Wednesday, 18 February 2015
Thursday, 17 March 2011
WHAT ARE DNA FINGERPRINTS?
human beings” (Betsch, 1994). In science, DNA Fingerprinting does not point to a unique individual (Keegan, 2004). However, it provides a profile, and then the probability that there are others who also match the profile is determined leading to the match or conviction (Keegan, 2004). So what is DNA fingerprinting used for? Some of the applications of DNA fingerprinting techniques include: murder cases, rape cases, paternity testing, diagnosis of inherited disorders, military identification, and molecular archaeology.
Deoxyribonucleic acid, more commonly known as DNA, is the complex chemical structure that uniquely identifies each and every organism. An organism’s complete set of DNA is known as a genome. DNA is the fundamental building block of the genome (An Introduction to DNA, 2002). DNA is located inside an organism's chromosomes. A chromosome is a structure found in the cell nucleus that contains genes, which are the functional and physical unit of heredity passed from parent to offspring. Chromosomes are composed of DNA as well as proteins. Each parent contributes one chromosome to each pair of a child’s chromosomes, so children get half of their chromosomes from their mothers and half from their fathers. A human has 46 chromosomes, or 23 pairs of chromosomes. Organisms differ in the number of chromosomes that they embody. For example, dogs contain 39 pairs, a puffer fish contains 21 pairs, and a sun flower has 17 pairs. "Chromosomes are merely the containers of DNA" (Rohloff, 2000).
So now we know that every organism is made up of cells, which encompass chromosomes, which harbor our DNA. The specific position on a chromosome of a gene where DNA is located is known as a locus. The locus, which is a stretch of DNA, is what is analyzed for variability using different methods of testing.
In order for an individual to grow, cells must be produced. In order for cells to be produced they need to be
copied so that the new cell can be a replicate of the existing cell. DNA provides this process of replication of genetic information. Therefore the DNA itself needs to be replicated because each cell needs a complete DNA strand in order to dictate the formation of proteins from that cell. With the exception of mitochondrial DNA, nuclear DNA never leaves the nucleus. Copies of the genes within the DNA are sent out of the nucleus, which in turn provides the instructions for the formation of specific proteins assigned to that specific gene. The copies of the DNA are known as RNA. There are three forms of RNA: messenger RNA (mRNA), ribosomal RNA (rRNA), and transfer RNA (tRNA). The process of replication is very precise. An enzyme, helicase “unzips” the DNA helix for a length of approximately 1,000 nucleotides resulting in two individual strands of DNA (Watson, 2003). The enzyme DNA polymerase, travels up one end of the DNA strand placing complimentary bases down the other strand forming complementary base pairs. A third enzyme known as DNA ligase, attaches one newly formed strand to the previously replicated strand, and the process repeats itself continuing down the DNA strand. Now that the DNA is replicated, it needs to dictate the formation of the proteins. The process of producing proteins is called gene expression. Gene expression occurs in two stages; transcription and translation. In the process of transcription, the mRNA is formed from a gene within the DNA. Translation is the process of mRNA directing the production of specific proteins (Johnson, 2003).
The key to DNA profiling is to make a comparison of unique loci of the DNA left at the crime scene with a suspect’s DNA. The portion of the genome where there is a lot of diversity among individuals is called polymorphic regions. The polymorphic regions used for forensics are the non-coding regions. These are the regions of the DNA that do not code for proteins and they make-up 95% of our genetic DNA. These regions are therefore called the “junk” portion of the DNA. Although these “junk” regions do not generate proteins, they can regulate gene expression, they aid in the reading of other genes that do formulate the proteins, and they are a large portion of the chromosome structure (How DNA Evidence Works, 2004).
The non-coding DNA regions are made-up of length polymorphisms, which are variations in the physical length of the DNA molecule. The DNA profile analyzes the length polymorphisms in the non-coding areas. These polymorphisms are identical repeat sequences of DNA base pairs. The number of tandem repeats at specific loci on the chromosome varies between individuals. For any specific loci, there will be a certain number of repeats. These
repeat regions are classified into groups depending on the size of the repeat region. Variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs) have repeats of 9-80 base pairs. Short tandem repeats (STRs) contain 2-5 base pair repeats (Brief Introduction to STRs, 2004).
