DNA News July 2026: Genetic Testing, Privacy, AI and Genomics in the UK

July 2026 highlighted how quickly DNA testing is moving beyond the traditional laboratory setting. In England, genomic testing is becoming increasingly integrated into NHS cancer care, while plans to expand newborn screening for a serious inherited condition show how genetics can influence treatment from the first days of life.

At the same time, questions surrounding genetic genealogy, DNA privacy and the use of artificial intelligence to interpret the genome remain unresolved. These developments matter not only to scientists and clinicians, but also to anyone considering a private DNA test for ancestry, biological relationships or personal information.

This DNA news review for July 2026 looks at the main developments from a UK perspective and explains what they actually mean, without confusing medical genomics, consumer DNA testing and forensic DNA analysis.

England expands genomic testing for cancer patients

One of the clearest DNA developments in England during July came from the NHS Genomic Medicine Service.

The July 2026 update to the National Genomic Test Directory introduced several changes to cancer testing. These included a circulating tumour DNA test for eligible patients with cancer of unknown primary origin, new DNA and RNA gene panels, expanded POLE testing for endometrial cancers and a high-sensitivity JAK2 V617F test for certain myeloproliferative neoplasms.

Although these tests all involve genetic material, they should not be confused with the DNA tests people order online for ancestry or family relationships.

What is circulating tumour DNA?

Cancer cells can release small fragments of their DNA into the bloodstream. These fragments are known as circulating tumour DNA, or ctDNA.

A blood sample can therefore sometimes provide genetic information about a tumour without relying exclusively on a conventional tissue biopsy. This is why the technique is often described as a “liquid biopsy”.

For cancers of unknown primary origin, the NHS pathway introduced in July is designed for eligible patients whose cancer has been identified but whose original tumour site is unclear. The genetic information obtained can help clinicians characterise the cancer and potentially inform clinical management.

It is important to understand the distinction between this form of medical genomic testing and a consumer DNA test. Clinical cancer tests are requested and interpreted within a healthcare pathway because their results may influence treatment decisions.

Private DNA testing serves very different purposes. Readers comparing the different categories can explore the DNA tests available through InfoTestADN, including relationship and ancestry testing.

Newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy is expanding in England

Another significant announcement arrived in July with plans to introduce newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) across England.

SMA is an inherited neuromuscular condition most commonly associated with changes affecting the SMN1 gene. The condition leads to the loss of motor neurons, the nerve cells that control muscle movement, and severe forms can affect a baby's ability to move, swallow and breathe.

The significance of screening is straightforward: some genetic diseases are much easier to treat effectively when they are identified before serious symptoms appear.

How will newborn SMA screening work?

The screening will use the existing newborn blood spot procedure, commonly called the heel-prick test.

The first NHS laboratories are due to begin screening for SMA from October 2026. The programme is then expected to expand until all babies born in England are covered from October 2027.

This is a useful example of how DNA testing can have very different meanings depending on the context.

A newborn screening test is not designed to explore ancestry or find relatives. It searches for evidence associated with a specific medical condition for which early identification can influence clinical care.

That distinction is fundamental whenever genetic testing is discussed. The words “DNA test” can refer to technologies with entirely different purposes, levels of interpretation and consequences.

Genetic genealogy remains a major question for UK policing

Genetic genealogy has become one of the most controversial applications of consumer DNA databases.

The concept combines DNA matching with conventional genealogical research. Instead of asking whether an unknown DNA profile directly matches a named individual, investigators search for genetic relatives who may help identify that person.

This approach became internationally known after its use in the investigation that identified the Golden State Killer in the United States.

How investigative genetic genealogy works

Imagine that investigators recover biological material from a serious crime but cannot match the forensic DNA profile with an individual already represented in conventional police databases.

Traditional forensic methods may then reach a dead end.

Genetic genealogy takes a different approach. A profile suitable for genealogical comparison can potentially be searched against databases containing DNA from people who have tested themselves for ancestry or family research.

If the unknown individual has a distant relative in the database, shared DNA segments may indicate a possible family connection.

Genealogists can then combine these matches with information such as:

• family trees;

• birth and marriage records;

• geographic information;

• ages;

• known family relationships.

The objective is not normally to identify a suspect from one distant DNA match. Instead, several genetic and genealogical clues are combined to reconstruct parts of a family network and narrow the list of possible individuals.

Readers interested in the consumer side of the technology can see how ancestry DNA testing in the UK uses genetic matches to help identify biological relatives.

What is the position in the UK?

The UK has examined the potential use of investigative genetic genealogy, but this should not be interpreted as meaning that British police routinely search commercial ancestry databases in the same way as some investigators have done in the United States.

A Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group report, updated on 22 May 2026, examined whether such techniques would be necessary and proportionate in the UK. It noted that the UK already has extensive conventional forensic DNA capabilities, including familial searching, and raised substantial questions about privacy, regulation, retention of genetic information, data security and proportionality.

