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That’s right, April 25th is National DNA Day! In 2003, it was proclaimed as such by both the US Senate and the House of Representatives. DNA Day is a remembrance of the advancements in DNA technology. Among them: a ground breaking article on the structure of DNA which was first published in 1953; and the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003.While you might not have the day off, you might want to stop and think about just what DNA has done for us.
Whether you are in the industry as a geneticist, scientist, doctor, of just a regular citizen, you probably understand how big of a contribution mapping our human genome has made to our lives. From medicine, cancer and disease research, the more we understand the better equipped we are to provide personalized medicine to each and every person. So this April, honor these advancements by taking some time to think about DNA and some of it’s many uses:
1. In archeology, DNA helps record genetic information of life on earth many centuries ago. This creates a data base that can be used to learn more about our planet’s past.
2. Genetic testing is used to determine the paternity or maternity of a child.
3. DNA testing can be used to help create a family tree or genealogical chart. Through genetic databases one can trace lost relatives or find their ancestral heritage. Using both the Y-Chromosome and Mitochondrial DNA people can use DNA testing to establish ancestral lines (both remain unchanged for generations). Now, technology is improving and recent advancements have been made in using non-sex chromosomes for ancestral research.
4. Prenatal genetic tests can help doctors determine whether or not the unborn fetus are predisposed to have certain health problems.
5. DNA tests are also used to help solve murders and other crimes. In recent years, many unsolved mysteries have been solved due to new and better types of analysis, as well as clearing many people found guilty of crimes that they did not commit.
6. DNA testing finds great use in the health field as DNA sometimes is the cause of rare medical conditions or heritable diseases.
7. Genetic testing is used in healths checks. For example it can be used to help determine the presence of viruses or cells that have mutated (causing cancer).
8. DNA tests are often used to reunite lost siblings or families or identify remains of the unknown. The genetics of a person leaves an indelible mark and this is used by police, military and authorities, as well as individuals to confirm relationships.
9. DNA tests on new species, or on material from outer space, help scientists and researchers determine the origins of a species and where they stand with reference to known living forms.
There are even more applications then the 9 mentioned, but this might give you a glimpse into the basic importance of our genetic relationship with ourselves and our surrounding. So, on April 25th, celebrate DNA Day!
- By Briana Rogers
Humanitarian efforts can be very delicate issues, and the U.S. State Department’s suspension of the East African family-reunification (or Priority Three) is a prime example. The program, was instituted to reunify families from civil war-torn areas with relatives living in the U.S.. The program was suspended in March of 2008 and has not been reopened at this time.
According to the State Department in February of 2009:
There are currently three priorities or categories of cases that have access to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. Priority One and Two applicants are granted access to the program through an individual referral by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a U.S. Embassy or qualified NGO, or by membership in a group of cases designated as having access to the program by virtue of their circumstances and apparent need for resettlement. Priority Three, or P-3, refers to individual cases from eligible nationalities who are granted access for purposes of family reunification with certain legal residents in the United States.
The State Department decided to preform DNA test on the P-3 starting with the embassy in Kenya to test for fraud. What they discovered is that the rate of fraud varied from country to country but they were able to confirm biological relationships between fewer than 20% of the cases tested (family units outside the U.S.).
The suspension of this program effects families in a variety of locations including: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, Burundi, Central African Republic (CAR), Colombia, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe.
As of October 22, 2008, the Department of State stopped accepting Affidavits of Relationship (AORs) for all nationalities. Although in some location where there was no evidence of fraud (Bangkok, Cairo, Havana, Ho Chi Minh City, Istanbul, Kathmandu, Moscow, and Vienna) there are a small number of AORs that were submitted and cleared prior to March 2008 are being processed. No new applications will be accepted for any nationality at this time.