For each of our 23 pairs of chromosomes, we inherit one copy of each chromosome from our mother and the other from our father. “This means that you have two copies of each VNTR locus, just like you have two copies of real genes. If you have the same number of sequence repeats at a particular VNTR site, you are called homozygous at that site; if you have a different number of repeats, you are said to be heterozygous” (How DNA Evidence Works, 2001).
DNA analysis is a laboratory procedure that requires a number of steps. There are a number of techniques used by different laboratories, however in this paper two techniques will be reviewed: Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP), and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) using Short Tandem Repeats (STRs).
The first step in both procedures involves the extraction and purification of the DNA. Before a DNA sample can be analyzed, the DNA needs to be isolated from the other organic and non-organic portions of the sample. The type of sample will determine the technique used to isolate the DNA. The sample may be boiled with a detergent that breaks down the proteins and other cellular material but does not affect the DNA. Enzymes may be added to break down proteins and other cellular material. Organic solvents may be used to separate the DNA from the other organic and non-organic material. The DNA is then separated from the proteins and other cellular material (DNA Forensics, Problem Set 1, 2004).
When a child is born, the child inherits 23 chromosomes from the mother, and 23 chromosomes from the father. Therefore, when a DNA test is done, “the visible band pattern of the child is unique. Half matches the mother and half matches the father”. A DNA paternity test is the most accurate form of testing possible to determine parentage. If the patterns do not match on two or more probes, then the father is 100% excluded, which means he is without question not the father. If a match is present on every DNA probe, the probability of
paternity is 99.9% or greater. In a Court of Law, 99% is accepted as proof of paternity (DNA Diagnostic Center, 2004). In Figure, you can see that the mother (blue bands) and father (orange bands) both have separate DNA patterns. Now look at daughter 1. You can see that some of the mothers same blue bands are inherited as well as some of the fathers orange bands. Daughter 2 has the mothers blue bands, but not the orange band, instead red bands. This proves that the father of daughter 1 is not the father of daughter 2, but a father from the mother’s previous marriage. Son 1 is a child of both of the shown parents as well. Son 2, however, is adopted because he doesn't have any of the parents DNA. One of the most famous paternity cases involved Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, who in 1802, was accused of impregnating Sally Hemings, a slave at the Jefferson estate. No verification or conviction was ever brought about however. The story was sustained throughout the decades, and in 1998, Dr. Eugene Foster and a team of geneticists, conducted DNA tests to prove the accuracy of these accusations. The test results proved that it was indeed a Jefferson who fathered Sally Heming's son, Eston. At the time of the child’s birth, there where approximately twenty-five Jefferson's living in Virginia, all of who carried the chromosome that would match the child's. The verdict proved that it was probable, yet not conclusive, that Thomas Jefferson was the father of Eston Hemings (The Plantation, 2004).
WHAT ARE DNA FINGERPRINTS?
human beings” (Betsch, 1994). In science, DNA Fingerprinting does not point to a unique individual (Keegan, 2004). However, it provides a profile, and then the probability that there are others who also match the profile is determined leading to the match or conviction (Keegan, 2004). So what is DNA fingerprinting used for? Some of the applications of DNA fingerprinting techniques include: murder cases, rape cases, paternity testing, diagnosis of inherited disorders, military identification, and molecular archaeology.
Deoxyribonucleic acid, more commonly known as DNA, is the complex chemical structure that uniquely identifies each and every organism. An organism’s complete set of DNA is known as a genome. DNA is the fundamental building block of the genome (An Introduction to DNA, 2002). DNA is located inside an organism's chromosomes. A chromosome is a structure found in the cell nucleus that contains genes, which are the functional and physical unit of heredity passed from parent to offspring. Chromosomes are composed of DNA as well as proteins. Each parent contributes one chromosome to each pair of a child’s chromosomes, so children get half of their chromosomes from their mothers and half from their fathers. A human has 46 chromosomes, or 23 pairs of chromosomes. Organisms differ in the number of chromosomes that they embody. For example, dogs contain 39 pairs, a puffer fish contains 21 pairs, and a sun flower has 17 pairs. "Chromosomes are merely the containers of DNA" (Rohloff, 2000).
So now we know that every organism is made up of cells, which encompass chromosomes, which harbor our DNA. The specific position on a chromosome of a gene where DNA is located is known as a locus. The locus, which is a stretch of DNA, is what is analyzed for variability using different methods of testing.