The report suggested that any future use would need clearly defined circumstances and strong safeguards. It also noted that legislation would be required to address issues such as transmission, retention and destruction of samples, genetic profiles and genealogical information.

In practical terms, investigative genetic genealogy remains a technique that the UK has been evaluating rather than a routine extension of ordinary consumer DNA databases into policing.

Why one person's ancestry test can reveal information about relatives

The ethical problem surrounding genetic genealogy is unusual because DNA is not exclusively individual information.

You inherit approximately half of your autosomal DNA from each biological parent. Your siblings, children, grandparents, cousins and more distant relatives therefore share different amounts of genetic material with you.

This means that when someone uploads their DNA to a genealogy database, the information may indirectly make members of their biological family more identifiable.

A relative does not necessarily need to have taken a DNA test themselves.

That is one reason the privacy debate around consumer genetics is more complicated than the privacy issues surrounding an ordinary online account.

Genetic data receives additional protection in the UK

From a data-protection perspective, genetic information is not treated like an ordinary email address or customer number.

Under the UK GDPR, genetic data relating to an identifiable person is classified as special category data. This category receives additional protection because its use can create significant risks to privacy and other fundamental rights.

There is a practical reason for this.

A compromised password can be replaced. A payment card can be cancelled. Your underlying genetic characteristics cannot simply be reissued after a data breach.

Genetic information can also reveal more than identity. Depending on what has been analysed and how it is interpreted, it may contain information about biological relationships, ancestry or aspects of health.

The 23andMe case demonstrated the consequences

The risks are not theoretical.

In June 2025, the UK Information Commissioner's Office fined 23andMe £2.31 million following its investigation into the company's security surrounding a major 2023 cyberattack.

The ICO said information relating to 155,592 UK residents had been accessed. Depending on the accounts concerned, exposed information could include names, birth years, locations, ethnicity, family trees and health information. The regulator also identified shortcomings involving authentication, access to raw genetic data and cyber-security controls.

The case remains highly relevant in 2026 because it illustrates a central issue facing consumer DNA testing: the value of a genetic test cannot be assessed only by looking at the accuracy of its results.

Data governance matters as well.

What should UK consumers check before taking a DNA test?

Before submitting a saliva sample or cheek swab, it is worth looking beyond the marketing claims surrounding the test.

A consumer should understand:

• what genetic information will actually be analysed;

• why the company is collecting it;

• whether the data may be used for secondary purposes;

• whether separate research consent is requested;

• where the data will be stored;

• whether information can be transferred internationally;

• how long the physical biological sample will be retained;

• whether the sample can be destroyed on request;

• how genetic data and the account itself can be deleted;

• what happens to the information if the business is sold or changes ownership.

Consent also matters at the sampling stage.

In England, obtaining or holding bodily material with the intention of analysing its DNA without the appropriate consent can raise serious legal issues. The rules are very different from the restrictive approach found in some other countries: private DNA testing itself is not prohibited as a category, but who is tested, whether they consent and how the result will be used are crucial.

This distinction is explained in more detail in our guide to DNA testing law in England.

A private DNA test and a medical genetic test are not interchangeable

The growth of NHS genomics makes another distinction increasingly important.

A commercial ancestry test, a paternity test, a tumour DNA analysis and a test requested by a clinical genetics service may all analyse genetic material, but they do not answer the same question.

For example, an ancestry test may compare hundreds of thousands of genetic variants with reference populations and other customers to estimate origins and identify genetic relatives.

A relationship test instead compares specific genetic markers between known participants to evaluate whether a claimed biological relationship is compatible with inheritance.

A clinical genetic test may investigate particular genes or variants because a clinician suspects an inherited disorder or needs genetic information to guide treatment.

The interpretation, laboratory procedure and consequences of each test are therefore very different.

A result designed for personal curiosity should never automatically be treated as a clinical diagnosis.

AlphaGenome is changing how researchers interpret DNA

Artificial intelligence remains another major development in genomics in 2026.

One of the most important examples is AlphaGenome, developed by Google DeepMind.

The scientific paper describing AlphaGenome was published in Nature on 28 January 2026, so it was not itself a July announcement. However, the model remains highly relevant to the direction genomics is taking this year.

The important point is that AlphaGenome is not simply searching DNA sequences for obvious “disease genes”.

It attempts to predict how DNA sequence influences numerous biological processes.

Why researchers need to understand non-coding DNA

Only a small proportion of the human genome directly encodes proteins.

Much of the remaining genome was once difficult to interpret. Researchers now know that many non-coding regions play important regulatory roles.

They can influence:

• whether a gene is active;

• how strongly it is expressed;

• which cells use it;

• how RNA is processed;

• how DNA interacts with regulatory proteins;

• how different regions of the genome interact with one another.

A genetic variant can therefore have an important biological effect even when it does not directly alter the protein-coding sequence of a gene.

This is one of the problems AlphaGenome is intended to help researchers investigate.

