Genetic testing companies 23andMe and Ancestry are laying off staff as sales of their DNA tests slump, but both are sitting on vast amounts of data from millions of their customers, which has the potential to deliver huge profits.
基因检测公司23andMe和Agenstry由于其DNA检测销售下滑，正在进行裁员，但这两家公司都坐拥数百万客户的海量数据，这有可能带来巨额利润。
Since 23andMe launched in 2007, more than 10 million people have signed up to the company’s services, while AncestryDNA says it has tested 16 million people.
自从23andMe在2007年推出以来，已经有超过1000万人注册了该公司的服务，而AncestryDNA说它已经测试了1600万人。
But sales of DNA testing kits have been slowing over the past year and a half.
但DNA检测试剂盒的销售在过去一年半中一直在放缓。
Last month, 23andMe announced the company was laying off 100 members of staff – 14 per cent of the workforce.
上月，23andMe宣布，公司将裁员100名员工，占员工总数的14%。
This week, Ancestry announced layoffs affecting 6 per cent of employees.
本周，血统宣布裁员，影响到6%的员工。
Why the slump? 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki told CNBC that concerns over privacy may be turning people off DNA tests.
为什么会如此低迷？23andMe首席执行官安妮·沃西基告诉CNBC，对隐私的担忧可能会让人们对DNA测试产生兴趣。
Perhaps that is to be expected, given recent events.
考虑到最近发生的事件，这也许是意料之中的。
People who buy a genetic test can access the raw data of their results and upload them to other websites.
购买基因测试的人可以访问其结果的原始数据并将其上传到其他网站。
It was this kind of data, uploaded to a free website called GEDmatch, that enabled law enforcement agencies to track down a man thought to be responsible for decades-old murders and rapes, known as the “Golden State Killer”.
正是这种上传到名为GEDMatch的免费网站上的数据，使执法机构能够追查到一名被认为对数十年来的谋杀和强奸负责的男子，也就是被称为“金州杀手”(Golden State Killer)的人。
By taking DNA from the crime scene and comparing it to those available on the site, agencies could identify the man’s relatives, and track him down from there.
通过从犯罪现场提取DNA并将其与现场可用DNA进行比较，机构可以识别该男子的亲属，并从那里追踪到他。
Both 23andMe and Ancestry say the companies won’t willingly share genetic data with law enforcement agencies, but they may be forced to if given a court order.
23andMe和祖先都表示，这些公司不会愿意与执法机构共享基因数据，但如果得到法院命令，他们可能会被迫这样做。
“It has the potential to spook people,” says Brad Malin at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.
田纳西州范德比尔特大学(Vanderbilt University)的布拉德·马林(Brad Malin)说：“它有可能吓到人们。”
There may be other reasons for the sales downturn.
销售下滑可能还有其他原因。
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