A new way to climb the family tree
Popular Web site Ancestry.com has announced plans to offer customers ways of finding DNA matches within its database of millions of people.
Instead of using the Web for finding old friends, the prospect opens the door to Internet searches for long-lost family members, according to a news release on the project.
Ancestry.com said its partner on the project is Sorenson Genomics, a privately held DNA research firm.
The goal is to launch the DNA testing product by the end of summer. By taking a simple cheek-swab test and comparing results against DNA profiles in a test-results database, people might find genealogical associations they had not had before, the company said.
Ancestry.com said it will rely on new technology that captures DNA test results and allows users to integrate those results with their online family tree.
Online debates
Time Warner Inc.’s CNN and Google Inc.’s YouTube said they will co-sponsor upcoming online Democratic and Republican presidential debates, enabling people to submit questions to candidates via videos sent through YouTube.
The YouTube site for those interested in participating is youtube.com/debates.
YouTube and CNN will first co-sponsor a debate among the eight Democratic presidential candidates on July 23 in South Carolina. The candidates will assemble on a stage to answer questions submitted by ordinary people via videos through YouTube.
A Republican debate will take place Sept. 17 at a yet-to-be-determined location in Florida.
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper will act as the moderator between the viewers and the candidates.
YouTube users are invited to submit videos related to questions for the Democratic debate from now through the day before the event.
About 20 to 30 will be handpicked by CNN for use in the debate.
Homeland insecurity
The Homeland Security Department, the lead U.S. agency for fighting cyber threats, suffered more than 800 hacker break-ins, virus outbreaks and other computer security problems over two years, senior officials acknowledged to Congress.
In one instance, hacker tools for stealing passwords and other files were found on two internal Homeland Security computer systems.