Paternity testing using HLA typing and PCR (Polymerase chain reaction)

Posted on | March 1, 2012 | No Comments

The 1970s brought on HLA typing, which does not require DNA and was used for paternity testing. Later PCR (polymerase chain reaction) was developed. This test eliminated 80% of the male population but cannot distinguish between related alleged fathers.

HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) is a protein found in white blood cells and any individual has quite a unique set of HLA proteins inherited from their parents.

This testing had drawbacks: very large amounts of blood were needed meaning that babies had to be over 6 months old to be tested.

Using DNA to establish paternity was logically only possible after the discovery of the structure of DNA in the 1950s.

It was not however, until the 1980s that DNA was used to establish paternity.

In the 1980s DNA testing became available with the possibility of including a father as the biological dad with an accuracy of 80% or sometimes even 90%. The procedure is known as RFLP (restriction fragment Length polymorphism). The testing required blood samples but an issue was that considerably large DNA samples were needed for scientists to work with. The processing time was also lengthy and thus, the method has gradually become disused as a better method was invented.

DNA Paternity Testing in the 1990s

PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) is the method that is used nowadays for paternity DNA testing. Scientists can work with very small quantities of DNA because with PCR they are able to replicate and make thousands of copies of the DNA and thus, have lots to work with. The DNA sequencing process with this method takes only around 2 hours. The process involves a reaction in which DNA is heated to 94 Celsius. An enzyme is then used (DNA polymerase) to assist in the replication and amplification of the DNA. The enzyme reads the code and then uses it as template. This is essentially the process very simply put.

Paternity testing has become extremely accurate with PCR; the HLA has become obsolete.

Why must Justin Bieber take a paternity test?

Posted on | November 10, 2011 | No Comments

The Bieber-Yeater menagerie

Mariah Yeater, the lady who asserted that Justin Bieber is the father of her four-month-old son, Tristyn, has proclaimed that, following her attendance at one of the teen sensation’s concerts in October 2010, they locked eyes and experienced instant chemistry following which, he whisked her away into a bathroom. At this point, she claims that, the rendezvous aggravated into an aggressive, unprotected sexual encounter. She further asserted that it had been Bieber’s ‘first time’, having said so himself.

The allegations made by Yeater against Justin Bieber have attracted the ire of his fans from around the world, as Beliebers – as they call themselves, have expressed shock and made her the target of death threats. Amidst all the tabloid drama, Justin Bieber, according to his representatives, has agreed to take a Paternity Test, which is allegedly scheduled to be on December 15, as per all legal requirements. The pop star’s representatives have made it clear that, in case the paternity test returns with negative results, his party would sue Yeater, most likely on the grounds of defamation.

What is a Paternity Test and why must Bieber take one?

However, this announcement has many people wondering about this DNA paternity test is that Justin Bieber is going to take. To clarify, a DNA paternity test is a parental testing procedure that helps establish whether a male entity is the biological father of a child or not. It consists of a DNA analysis that involves genetic fingerprinting-a method that is known to be the most accurate and effective till date, and is therefore adopted to fulfill legal requirements in cases of child custody disputes, adoption rights, paternity suits, and the likes. Bieber, being targeted by a paternity suit, is therefore required to take a Paternity Test to prove or disprove the allegations.

How is a parent-child relationship determined with the given results of a paternity test?

The DNA paternity test conducted will be carried out by getting hold of a buccal swab of both individuals. This is a non-invasive way of getting a person’s DNA sample by lightly scraping the inside of his or her cheek. This can be done in case a court order for the same has been obtained. In its absence, DNA profiles can be collected by getting blood or semen samples. Once these samples have been obtained, a DNA analysis is carried out by comparing them to check if there exists a biological parent-child relationship.

How is this comparison done?

A child’s 46 chromosomes are derived on his conception from his parents-23 chromosomes from his mother’s egg and father’s sperm each. These chromosome patterns form every cell in the child’s body. Using splicing techniques, the DNA testing is carried out and these chromosome patterns are matched in the two samples. In case the test yields positive, then the results will be higher than 99.9%. This confirms the DNA paternity test and also that the said two individuals share a parent-child relationship. If not, the test will return a 0% result.

So, all you Beliebers out there, keep your fingers crossed and hope that the paternity test returns a 0% result to prove his innocence!

Pregnancy DNA Test: Who is the father?

Posted on | October 18, 2011 | 4 Comments

A pregnancy DNA test can determine who the father of the unborn baby is. The test can only be conducted after a number of weeks of pregnancy so if a pregnancy test has just confirmed you are pregnant (by detecting the presence of the pregnancy hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin, HCG) you have enough time to decide.

Besides considering the test during pregnancy, you should consider the post natal paternity test- in this latter case, the test is done after the birth of the child but can be done as early as the moment of birth. Of course, this option might not be a viable option for some.

