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We discovered abundant (12 to 24%) monoallelic expression of autosomal genes and that expression of the two alleles occurs independently. The monoallelic expression appeared random and dynamic because there was considerable variation among closely related embryonic cells. Similar patterns of monoallelic expression were observed in mature cells. Our allelic expression analysis also demonstrates the de novo inactivation of the paternal X chromosome.
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http://www.sciencemag.org/content/343/6167/193.full

https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/346318841367908352
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/18/science/poking-holes-in-the-privacy-of-dna.html

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June 16, 2013
Poking Holes in Genetic Privacy
By GINA KOLATA

Not so long ago, people who provided DNA in the course of research studies were told that their privacy was assured. Their DNA sequences were on publicly available Web sites, yes, but they did not include names or other obvious identifiers. These were research databases, scientists said, not like the forensic DNA banks being gathered by the F.B.I. and police departments.
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Experts were startled by what Dr. Erlich had done. “We are in what I call an awareness moment,” said Eric D. Green, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health.

Research subjects who share their DNA may risk a loss of not just their own privacy but also that of their children and grandchildren, who will inherit many of the same genes, said Mark B. Gerstein, a Yale professor who studies large genetic databases.
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Press Release about HELA genome, which came out before all the controversy

http://www.embl.de/aboutus/communication_outreach/media_relations/2013/130311_Heidelberg/index.html Havoc in biology’s most-used human cell line – Press Release Heidelberg, 11 March 2013

In a nutshell:
• Scientists deliver the first high-resolution sequence of HeLa cells, a key research tool for human disease and general biology
• Sequence analysis reveals the full extent to which HeLa cells are different to the Human Genome Project reference
• Resource could enhance the quality of research using HeLa cells

http://www.nature.com/news/be-prepared-for-the-big-genome-leak-1.13173

It is only a matter of time until idealism sees the release of confidential genetic data on study participants, says Steven E. Brenner.