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- DNA is exciting and magical
- By: FABIOLA GROSHAN
You may have heard a lot about DNA over the years. Recently, it's become a staple of different legal and crime solving shows. The DNA often ends up being the one piece of crucial evidence that solves the murder and saves the day. They say that the DNA never lies. Well, that part is true, although the rest of it may be over-dramatized a bit. The DNA doesn't ever lie, even though it may not actually be the overwhelming fool-proof answer that you might have been led to believe it is. While never lying, this little genetic code can't go as far as to point the finger, only to confirm or deny a match. Because of this fact, samples are often needed for DNA testing, as a DNA strand contains your entire genetic code within itself, mapping out a blueprint that is completely original to you while still carrying all of the information that can help point the way to your roots.A paternity test is a common reason for DNA testing to take place. You can use one of these tests for either personal knowledge or legal matters, giving yourself and the world the knowledge of the truth. It will work as either a yes or no answer, there is no hazy gray area. An accurate paternity test will either grant a 99.99% chance that the person in question is in fact the father of the child or give a 100% certainty that they are not. A DNA test will generally be conducted using a standard cheek swab, sometimes with a regular cotton swab and, depending on the company testing, sometimes with a specially made swab of a certain material. This DNA sample will then be added into a special chemical to trigger a Polymerase Chain Reaction. This reaction identifies 16 specific locations within the DNA strand and these locations are analyzed to compose a DNA profile, which serves as a form of fingerprint. These “fingerprints” can then be compared to the results of the other test to determine the probability of paternity.
As stated, these tests will either determine the answer of the paternity question with a yes or a no. Results are generally considered to be conclusive and are not questionable. In legal matters, paternity testing is taken as incontrovertible truth and the results of such must be followed by law. However, DNA tests don't always have to be used for such grave purposes. They can also provide a form of entertainment when you use them to trace your ancestry back through time.
Ancestry testing won't provide a family tree. It's not a process that is that detailed. What it will do is map out the DNA structure of your genetics, however, and tell you where the roots of your genetics come from. Different forms of ancestry testing are available, some of the most common testing either Y-DNA or mtDNA strands. Y-DNA makes use of the Y chromosome, obviously only present in males, and will use this to test your paternal ancestry back to some of its roots. These roots will often present themselves in the form of a geographic location common with ancestry tracing, pointing you to roots in either a European, East Asian, Sub-Saharan African, or a Native American region. The mtDNA tests provide the same sort of tracing, only though the maternal side, showing the roots of your mother's family history. In either case, an informative and very fun time awaits you with any form of ancestry DNA testing.
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