Pregnancy DNA test: How is the sample Collected?

The baby DNA can be extracted in a number of way- 3 in fact. The methods for prenatal paternity testing can either be invasive or non invasive – these two terms indicate whether the test carries risks for the mother and the child she is carrying or if it is risk free. Amongst the invasive sampling methods used are Chorionic Villus sampling and amniocentesis. Both these enable collection of fetal DNA by entering the womb- in the former case, a catheter is used which is inserted through the vagina and into the womb to collect the chorionic villi. In the case of an amnio, as it is sometimes abbreviated, a needle is inserted through the abdomen and guided by an ultrasound; the OBGYN will then withdraw an amount of amniotic fluid.

Should I do a Non Invasive Pregnancy DNA Test?

The answer would be Yes. This because both CVS and Amniocentesis have some disadvantages to them:

• Both amniocentesis and CVS are not entirely safe or risk free- imagine the needle comes into contact with the babe? Its arms and legs might be damaged! If too much stress is caused, the baby might even be miscarried- it must be said, that nowadays chances of these are very small- but speak to your GP about the risks.

• You need the assistance of an OBGYN- these tests are medical investigations

A non invasive test has no risks because all it necessitates is blood. Yes, you as the expectant mother can go to a nurse and ask him or to withdraw a vial of blood for you. You can then send this off for laboratory analysis. From the sample of the mother, the Fetal DNA fragments can isolated and scientists can map the genetic loci of the unborn baby. A Non invasive pregnancy DNA test should be an option well worth considering.

Baby Gender Testing: Ways of Determining the Sex of your Baby

Posted on | October 13, 2011 | No Comments

Baby gender testing uses a process known as Polymerase chain reaction to analyze the fetal DNA in the maternal urine. This highly scientific technique for DNA analysis provides highly accurate results in determining the baby gender early in pregnancy. Essentially, what DNA analysts will do is look for male or female DNA, or rather, Y chromosome specific markers or X chromosome specific markers (Y chromosome markers indicate you are expecting a boy and X chromosome markers indicate you are expecting a girl).

Will the ultrasound still be necessary?

Once you have determined the sex of your baby with a baby gender DNA test then ultrasonography should not be necessary for this particular purpose. However, the purposes of an ultrasound are many and it is of course, an integral part of the pregnancy monitoring and management process. An ultrasound will easily determine the sex of your child but it is not recommended to undergo ultrasonography just for this.

The use of ultrasound at various stages of the pregnancy clearly remains critical. Below are some of the additional functions of an ultrasound:

• It can help establish whether the fetus is actually alive
• In early pregnancy to mid pregnancy internal bleeding can be determined with an ultrasound.
• To estimate the age and size of the fetus and in later stages, even the sex of the child.
• To know if twins are being expected or if there are multiple pregnancies.
• Ultrasounds can help in knowing whether the unborn child has any abnormalities such as Down’s syndrome. Any birth defects suggested at this point, can be confirmed with further invasive testing such as amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling (CVS) – these procedures are also commonly used for prenatal paternity testing.
• Knowing the condition of the fetus

The FDA does not recommend using ultrasounds specifically to find out baby gender.

Can I rely on a fetal heart rate test to know the sex?

In the past it was believed that fetal heart rate was a good way of knowing the sex of the child. This method has today fallen into the “old wives’ tale” category and has fallen into disuse as it is highly questionable. A heart rate above 140 beats per minute mean you were expected a girl. If the heart rate was below 140 beats per minute, this meant you were expecting a boy. Studies have been carried out and have concluded the same thing: heart rate has nothing to do with the baby’s sex. Sometimes a girl’s heart rate may be higher and sometimes a boy’s heart rate may be higher- it is just down to chance and there is not scientific explanation for why this happens. Basically, for baby gender testing you could either do a DNA test or else wait until a routine ultrasound usually taken after the 16^th week of pregnancy.

Calculating Gestational Age using a Pregnancy Calculator

Posted on | October 12, 2011 | 1 Comment

Any expectant mother will wish to know the gestational age and how far in the pregnancy she is, perhaps, using a pregnancy calculator. Clearly, the couple will want to make the necessary arrangements and be ready as the estimated date of delivery draws closer (EDD). Think even in terms of maternity and paternity leave – you need to have a clear idea of when you are going to take your leave and apply for parental leave accordingly. You could either wait to have your routine ultrasound to tell the gestational age or you could opt for working out your due date yourself using a pregnancy calculator.

But what exactly is gestational age?

Gestation is the time between conception (fertilization of the ovum by the sperm cell) and birth. All mammals have a gestation period and humans are amongst mammals with the longest, with around 266 days of gestations. Elephants beat us with 624 days, as do rhinoceros with 540 and a couple of others including donkeys and camels.

