*By Conor White*
In the wake of a data breach at MyHeritage that affected more than 90 million users, other DNA-testing services are trying to assure customers their personal information is secure.
"Ultimately, the amount of care that companies go to is really important," explained David Nicholson, co-founder and managing director of Living DNA, which provides customers information on where their ancestors come from. "But you should always look at the company you're going to test your DNA with, or store your DNA with, and decide where you're going to put that information."
The recent furor over security comes after MyHeritage disclosed last week it learned that the email addresses and encrypted passwords of 92.3 million users had been leaked to a private server last October. In an interview Monday on Cheddar, Nicholson said accessing an individual's actual DNA would be much more difficult.
"Any of these firms don't actually store your DNA data, which you could use to identify you publicly on a website. That's all kept securely on encrypted servers way behind the scenes."
While Living DNA is doing its best to protect user data from malicious actors, Nicholson also reassured customers that their data would never be willingly given to anyone looking to profit off of it.
"We will absolutely never sell data, never pass it on," he said. "We are custodians of your data, and therefore it's kept secure, safe, and encrypted for you, never to be sold."
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/how-safe-is-your-information-with-a-dna-testing-service).
With a rising number of COVID-19 cases due to the omicron variant, the FDA is making big moves. First, Pfizer's COVID-19 booster has been authorized for those ages 12 to 15. The agency also reduced the amount of time to wait between receiving a second vaccine dose and booster from six months to five. Finally, a third primary series dose of Pfizer's shot is approved for immunocompromised children five to 11 years old. Professor Peter Pitts joins Cheddar News to discuss.
California's new composting law will affect what residents do in their kitchens. As of this week, Californians will have to recycle excess food in an effort to reduce emissions caused by food waste. Cities and counties will turn recycled food into compost or use it as a renewable energy source. California's new law is the largest mandatory residential food waste recycling program in the country. Rachel Wagoner, Director of the California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery called the law 'the biggest change to trash' since recycling started in the 1980s. She joined Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Deborah Brosnan, President of Deborah Brosnan & Associates, joins Cheddar Climate, where she explains why global warming brought about 'a year of reckoning' in 2021 and why previously unprecedented weather events could become the norm going forward.
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals, Dr. Anita Gupta, Adjunct assistant professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, shares her forecast for the healthcare industry in 2022; Waseem Asghar, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Computer & Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Florida Atlantic University, breaks down the latest progress, trends, and innovations in wearable health tech; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Hacking our Biome.'
Dr. Anita Gupta, Adjunct assistant professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, joins Cheddar Reveals to share her forecast for the healthcare industry in 2022.
Waseem Asghar, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Computer & Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Florida Atlantic University, joins Cheddar Reveals to break down the latest progress, trends, and innovations in wearable health tech.
Washington DC and the surrounding areas saw a record breaking snow storm Monday as a strong storm system works its way across the eastern U.S. The extreme weather event caused extensive damage in the greater Washington area, leaving thousands in the region without power. Jonathan Porter, Chief Meteorologist, AccuWeather, joined Wake Up with Cheddar to discuss the fierce storm.
Sweta Chakraborty, U.S. President of We Don't Have Time and climate change expert, joins Cheddar News to discuss how mining the proper resources for the clean energy sector is crucial.
Over the past year alone, we've seen an increasing push-back on fossil fuels, legislation to reduce plastic pollution, greater protection over our worlds' forests, and a growing number of companies working to reduce total carbon footprint. To discuss the sustainability trends that defined 2021 and the changes individuals can make in 2022, J.D. Durkin is joined by Ashlee Piper, a sustainability expert and author of 'Give a Sh*t: Do Good. Live Better. Save the Planet,' joins Cheddar News.