In order for an individual to grow, cells must be produced. In order for cells to be produced they need to be
copied so that the new cell can be a replicate of the existing cell. DNA provides this process of replication of genetic information. Therefore the DNA itself needs to be replicated because each cell needs a complete DNA strand in order to dictate the formation of proteins from that cell. With the exception of mitochondrial DNA, nuclear DNA never leaves the nucleus. Copies of the genes within the DNA are sent out of the nucleus, which in turn provides the instructions for the formation of specific proteins assigned to that specific gene. The copies of the DNA are known as RNA. There are three forms of RNA: messenger RNA (mRNA), ribosomal RNA (rRNA), and transfer RNA (tRNA). The process of replication is very precise. An enzyme, helicase “unzips” the DNA helix for a length of approximately 1,000 nucleotides resulting in two individual strands of DNA (Watson, 2003). The enzyme DNA polymerase, travels up one end of the DNA strand placing complimentary bases down the other strand forming complementary base pairs. A third enzyme known as DNA ligase, attaches one newly formed strand to the previously replicated strand, and the process repeats itself continuing down the DNA strand. Now that the DNA is replicated, it needs to dictate the formation of the proteins. The process of producing proteins is called gene expression. Gene expression occurs in two stages; transcription and translation. In the process of transcription, the mRNA is formed from a gene within the DNA. Translation is the process of mRNA directing the production of specific proteins (Johnson, 2003).
The key to DNA profiling is to make a comparison of unique loci of the DNA left at the crime scene with a suspect’s DNA. The portion of the genome where there is a lot of diversity among individuals is called polymorphic regions. The polymorphic regions used for forensics are the non-coding regions. These are the regions of the DNA that do not code for proteins and they make-up 95% of our genetic DNA. These regions are therefore called the “junk” portion of the DNA. Although these “junk” regions do not generate proteins, they can regulate gene expression, they aid in the reading of other genes that do formulate the proteins, and they are a large portion of the chromosome structure (How DNA Evidence Works, 2004).
The non-coding DNA regions are made-up of length polymorphisms, which are variations in the physical length of the DNA molecule. The DNA profile analyzes the length polymorphisms in the non-coding areas. These polymorphisms are identical repeat sequences of DNA base pairs. The number of tandem repeats at specific loci on the chromosome varies between individuals. For any specific loci, there will be a certain number of repeats. These
repeat regions are classified into groups depending on the size of the repeat region. Variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs) have repeats of 9-80 base pairs. Short tandem repeats (STRs) contain 2-5 base pair repeats (Brief Introduction to STRs, 2004).
For each of our 23 pairs of chromosomes, we inherit one copy of each chromosome from our mother and the other from our father. “This means that you have two copies of each VNTR locus, just like you have two copies of real genes. If you have the same number of sequence repeats at a particular VNTR site, you are called homozygous at that site; if you have a different number of repeats, you are said to be heterozygous” (How DNA Evidence Works, 2001).
DNA analysis is a laboratory procedure that requires a number of steps. There are a number of techniques used by different laboratories, however in this paper two techniques will be reviewed: Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP), and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) using Short Tandem Repeats (STRs).
The first step in both procedures involves the extraction and purification of the DNA. Before a DNA sample can be analyzed, the DNA needs to be isolated from the other organic and non-organic portions of the sample. The type of sample will determine the technique used to isolate the DNA. The sample may be boiled with a detergent that breaks down the proteins and other cellular material but does not affect the DNA. Enzymes may be added to break down proteins and other cellular material. Organic solvents may be used to separate the DNA from the other organic and non-organic material. The DNA is then separated from the proteins and other cellular material (DNA Forensics, Problem Set 1, 2004).