Gestational age is time frame between the first day of the last menstrual period and the current moment in a woman’s   pregnancy. We might add, that in some countries, gestational age is considered to begin at conception, so around two weeks after the first day of the LMP.

If you are thinking of doing certain types of prenatal paternity tests or a DNA baby gender test you will need to ensure you know how long you have been pregnant. This is because these DNA tests can give inconclusive results if taken earlier than a certain time in pregnancy. A pregnancy calculator can really help you out here; you can find pregnancy calculators online, some more accurate than others.

The pregnancy calculator can be used to:

• Determine the due date
• Calculate the likely conception date
• Calculate the end of the first and second trimesters
• Find out for how many weeks have you been pregnant
• Estimate the fetal age
• Calculate how many weeks you will be pregnant on a given date
• Calculate on which date you will be pregnant the specified number of weeks, and
• Determine the likely conception date and due date

Effective Family Genealogy and Ancestry Research – Your Family Tree

Posted on | August 25, 2011 | No Comments

Family genealogy is becoming more popular as an increasing number of ancestry research websites become available online.  Most of these are free to use, and the previous cost of researching your family is no longer a hindrance. However, to research your family’s ancestry effectively, there are certain steps you should take, and not just jump into it without preparation.

There are many different types of genealogy and ancestry websites online, each offering a different service, and it can be very tempting to start with the first listed and work down. That is not the way to go about family genealogy because you will likely end up with a whole host of information that will do nothing but confuse you.

Ancestry research is not easy, and you must do whatever you can to give yourself a head start when you begin to hunt your ancestors online. Yes, the internet has made it a lot easier than it once was, but in these days very few people were interested in family genealogy, and those that were spent long hours in registry offices and seeking out old records in courts and churches in order to get the information they needed even for the beginnings of a family tree.

Genealogy on the Internet

Today, a large part of that is available online from dedicated genealogy websites and online databases holding the records you would normally have had to find offline. Nevertheless you still need a plan, and you must make some decisions and do some work before you hit a single key on your laptop.

What are you looking for? Ask yourself that question first. Are seeking the derivation of your name? Are you wondering if you have a famous ancestor? Do you want to know what your ancestors were doing during the Great War of 1914-18, the American Civil War or War of Independence or even in the Napoleonic Wars? Have you objective to reach, or yours will be a never-ending quest and not very satisfying. If you want to find out about your ancient ancestral roots, migration patterns and geographical regions your ancestors came from, you may do an ancestry DNA test- but this will not help you locate specific people.

Start Genealogy research with Relatives

It is also useful to interview your elderly relatives for more information about the older people in your albums and wedding photographs. Do this before you start, and then begin your ancestry research with one person and work back.  Decide on what side of the family you will start with – you mother’s (distaff) side or your father’s (spear) side. Don’t try to research both at once. Ancestry research is best carried out first on one branch of your family, and then on the other. Otherwise you will generate far too much data and your family genealogy will to be too obscure to make sense of.

Also decide how far you are aiming for down your line (at least initially), how far to branch out and where to start. Branching out involves what are known as your collateral relatives:  aunts and uncles, great aunts and uncles, second cousins and so on. They have had no influence on your birth.  Your direct relatives are those without whom you could never have been born – grandparents and so on. Many people carry out ancestry research first on their direct relatives down perhaps 3-4 generations, and then expand their family genealogy sideways into the collateral relatives.

Once you have a plan with a start and end point, you can begin to make use of the online genealogy sites that enable you to try to make contact with existing relatives you have never met, give you access to ancestry records such as parish records and census results, and even electoral rolls might come in useful to you. Once you have completed your plan, draw up another that will drill farther down your ancestry and so on. Take it a bit at a time.

Work to a plan and your family genealogy research will be more likely to result in a good family tree than if you worked haphazardly without any means to properly collate the information you discover. You may even be able to make use of genetic genealogy in your research, using genetic DNA testing to prove relationships, even with the deceased. Who knows how far you can go if you use all the tools at your disposal!

DNA testing in the UK

Posted on | June 2, 2011 | No Comments

There is much to say about DNA testing in the UK but most importantly it is important to be aware of certain laws which govern the ways people go about these tests. Undoubtedly, DNA testing is the most accurate and reliable means of determining paternity and whether biological relationships really do exist between relatives.

In other words DNA testing can help you answer questions such as “is this my real grandchild?” or “are we really siblings?” The only issue you need to be aware of if you are considering paternity testing in the UK, is the Human Tissue Act, sometimes abbreviated as HTA. This law makes it unlawful to collect any DNA samples from another person without them being fully aware that you have taken their DNA samples. There is now way of getting around this without breaking the law. The Human Tissue Act clearly defines the law it imposes. The penalties are harsh; hefty fines and prison sentences can be meted to those who break the law.

