What Is Dna Testing?


by LiLy Wrick - Date: 2010-10-03 - Word Count: 496 Share This!

DNA testing has become quite common a subject among the common public. Though it came to be known mainly for its use in high - profile paternity suits and criminal investigations, it has gained tremendous popularity because of its being used in tracing genealogy. It is now possible for any person to submit his DNA sample for testing. People looking forward to reconstruct their family trees can now take the help of organizations offering DNA testing services. Actually, DNA testing is a method employed by genealogists to find out whether two or more people are related. Each person's DNA profile is different. But there are sequences that are common among people who are related, no matter whether their ancestors dated back to thousands of years. DNA testing has many uses, and it will be easier to understand what exactly it is by knowing them.

1) DNA testing is being commonly used these days in paternity tests. Legal problems get solved as DNA samples can determine whether a certain person is the father of a child.

2) DNA testing has the ability of letting a person find new relatives he never knew existed. The Y chromosome, which is used for such tests, remains unchanged for generation to generation, establishing common ancestral lines and making the discovery of new relatives quite a possibility.

3) DNA testing can be used to prove relationships. It can help a person reunite with his lost sibling or family. The genealogy of a person leaves an indelible mark on the chromosomes, which help find out whether two persons are closely related.

4) DNA tests have great uses in archeology as well. It can help record genetic sequences and codes of life on earth that existed centuries ago. A database can be created from such information.

5) Many parents are getting DNA testing done on their unborn child to determine whether the child has or is predisposed to any incurable disease.

6) Persons can find out whether they have any predisposition to a dangerous and life -threatening disease by having their DNA tested. It can even find out whether they have a heritable disease.

7) DNA testing is being increasingly used in health check up's. When treatment for cancer patients is going on, DNA tests are done to determine whether cells and viruses are getting mutated.

8) DNA testing also helps scientists understand new species or any material that has come from the outer space. When these get DNA tests done on them, it can help determine where they have originated from.

Genetic analysis is getting increasingly common among the public. Though previously available only for governmental and police organizations, DNA testing is now available to all individuals. It is very easy to go to a DNA testing organization and have your DNA tested. A small cotton swab from inside your cheeks will be taken and admitted for testing. It's that easy.

DNA testing can help you reconstruct your ancestry. It is only through knowledge of the past that you can know the future.

Related Tags: dna testing, dna, genealogy, genetic analysis, dna sample

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