When a child is born, the child inherits 23 chromosomes from the mother, and 23 chromosomes from the father. Therefore, when a DNA test is done, “the visible band pattern of the child is unique. Half matches the mother and half matches the father”. A DNA paternity test is the most accurate form of testing possible to determine parentage. If the patterns do not match on two or more probes, then the father is 100% excluded, which means he is without question not the father. If a match is present on every DNA probe, the probability of
paternity is 99.9% or greater. In a Court of Law, 99% is accepted as proof of paternity (DNA Diagnostic Center, 2004). In Figure, you can see that the mother (blue bands) and father (orange bands) both have separate DNA patterns. Now look at daughter 1. You can see that some of the mothers same blue bands are inherited as well as some of the fathers orange bands. Daughter 2 has the mothers blue bands, but not the orange band, instead red bands. This proves that the father of daughter 1 is not the father of daughter 2, but a father from the mother’s previous marriage. Son 1 is a child of both of the shown parents as well. Son 2, however, is adopted because he doesn't have any of the parents DNA. One of the most famous paternity cases involved Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, who in 1802, was accused of impregnating Sally Hemings, a slave at the Jefferson estate. No verification or conviction was ever brought about however. The story was sustained throughout the decades, and in 1998, Dr. Eugene Foster and a team of geneticists, conducted DNA tests to prove the accuracy of these accusations. The test results proved that it was indeed a Jefferson who fathered Sally Heming's son, Eston. At the time of the child’s birth, there where approximately twenty-five Jefferson's living in Virginia, all of who carried the chromosome that would match the child's. The verdict proved that it was probable, yet not conclusive, that Thomas Jefferson was the father of Eston Hemings (The Plantation, 2004).
Friday, 11 March 2011
How to Understand Paternity Test Results
Following paternity testing accreditation guidelines, results are reported with one of three possible statements. For example, if we tested Mr RA, alleged father, and SS (child), our paternity test results report might say one of the following:
Mr RA is excluded as the biological father of SS.
This means that Mr RA cannot be the father of SS because the analysis shows that they do not share a paternity relationship.
Mr RA is not excluded as the biological father of SS.
This means that Mr RA is highly likely to be the father of SS because the analysis shows that they share a paternity relationship.
Why does the report say "not excluded" if the person is the father? With DNA paternity testing it is possible to 100% exclude someone as the biological father. However, the only way to produce a 100% positive result, would be to test the entire genome of an individual - all of their DNA. DNA paternity tests use a standardized sample of DNA - up to 16 DNA markers - to predict the probability of paternity. These probabilities are usually very high - as high as 99.9999%. This means that, for an alleged father who is "not excluded", the paternity report is 99.9999% confident that he is the biological father.
What is Paternity Index
This value equals the odds that the alleged father is the biological father rather than any other man selected at random from the population. The minimum PI issued by us is 100 to 1.
What is Combined Paternity Index
Since the result at each Genetic System is an independent event, this value is the product of the Paternity Indices and indicates the possibility of the alleged father being the biological father relative to any other man selected at random from the population.
What is Probability of Paternity
This value is converted from the "Combined Paternity Index" into the percentage probability.
What is Prior Probability
The prior probability in a paternity test is 0.50 which is 50%. That means that, without testing any of the parties, there is a 50% chance that any untested man is the father and a 50% chance that he is not the father.
What is DNA Profile
A DNA test profile is a set of DNA markers (up to 16) used to determine paternity and identity. Geneticists developed this set of markers for consistency in identifying individuals and named them according to their chromosomal location. Each marker location (or "locus") shows two alleles (or variations values), represented by numbers on the report. In this case the alleles are simply measures of short tandem repeats (STR. One of these STR alleles comes from a person’s father, one from their mother.
In a DNA paternity test, the analysis seeks matches of allele number values between the alleged father and child. Because the child must receive one STR allele from his father at all locations (or "loci"), there should be matches for each marker. (In some cases there are natural mutations, where the child has a slightly higher or lower value than the father, but these are somewhat rare. For this tutorial, we'll assume no natural mutations exist.)
An alleged father can be excluded as the biological father with as little as one mismatch between DNA profiles. When a person is excluded as the father, the profiles often reveal several, if not many, mismatches. In the following example, the 3 mismatches would exclude the alleged father (he could not be the biological father). Even though there are also 3 matches, these matches are random and do not indicate a paternity relationship. Almost any two people will have at least some matches, but a father-child relationship will show matches at all locations.
Locus | Alleged Father | Child | Parentage Index |
D2S1338 | 12, 13 | 8, 9 | 0.00 |
D2S1358 | 8, 11 | 13, 14 | 0.00 |
D8S1179 | 21.2, 32 | 19, 21.2 | 0.675 |
D10S1008 | 7, 12 | 15, 18 | 0.00 |
D14S1537 | 9, 14 | 11, 14 | 0.797 |
D19S433 | 15, 18 | 12, 15 | 1.338 |
While most DNA paternity tests reflect this "text book" example, there are many other factors to be considered. For example, natural mutations sometimes present more complicated results. Sometimes father and child share many common alleles and though there are many matches, the CPI value is not strong enough for a conclusive result. In most of these cases, including the biological mother significantly strengthens the test results. OTS & Services is a most trusted source of DNA Paternity Test India to offer reliable and most accurate results in India.
