This recent article in the Globe and Mail describes a new social network being cultivated online: DNAancestryproject.com, a network that links people based on their related genes. This website is being run by Genetrack Biolabs, Inc., a DNA testing lab that has, until now, primarily focused on paternity testing and legal investigations. Those interested in becoming part of the network purchase a DNA testing kit, containing a cheek swab that they can send back to Genetrack. Once the cheek swab has been processed by the company, Genetrack returns copious amounts of information about the ancestry of the interested individual; depending on the desired, they will receive information about either their patrilineal heritage (available to men only), or their matrilineal descent (available to both men and women). Using this information, members of the site can learn more about the distant history of their ancestors, and more interestingly, find others in the network that share common genealogical heritage. While the test costs $119 for the most basic package, interest has been high, especially among those in middle age. Genetrack claims to have set up a network of over 300,000 active users, and, the higher the number of users, the more extensive and data-rich the network becomes.

What is most interesting about this phenomenon is that, if it gains enough traction, it may reverse current trends about the nature of the differences between family and friends. With most online social networking sites, a user can build massive friend networks comprised of complete strangers; with this DNA-based network, strangers are suddenly transformed into family members. With ethnicity and genetics being traditionally conflict-related subjects in the past, however, knowing a great deal more about a person’s genetic heritage could provide for new troubling types of discrimination and prejudice. Only time will tell whether or not this new experiment in DNA-based networking will be beneficial or detrimental.