China's technology boom has changed people's lives in remarkable ways. We know all about the convenience that e-commerce and mobile payment services have brought us. But what's emerging right now is a genetic screening which reveals all kinds of personal information -- from about health risks to ethnicity and even personality traits. Our reporter Zheng Chunying has more.

DNA linked to more than ten ethnicities. 25-year-old Ma Ye was surprised when she read her genetic test report. It revealed she wasn't quite the pure-bred Asian she thought she was.

MA YE, MASTER'S STUDENT, BEIJING FOREIGN STUDIES UNIVERSITY "I took the test out of curiosity. And the result was quite astonishing to me: I'm 80 percent Chinese, five percent French, and what's the most surprising, one percent Mayan."

ZHENG CHUNYING BEIJING "Such a test has now become quite popular in China. And the procedure is simple. You collect a saliva in the tube and mail it in. Then in two weeks, you'll be able to unlock the secret of your genetic code, which can help you identify potential ancestors and even see how vulnerable you are to certain diseases."

CHN MA YE MASTER'S STUDENT, BEIJING FOREIGN STUDIES UNIVERSITY "The report said I have a much higher chance of getting diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease than most people. I'm a little worried about that, because we are not able to change our genes."

A harrowing health assessment for anyone to hear, which could conceivably give anyone sleepless nights. But Gao Yang – the CEO of Berry Genomics, who's also an industry expert – says people shouldn't read too much into the results.

GAO YANG CEO, BERRY GENOMICS "Such commercial direct-to-consumer genetic tests should only be used for reference. The association of phenotypic characteristics and genes is complicated and varies for different ethnicities. A disease can be influenced by a variety of factors, such as living habits and local environment."

Gao Yang says there are some diseases, in which the tests really do provide credible results.

GAO YANG, CEO, BERRY GENOMICS "Clinical genetic testing is another significant area in the gene science industry. Clinical genomic companies largely emerged from the scientific research industry, and are primarily focused on offering medical testing services. Most of the diseases they target can be predicted through gene tests."

In China, there are more than 150 genomic companies. In 2016, fifty Chinese gene companies received total investment of more than 80 billion yuan – or about 12 billion US dollars. So why is the industry so attractive at the moment?

It's anyone's guess where this industry will go from here and these investors are confident that the only way is up. However, experts say it won't all be plain sailing, and significant hurdles and barriers lie ahead. But for the many dedicated geneticists -- who truly believe in the potential of their branch of science – they say they're willing to take on these challenges for the betterment of the human race. ZHENG CHUNYING, CGTN, BEIJING.