This does not mean that the State Department has not been working to assist the refugee populations seeking admittance to the U.S. According to the State Department:
We continue to work closely with UNHCR to determine which African refugee populations are appropriate candidates for group and individual referrals. For example, we recently authorized the processing of several thousand Eritrean refugees in a camp in Ethiopia and continue to receive P-1 (individual) referrals of Congolese, Burundians, Somalis, and other African nationalities.
DNA Testing – An Overview Of This Revolutionary Scientific Breakthrough
By Brook Hayles
What is DNA testing? DNA testing is specified testing that searches for the absence or presence of DNA genetic sequences. DNA testing makes use of molecular methods like DNA chips, arrays, or polymerase chain reaction. Your genetic makeup is carried inside your cells nucleus, which contains the DNA material.
Deoxyribonucleic acid is the scientific term for DNA. DNA determines the cells behavior, function, and structure. What is great about DNA is that not only can it tell the identity of a person, but it can also give information about thousands genetic conditions and diseases.
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Written by Meagan Cantrell and based on an “Early Show Exclusive” interview video by Julie Chen dated 11/29/2007:
After 5 years of knowing each other, hometown best friends, Brandy Hersh and Heidi Wickware discovered they’re full sisters. Only two years apart in age, these two women, from Springfield, MO, went to the same elementary and middle schools, they did not become best friends until they stated dating two boys who introduced them to each other.
Although they have uncommon features, among them they have different eye and hair color, they were interested in, and liked to do, the same things and were even able finish each other’s sentences.
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By Alex Blake
DNA testing is done for many different reasons. DNA evidence can link an alleged criminal to a crime scene. DNA paternity and maternity testing can identify a child’s father or mother. DNA relationship testing can determine if two individuals are full or half siblings. DNA ancestry testing can determine ethnic origins and genealogical roots.
How DNA testing is done depends on the results desired and the samples available. DNA fingerprinting (or profiling as it’s also known) is the process of analyzing and comparing two DNA samples. Only identical twins have the exact same DNA sequence, everyone else’s DNA is unique. This makes DNA the perfect way to link individuals to each other or to locations where they have been.
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By Groshan Fabiola
Paternity testing is becoming increasingly popular as more and more people are beginning to realize the many answers that paternity tests can provide and the emotional and financial heartache that they can save a person. Paternity tests can determine up to 99% accuracy whether or not an individual is the father of a child. This can be very helpful in child custody cases when a man is claiming that he is or is not the biological father of a child. Depending on the results of the paternity test, the courts can then either force the man to pay child support payments or they can make it possible for a person to discontinue, or not begin to, pay child support payments. There are a few different methods that can be used to determine paternity and these different tests can be done either postnatal, which is after a baby is born, or prenatal, which is before the child is born.
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By Kevin Camilleri
DNA testing is one of the most conclusive ways available to determine paternity of any given child. By taking a sample of DNA from both the alleged father and from the child in question, high-tech DNA profiling techniques are used to match reference points across genetic markers on both samples which can lead to an accurate determination of where a genetic relationship exists.
In an ideal world, paternity testing would have available both a sample from the child and from his alleged father in order to best establish the link between them. However, in some DNA paternity testing cases the father is not available to give his DNA sample, whether through choice, or unavailability for some other reason. However, where the father is absent, it is still possible to use other DNA tests to determine whether a relationship exists.
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DNA Paternity Testing: Submitting Non-Standard Samples (Part 2)
Success Rates for DNA Extraction from Non-Standard Samples
In part 1 of the article, we looked at some of the more common non-standard samples used to obtain DNA from an individual for DNA testing purposes. In this article we look at DNA extraction success rates from the various types of samples and how these can vary from one sample to another.
It is possible to fail to obtain sufficient DNA from a buccal swab, for reasons such as: the swabbing was not adequately performed, the swabs grow mold due to damp storage conditions, bacteria destroys a damp sample or a person just does not give off much DNA during the swabbing process. However, those cases are rare and problems with this type of sample are normally less than 2%.
Non standard samples, however, can pose a greater problem when exacting DNA to perform a profile,
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