Friday, 25 February 2011
Popular Paternity Test Cases
ND Tiwari :
The Delhi high court directed former Andhra Pradesh governor and Congress veteran ND Tiwari (85) to undergo a DNA test in connection with a two-year-old paternity suit. Rohit Shekhar (31), a lawyer, has claimed he is Tiwari's son from an affair the leader had with his mother, Congress activist Ujjwala Sharma. Shekhar had moved court to get Tiwari to agree to a paternity test. Tiwari was chief minister of undivided Uttar Pradesh for three terms and once of Uttarakhand.He had earlier moved Supreme Court for relief in the paternity case, but was denied.
Becker is a former World Number 1 professional tennis player from Germany who claimed the men’s singles title at Wimbledon in 1984 when he was only 17. He has since retired from the game but his personal issues have kept him in the media. In February 2001, Becker acknowledged having a daughter with Angela Ermakova after a 1999 sexual meet up with her in a closest at a restaurant in London. He initially denied he was the father but a DNA test proved otherwise. Becker obtained joint custody of his daughter Anna in 2007 after he expressed concerns over how her mother was raising her. Ermakova put the young girl on public display in fashion shows, interviews and in a promotion for a children’s cosmetic line.
Imran Khan :
Imran Khan was declared the father of Tyrian after a paternity test. Sita White claimed in court that she had a long affair with Khan and that Tyrian had been conceived during a bout of passion in 1991. She claimed Khan wanted her to have an abortion once he found he was going to be the father of a girl, saying, "She cannot play cricket."
Brazilian footballer Ronaldo :
Star Brazilian footballer Ronaldo said on his Twitter feed that he is undergoing a DNA test to determine whether he is the father of a five-year-old boy living in Singapore. She says she met Ronaldo in a party in Tokyo in 2002 celebrating Brazil's championship in the World Cup that year.Ronaldo, she says, returned to Tokyo in 2004 during a tour of Real Madrid, who he he was playing for at the time. She said she became pregnant by him at that time.
Busta Rhymes :
Rhymes released two albums before breaking out with the 1996 solo hit single “Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check.” In 1999, 25-year-old Jill Miskelly filed a paternity against the rapper and the test results showed that there was a 99.9964 percent chance that he was the father. The results came in July but Rhymes had already been voluntarily paying $1,200 a month in child support. Miskelly attempted to have the amount raised
Chris Rock :
Rock is a comedian, actor and director and was voted as the fifth greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central. In 2007, Kali Bowyer, a freelance journalist and former actress, claimed that Rock was the father of her son and filed a paternity suit against him. She claimed that Rock’s alleged son was in need of hospitalization. After the DNA test results came back, they proved that Rock was not the child’s father.
Mike Tyson :
Tyson is a retired boxer who remains the youngest man ever to win and lose a world heavyweight title. Most people hear his name and think of the infamous ear biting Evander Holyfield incident of 1997. In 1991 Natalie Fears files a $12 million paternity lawsuit against Tyson and the results showed that he is not the father of her son.
Goran Visnjic :
The former ER heartthrob was hit with a paternity suit by Mirela Rupic from his native Croatia in July 2007. She claimed her 4-month-old daughter was Visnjic’s and that he refused to acknowledge her as his. Visnjic and his wife have been married since 1999 and adopted a newborn boy in April 2007. Just before he was scheduled to take the paternity test he confirmed that he is the father and that he remembered very little of his affair with Rupic because he jetlagged and drunk at the time. He had been paying $1,000 a month in support but Rupic is looking for more
Larry Birkhead :
Birkhead was relatively unknown until the famous paternity trial over a deceased Anna Nicole Smith’s baby daughter Dannielynn. He joined the line of a total of five men claiming to be the father of the baby and in April 2007, Birkhead was proven by a DNA test to be the baby daddy.
Robert Blake :
Blake is best known for his Emmy Award- winning role on the TV show Baretta from 1975 to 1978. In 1999, Blake met Bonnie Lee Bakley who was known for exploiting older men for money, especially celebrities. When Bakley became pregnant, she told both Blake and Marlon Brando’s son Christian, whom she was also dating, that the child was theirs. Bakley then claimed the child was Brando’s but Blake ordered her to take a paternity test to prove the paternity. DNA tests proved that Blake was the father of Bakely’s child and the two were married in 2000. It was his second marriage and her tenth.
