month
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library NonFiction 929.1072 C782 Available 33111009823424
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 929.1072 C782 Available 33111009642857
Adult Book Adult Book Northport Library NonFiction 929.1072 C782 Available 33111009007788
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A deeply reported look at the rise of home genetic testing and the seismic shock it has had on individual lives You swab your cheek or spit in a vial, then send it away to a lab somewhere. Weeks later you get a report that might tell you where your ancestors came from or if you carry certain genetic risks. Or the report could reveal long-buried family secrets and upend your entire sense of identity. Soon a lark becomes an obsession, a relentless drive to find answers to questions at the core of your being, like "Who am I?" and "Where did I come from?" Welcome to the age of home genetic testing. In The Lost Family, journalist Libby Copeland investigates what happens when we embark on a vast social experiment with little understanding of the ramifications. She explores the culture of genealogy buffs, the science of DNA, and the business of companies like Ancestry and 23andMe, all while tracing the story of one woman, her unusual results, and a relentless methodical drive for answers that becomesa thoroughly modern genetic detective story. Gripping and masterfully told, The Lost Family is a spectacular book on a big, timely subject.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 277-278) and index.

Prologue -- Alice is not Alice -- Crude beginnings -- Somebody ought to start a business -- Your truth or mine? -- Non-paternity events -- Alice and the double helix -- Eureka in the chromosome -- Search angels -- 27 percent Asia central -- What to claim -- The mystery of Jim Collins -- The simplest explanation -- The American family -- Your genes are not yours alone -- Late night -- Alice redux -- Where we're going.

"You swab your cheek or spit in a vial, then send it away to a lab somewhere. Weeks later you get a report that might tell you where your ancestors came from or if you carry certain genetic risks. Or the report could reveal long-buried family secrets and upend your entire sense of identity. Soon a lark becomes an obsession, a relentless drive to find answers to questions at the core of your being, like "Who am I?" and "Where did I come from?" Welcome to the age of home genetic testing. In The Lost Family, journalist Libby Copeland investigates what happens when we embark on a vast social experiment with little understanding of the ramifications. She explores the culture of genealogy buffs, the science of DNA, and the business of companies like Ancestry and 23andMe, all while tracing the story of one woman, her unusual results, and a relentless methodical drive for answers that becomes a thoroughly modern genetic detective story. Gripping and masterfully told, The Lost Family is a spectacular book on a big, timely subject" -- Goodreads.com.

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