Scientists predict that within five years, DNA sequencing technologies will be affordable enough that personal genomics will be integrated into routine clinical care.

Companies are responding by offering their services for ancestry tracing, forensics, nutritional advice and reproductive assistance. It won’t be long before companies are able to offer Facebook-like social networking services centred around our genomes.

In the upcoming issue of Science, University of Alberta researcher Tim Caulfield and co-authors highlight the need to proceed with caution when it comes to personal genomics projects that represent research milestones but are also fraught with ethical, social and clinical implications.