Neil Bush :
President George Bush’s younger brother has been involved in various business deals and co-founded Ignite! Learning in 1999, which is an educational software corporation, started to help students with learning disabilities like his son Pierce. His paternity case is where things get tricky. Bush married Sharon and they had three kids and were married for 23 years before divorcing in 2003. Sharon decided on the day the divorce was to be final that she wasn’t sure she wanted to go through with it and wanted DNA testing done on Andrew’s youngest child because she believed that Neil had fathered him.
Charlie Chaplin :
Chaplin was an Academy Award winning comedic actor as well as a director, composer and musician in the early Hollywood cinema era. He was connected to a number of women during his life and one proved to be quite a nuisance. Chaplin was considering Joan Berry for a role in a proposed film and had a brief affair with her in 1942. Berry started acting a little too crazy and showed signs of severe mental illness so the relationship was ended. In 1943, Berry filed a paternity suit against him after having a child and even though blood tests proved that Chaplin wasn’t the father, Berry’s attorney was able to convince the court that the tests were inadmissible as evidence.
DMX :
DMX was an especially popular rap artist in the late 1990s and also went on to star in numerous movies and wrote his autobiography in 2002. DMX was ordered to pay $5,000 a month in child support to Davita Oden after a paternity test proved that he was her then 4-year-old’s father in a 2006 ruling. In 2008, he was ordered to pay $1.5 million in damages and $5,000 a month in support to Monique Wayne, who gave birth to his baby in 2004, after he denied being the father.
Mick Jagger :
The 64-year-old rocker has been performing with his group the Rolling Stones since 1962: 46 years! They are still able to rake in the dough even after all these years and proved it by making $437 million on their 2007 tour. Jagger dated actress Marsha Hunt for two years but when she became pregnant in 1970, wanted nothing to do with the child. The two were in court for nine years and Jagger was finally ordered to pay child support. He dated model Luciana Morad for several months while married to Jerry Hall and denied paternity when Morad became pregnant. DNA tests proved that he was the father and Jagger will be paying Morad $10,000 a month in support until their son is 21.
Steve Jobs :
Jobs is the co-founder, chairman and CEO of Apple Inc. and stinkin’ rich. He’s known for usually wearing the same outfit: a black long-sleeved St. Croix mock turtleneck, Levis 501 jeans and New Balance 992 sneakers. I guess money doesn’t always guarantee wardrobe variability. At the age of 23, Jobs got Chris-Ann Brennan pregnant and denied it for two years while she was forced to go on welfare. He even claimed he was “sterile and infertile” until a paternity test proved he was the father. Jobs’ own father got Jobs’ mother pregnant when she was 23 and the couple gave Jobs up for adoption. His father married his mother but later abandoned her and their 4-year-old daughter.
Michael Jordan :
A five-time NBA MVP, Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships in the 90s. In 1991 and 1998, he supposedly promised $5 million to former girlfriend Karla Knafel to avoid a paternity suit and to keep the relationship a secret. Jordan sued Knafel in 2002 to prove in court that the deal was unenforceable. The paternity test showed that Jordan wasn’t the baby’s father and even though Knafel’s attorney argued that the contract was not based upon actual paternity, the court still ruled in Jordan’s favor and he didn’t have to pay.
Kirk Kerkorian :
Kerkorian is the president/CEO of Tracinda Corporation, which is a private investment company that has major investments in big companies like MGM Mirage. He is worth an estimated $16 billion and is listed as the world’s 41st richest person. Kerkorian raised eyebrows in 2002 when he admitted that the 4-year-old girl, that he claimed was his daughter and had been paying $320,000 a month in support for, was not in fact his. Lisa Bonder,37, and Kerkorian,84, agreed to fake DNA tests so he would look cool by having a kid with a woman less than half his age. The saliva used for the DNA tests was from one of his daughters.
Edgar Mitchell :
Mitchell was an astronaut on Apollo 14 and spent 9 hours on the moon in 1971, the sixth man to walk on the moon. Mitchell’s second marriage to Anita Rettig ended in 1984 when he had an affair with a former Playboy model. Sheilah Ledbetter then filed a paternity suit against Mitchell in 1986 and it proved that he was the father of her son. They married three years later and divorced ten years after that.
