Uses Of DNA Testing At Various DNA Test Locations

By Michelle Howe


April 25 marked the 60th anniversary of the discovery of DNA and also the mapping of the 3 billion letters that make up the human genome. We can now use DNA testing, available in thousands of DNA test locations across continental US, for all sorts of things that Crick and Watson couldn't even have dreamt of. These include lawsuits for determining paternity or maternity or a full or half sibling relationship or just discovering your ethnic roots.



The first man to have found nucleic acid in our white blood cells way back in the 1860s was Friedrich Miescher. But we had to wait till 1953 for James Watson and Francis Crick to tell us about the double helix structure of DNA. Now we know that DNA can vary among different species but there are certain properties that are common to all life forms. From there, we have come to a point where we can establish Justin Bieber's baby daddy status and save the life of an innocent man who has been condemned to death.

Some website's test can find you hundreds of new relatives, some of whom you might not wish to acknowledge. They take your DNA sample and match it with what they already have in order to establish genetic connections between you and people living thousands of miles away. They can also do genealogical mapping to determine your various ethnicities and link you to the land your antecedents once called home.

DNA testing can also be used to determine historical facts. One recent example is furnished by the discovery of Richard III's skeleton in a Leicester parking lot. Although the skeletal remains showed signs of battlefield wounds, researchers weren't sure until they matched the DNA to Michael Ibsen a straight relative of the King's sister.

If stored in a cool, dry and dark place DNA can survive for thousands of years. For instance, researchers have now shown that two of Czar Nicholas's daughters, who were thought to have survived the assassination of their family by the Bolsheviks were actually part of the assassinated group. DNA testing is also being used on Neanderthal remains in order to fill in the blanks in the story of human evolution.

If stored in a cold, dry area DNA can last for thousands of years. It is this property of DNA which allowed researchers to establish that two daughters of Russia's last Czar, Nicholas II, had not survived the collective assassination of the family at Ekaterinburg. DNA testing is also being utilized on the vestiges of the Neanderthals, a human group that existed more than 30,000 years ago, to investigate the tale of human development.

Wisdom Panel has quite a different answer to this question. It will take your dog's DNA and match it with the 190 breeds that exist in order to establish his pedigree and lineage. Why would you need such information even if it were available? Wisdom Panel says you can tailor your dog's training, exercise and nutrition regimes to his particular genetic make-up. Dig that.

More seriously, you can take your child's DNA to one of the thousands of DNA test locations that exist in the country. You can find out whether he is likely to suffer from rare genetic disorders like Down's Syndrome, etc.


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