What can AlphaGenome analyse?

AlphaGenome accepts DNA sequences of up to approximately one million base pairs and predicts thousands of functional genomic measurements.

These include signals related to gene expression, chromatin accessibility, transcription-factor binding, splicing and interactions between genomic regions. The model was evaluated across numerous genomic prediction tasks and performed at or above leading comparison models in many of the reported benchmarks.

The methodology and results are available in the peer-reviewed AlphaGenome study published in Nature.

This type of system could help researchers prioritise variants for further investigation and develop hypotheses about how genetic changes affect biological function.

AlphaGenome does not turn a DNA sequence into a medical diagnosis

The capabilities of models such as AlphaGenome can easily be overstated.

AlphaGenome predicts biological effects associated with DNA sequences and genetic variants. It does not independently examine someone's genome and provide a definitive diagnosis of every disease they may develop.

A medical diagnosis can depend on much more than one sequence variant.

Depending on the condition, clinicians may need to consider:

• symptoms;

• family history;

• laboratory findings;

• imaging;

• environmental factors;

• other genetic variants;

• the quality of scientific evidence linking a variant to disease.

Computational prediction is therefore one part of a much larger interpretation process.

AI can help scientists decide which genetic variants deserve attention. It does not remove the need for experimental validation, clinical evidence or specialist interpretation.

Gene editing is already moving into NHS treatment

Genomic research is also beginning to produce treatments that would have seemed experimental only a few years ago.

One striking UK example is Casgevy, a treatment based on CRISPR gene-editing technology.

Casgevy is now available through the NHS in England for eligible patients with severe sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassaemia. The treatment involves collecting a patient's own blood-forming stem cells, editing them outside the body and returning the modified cells to the patient.

Rather than directly repairing the disease-causing variant, the treatment modifies regulation of BCL11A so that the patient's cells can increase production of fetal haemoglobin.

This illustrates an important shift in genetics.

DNA analysis is no longer used only to identify mutations or estimate inherited risk. In some diseases, knowledge of genetic mechanisms is now being translated into therapies designed to change how cells behave.

Genetic medicine still needs careful interpretation

These developments do not mean gene editing has become a routine solution for genetic disease.

Treatments such as Casgevy are complex medical procedures intended for carefully selected patients. They involve specialist centres, conditioning treatment and long-term clinical monitoring.

Likewise, the introduction of SMA newborn screening does not mean that every genetic condition can now be identified and treated at birth.

Genetic medicine is advancing rapidly, but each disease has a different biological mechanism, level of scientific evidence and available treatment pathway.

What July 2026 tells us about the future of DNA testing

Several broader trends become visible when these developments are considered together.

First, genetic testing is becoming increasingly specialised.

The same underlying molecule — DNA — can now be used to investigate biological relationships, reconstruct ancestry, identify inherited disease, characterise cancers, search for forensic leads and select potential treatments. These applications should not be treated as interchangeable.

Second, the value of genetic information is increasing alongside the privacy risks associated with it.

The more accurately scientists and algorithms can interpret DNA, the more important questions about consent, security, storage and secondary use become.

Third, AI is changing genetic interpretation rather than simply making sequencing faster. Models such as AlphaGenome are attempting to connect DNA sequence with the regulatory processes that determine how genes actually function.

Finally, genomic medicine is moving from prediction towards intervention. England's expanding genomic testing pathways, newborn screening plans and access to gene-editing treatments show how genetics can increasingly affect real clinical decisions.

For consumers considering a private DNA test, however, the practical questions remain more immediate.

Before sending a biological sample to a laboratory, understand what the test can genuinely tell you, whether the procedure is appropriate for your purpose and what will happen to your genetic information afterwards.

Can UK police search consumer ancestry DNA databases?

The UK has examined investigative genetic genealogy as a possible tool for difficult cases, but there is no general routine framework equivalent to the approach used in some US investigations. UK reviews have raised significant questions around necessity, proportionality, privacy, regulation and data retention.

Is an ancestry DNA test legal in England?

Private DNA testing is not prohibited as a general category in England. However, consent is essential. Testing biological material belonging to another person without the appropriate consent can create serious legal problems. The requirements are also stricter when results are intended for court or another official purpose.

Why is genetic data considered particularly sensitive?

Genetic data can identify an individual, reveal biological relationships and potentially provide information relevant to health or ancestry. It is also partly shared with biological relatives and cannot simply be changed after a security breach. Under the UK GDPR, identifiable genetic data is treated as special category data.

Can AlphaGenome diagnose a genetic disease?

No. AlphaGenome predicts functional effects associated with DNA sequences and variants. These predictions can support research and variant interpretation, but they do not independently constitute a medical diagnosis.

Are gene-editing treatments already available through the NHS?

Yes, for certain specific conditions and eligible patients. Casgevy, which uses CRISPR-based gene editing, is available through the NHS in England for eligible patients with severe sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassaemia. This does not mean gene editing is available for genetic diseases generally.