Paul McCartney :
McCartney was a member of the musical group the Beatles and went on to have a successful solo career after the Beatles disbanded. Starting in 1959, he is rumored to have had a three-year affair with Erika Hübers while the band was in Hamburg, Germany before they hit it big. The claim was dismissed after blood tests proved that McCartney wasn’t the father in 1984 and it was assumed that that was all she wrote. In 2007, his faux daughter Bettina Krischbin came forward and claimed that McCartney had sent a stand-in to give the blood test and sign the papers.
Rae Carruth :
Carruth was a first-round draft pick in the 1997 NFL Draft and was on the team until the middle of the 1999 season. Carruth was already paying $3,500 a month in child support and when he found out that the woman he had been dating, Cherica Adams, was pregnant, he looked for a way out of owing another monthly payment. Carruth tried to get her to have an abortion but she refused and said that he then became distant. On November 15, 1999, Adams and Carruth went to a movie and left in separate cars with Adams following Carruth.
Yves Montand :
Montand was a French singer and actor who was in a number of films mainly in the 60s and 70s. A woman accused Montand of being the father of her daughter and took him to court to try and get a DNA sample. Montand adamantly refused but the woman kept pushing even after his death. Finally the court ruled that the woman won the right to have Montaned exhumed so a sample could be taken. After all that, Montand was not the father.
Eddie Murphy :
Murphy holds the claim as the highest grossing film star in history with a total of 33 films grossing over $3.4 billion in the U.S. alone. He dated Spice Girl Melanie Brown following his divorce in 2006 and when she became pregnant, she stated that he was the father. Murphy told the press not to jump to conclusions and that he would only know whose child it was when it came out and had a blood test. On June 22, 2007, DNA tests confirmed that Murphy is the father and Brown says that he will have nothing to do with her daughter. Brown’s daughter brings Murphy’s total to seven kids.
Juan Perón :
Perón was elected as President of Argentina three times and along with his wife Eva, became a voice for the working class of the country. He died in 1974 and was reburied twice before finally being moved to a mausoleum at his former summer residence in San Vicente. The move cause a lot of uproar and riots ensued but the police were able to contain the violence enough to get Perón to his final resting spot. Martha Holgado, 72, had been trying for 15 years to get a DNA sample from his corpse to prove she was Perón’s daughter and the move finally gave her that chance. The test proved she was not his daughter
Elvis Presley:
He is referred to as the “King of Rock N’ Roll” and made a huge cultural impact during his lifetime. Presley was a singer and actor and maintains his high-profile status even in death, ranking as the top-earning deceased celebrity to this day. In March 1971, six years before his death, Presley had slept with a member of the audience in Tulsa. She went on to give birth to a son and claimed it was his. DNA testing didn’t exist yet but Elvis established a $2,000,000 trust fund payable when his alleged son turned 24 just in case
Bing woke up on his 18th birthday with an inheritance of an estimated $600 million from his grandfather in his name. He has since worked in the film industry and has donated a large amount of his money to the Democratic Party. In 2001, Bing was involved in two high-profile paternity cases. Actress Elizabeth Hurley announced she was pregnant with Bing’s child and he filed a lawsuit to establish his paternity. The DNA test proved he is in fact the father and Bing has given generous support to Hurley to raise his son. In the same year, Bing sued Kirk Kerkorian for invasion of privacy after Kerkorian’s private investigators took Bing’s dental floss from his trash to collect his DNA.
http://www.dnacenterindia.com/Paternity-cases-India.php
Tuesday, 28 December 2010
DNA Sample Collection Procedure for DNA Testing
How to Perform a DNA Sample Collection for DNA Testing
DNA is the hereditary material or genetic instructions in humans and other organisms. Almost all cells in the body have the same DNA. DNA is located mainly in the cell nucleus but a small amount is located in the mitochondria. DNA extractions are from skin, muscle, bone marrow, saliva and cheek cells. DNA is used in solving crimes and for paternity testing.Instructions
Step 1
Identify all items found inside your free kit for the collection of DNA for testing. Detailed instructions explaining the collection process along with 4 buccal swabs, 4 buccal swab envelopes to hold the samples and a business reply envelope for shipment the samples.
Step 2
Label the buccal swab envelope where indicated with the required information.
