DNA testing refers to a variety of methods of examining deoxyribonucleic acid, also known as DNA.
DNA is blueprint of all living things.
Every living cell contains DNA and the DNA governs the functioning of the entire organism.
Because DNA is unique to each person, plant, etc.
, it can be studied to determine the relationship between two people, two pieces of a plant or to find out whether one sample matches another.
One of the most well-known DNA tests is a paternity test.
Paternity DNA testing is used to establish if a man is the biological father of a child.
This test is most often performed when a man denies paternity.
Sometime he truly believes that he is not the father of the child, and other times he just does not want to be financially responsible for the child.
DNA testing is also frequently used by forensic crime labs.
The tiniest sample of DNA from a crime scene can be replicated using PCR (polymerase chain reaction) to create a larger sample made of identical DNA.
This DNA can then be compared to samples from the victim, witnesses and suspects.
Forensic DNA testing does not generally look at the whole strand of DNA.
Instead the tester looks for matches at several locations, called loci.
A mitochondria DNA test is used to trace the maternal history of a person.
Mitochondrial DNA passes from the mother to her children (both male and female) without any change.
By examining the similarities of this primitive DNA between two people, the tester can determine if they are related along maternal family lines.
Because the DNA does not change when it is passed on from mother to child, testing can take place even if a generation is not available to participate in the testing.
Even though DNA testing requires a lab, somewhat sterile conditions and expensive equipment, it is available to everyone through a DNA testing kit.
You can buy the kit online or at the local drugstore.
Swab the cheeks of the people being tested and mail the kit in to the lab.
The results are mailed to you in just a few weeks.
However, if you need to prove a DNA relationship for a legal purpose such as establishing paternity) you will be to be tested in person by laboratory employees who observe a legal chain of custody with the samples and results.
DNA is blueprint of all living things.
Every living cell contains DNA and the DNA governs the functioning of the entire organism.
Because DNA is unique to each person, plant, etc.
, it can be studied to determine the relationship between two people, two pieces of a plant or to find out whether one sample matches another.
One of the most well-known DNA tests is a paternity test.
Paternity DNA testing is used to establish if a man is the biological father of a child.
This test is most often performed when a man denies paternity.
Sometime he truly believes that he is not the father of the child, and other times he just does not want to be financially responsible for the child.
DNA testing is also frequently used by forensic crime labs.
The tiniest sample of DNA from a crime scene can be replicated using PCR (polymerase chain reaction) to create a larger sample made of identical DNA.
This DNA can then be compared to samples from the victim, witnesses and suspects.
Forensic DNA testing does not generally look at the whole strand of DNA.
Instead the tester looks for matches at several locations, called loci.
A mitochondria DNA test is used to trace the maternal history of a person.
Mitochondrial DNA passes from the mother to her children (both male and female) without any change.
By examining the similarities of this primitive DNA between two people, the tester can determine if they are related along maternal family lines.
Because the DNA does not change when it is passed on from mother to child, testing can take place even if a generation is not available to participate in the testing.
Even though DNA testing requires a lab, somewhat sterile conditions and expensive equipment, it is available to everyone through a DNA testing kit.
You can buy the kit online or at the local drugstore.
Swab the cheeks of the people being tested and mail the kit in to the lab.
The results are mailed to you in just a few weeks.
However, if you need to prove a DNA relationship for a legal purpose such as establishing paternity) you will be to be tested in person by laboratory employees who observe a legal chain of custody with the samples and results.
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