If you are doing a test for paternity, the home DNA testing kit should contain the necessary form to be filled in and signed by everyone taking part in the test, save for those under the age of consent who can have their parent or legal guardian sign on their behalf.

Taking a DNA sample from someone and letting them know that you have taken it does not mean you are abiding by the law. You must inform the person from whom you have taken the DNA sample what exactly you intend to do with it so as for the person to give their consent for the test.

All DNA testing in the UK is regulated by the HTA. The company you choose to do your test can tell you more about this test.

Paternity Testing with Oral Swabs

Posted on | May 11, 2011 | 2 Comments

Paternity testing can be done with a number of DNA samples, for example blood, semen or nail clippings. However, the standard sample is a saliva sample collected using an oral or buccal mouth swab.

Perhaps misleading, the terms saliva DNA sample in paternity testing (vaterschaftstest) is not so much about saliva. Using an oral swab and rubbing inside the mouth creates frictions; in our mouth we have cheek cell lining the entire mouth. When friction is created against these cheeks cells they easily rub away by the thousands. So yes, in the end you do collect lots of saliva but saliva is not used for the DNA test as there is no DNA in spit. However, the cheek cells collected have lots of DNA in their nucleus.

Scientists have a procedure for DNA testing known as PCR which they use for extracting DNA in paternity tests and many other types of DNA testing.

If you cannot take a sample with an oral swab, then you can consider other options for your DNA test for paternity, such as using a blood stain or cigarette ends; however you will need to be careful here as not all samples are ideal for extracting DNA. Some DNA sample provides very low chances of extracting a DNA profile to complete paternity testing.

easyDNA is now on Facebook

Posted on | April 23, 2011 | No Comments

easyDNA is an international supplier of DNA testing services. After 8 years of experience in this field, easyDNA is pleased to announce it has launched its own Facebook page where clients can social network and interact. Facebook is the biggest social networking site with over 600 million users world-wide and a lot of companies are getting closer to our customer base thanks to this phenomenon- easyDNA could not miss this opportunity.

To visit easyDNA’s Facebook page, visit the following link:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/easyDNA-Limited/152926161409668

To Facebook is fun. Feel free to browse and search our Facebook page, also leave a comment or question on our wall- we will be keen to answer or to simply read your comments. By the way, don’t forget to send us a Friend Request- we will definitely be happy to accept it.

Our Facebook page is made for clients, with their needs in mind- we want you to find all the information you need about DNA tests- if you cannot find it, then ask us. Any feedback you have will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks to our Facebook page, easyDNA can build long term relationships with our client base or customers – both past and future. Discussions and queries can be tackled via the company’s Facebook page.

About us

easyDNA offers a whole range of DNA tests. Amongst the tests offered is the paternity DNA test for both legal and peace of mind purposes. The legal test can be presented in court in cases where visitation disputes, custody and such matters are involved; peace of mind or at home paternity testing can be used to simply clear any doubts one may have regarding the issue of paternity.

All DNA testing services offered by easyDNA are ISO 17025 accredited. This means that their laboratories are fully competent and equipped to carry out these types of tests. Don’t forget to check out easyDNA’s Facebook page for more about DNA testing.

Paternity DNA Testing and other tests

Posted on | March 18, 2011 | No Comments

Paternity DNA testing is available anywhere on the globe. Thanks to online DNA testing companies, reaching clients has become much easier; people can find companies who can carry out their DNA test outside their country, organize the dispatch of kit, the DNA samples and the results- it is quite astonishing to think how simple things have become thanks to these businesses operating online.

easyDNA has been online for several years now. It offers a range of DNA testing services including paternity testing- the test which is most in demand across the globe. Of course, the only disadvantage of online based companies is that their services cannot be used if people do not have access to the internet. Paternity testing (теста на отцовствоis) is accurate and reliable- most companies offers either the home paternity test or the paternity test for legal purposes.

A simple mouth swab can provide ample DNA for a paternity test thanks to recent advances in DNA testing technology and the use of Polymerase chain reaction. Besides paternity testing, a whole range of tests are available, including relationship testing and immigration testing. Relationship tests can help solve a whole range of queries about the existence of the biological relationship between relatives. Depending on the sex, type of relationship and what exactly the people wish to find out, a different test will be recommended.

Paternity DNA testing is by far the more scientific and precise way of determining the paternity of a child.

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• Paternity testing using HLA typing and PCR (Polymerase chain reaction)
• Why must Justin Bieber take a paternity test?
• Pregnancy DNA Test: Who is the father?
• Baby Gender Testing: Ways of Determining the Sex of your Baby
• Calculating Gestational Age using a Pregnancy Calculator
• Effective Family Genealogy and Ancestry Research – Your Family Tree
• DNA testing in the UK
• Paternity Testing with Oral Swabs
• easyDNA is now on Facebook
• Paternity DNA Testing and other tests

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