Step 3
Swab the inside of your cheek with the buccal swab provided in the kit. Use one of the swabs to rub against the inside of your cheek lining, rotate the swab while covering as much of the cheek area as possible.
Step 4
Put the used swab in pre-labeled envelope. Do not use the plastic wrapper that enclosed the swab; this can cause growing molds which will destroy the DNA sample.
Step 5
Repeat Step 3 and 4 with another swab for the same cheek. Following the same procedure use the remaining two swabs for the other cheek and seal the envelope with all 4 used swabs.
Step 6
Place the sealed envelope into the kit, put the entire collection kit in the business reply envelope provided and mail this package back to the laboratory for testing.
Step 7
Results from the paternity test should be available within 5-7 business days.
FAQ on DNA Sample collection prodedures:
The procedures for paternity testing, or DNA test, sample collection are quite simple. The following is a list of frequently asked questions that will help you find out about where to go, what to bring, who needs to show up, if there are age requirements, what types of samples there are, when to show up, and how your confidentiality is maintained.
Where are samples collected?
We will make every effort to ensure that you are scheduled at the most convenient site possible. We can even find a new location, if necessary, to meet your needs. To schedule an appointment for sample collections just call us or email us and a member of our Client Services staff will assist you.
We will provide you, or your client, with the location (usually a local laboratory or clinic), date, time for sample collection, and the name of a contact person at the site.
Are there any age requirements?
Paternity testing using DNA testing may be performed at any age. Age of the person(s) tested DOES NOT affect the accuracy of the paternity test / DNA test result in any way. We have successfully performed numerous tests involving newborn infants.
Who needs to provide a sample?
Usually, a sample is collected from the mother, child and alleged father. Under special circumstances, DNA testing / paternity testing may be performed using only samples from the child and alleged father. Mother sample can be optional.
What types of samples are collected?
In most cases DNA testing / paternity testing is done using cells from the inside of the mouth, which are collected with a cotton swab called a "buccal swab". The older more classic approach is to collect a very small sample of blood. The sample is small enough to allow even newborns to participate in testing. Newborns may also be tested using umbilical cord blood obtained at birth. Relationship testing can be performed on various discreet samples like Toothbrush, Hair sample, used bandage, contraceptives, nail clippings or any other samples where possibility of human dna exist. Please note that, our lab make best efforts to get good yield of DNA from these sample but some times it fails due to non sufficiency of DNA.
Are sample collections and tests confidential?
Yes. All information and all results are kept strictly confidential. Results are provided only to
Legal DNA Paternity Test in India
- If you need paternity test results that can be used as a legal document (for example, to change the name on the birth certificate or to obtain child support and other benefits), a Legal DNA Test needs to be performed (described below).
- However, if you need the test only for personal knowledge, a Home DNA Test willl suffice.
DNA Test Participants
In a standard DNA paternity test, the tested parties include a child, the alleged father, and the mother (called a trio).
The mother’s participation in the paternity test helps to exclude half of the child’s DNA, leaving the other half for comparison with the alleged father’s DNA. However, we can perform a paternity test without mother’s participation (called a motherless). A motherless test involves additional analysis, which we performs without any additional charge. Results are equally conclusive whether or not the mother participates. Motherless tests are guaranteed to have at least a 99.9% probability of paternity for inclusions and 100% for exclusion.
We routinely use the painless buccal (cheek) swab to collect samples. We have the largest network of collection sites in the U.S., allowing our customers to choose a sample collection appointment most convenient for them. We also have extensive affiliations with laboratories worldwide for international sample collections.
If you have determined that you do not need a DNA test for a legal matter — and only want to take a paternity test strictly for your own knowledge — a home DNA test might be an appropriate option for you. In a home DNA test, the tested parties collect the DNA samples themselves, at a time and place of their choosing. You can simply place an online paternity test order, and we will send you the kit in discreet packaging. Please note that the results of a home DNA test cannot be used as legal proof of paternity, because the identity of the persons tested cannot be verified
As an AABB-accredited laboratory, we perform paternity tests and other DNA tests using a Chain of Custody documentation process to ensure results will be legally defensible, in case the results will be used in courts and other government agencies. This process proves and satisfies the following legal requirements:
- Samples are collected by an impartial third party, such as a Doctor, clinic or laboratory.
- The individuals tested are positively identified (i.e. They present a government-issued ID, and they are photographed and fingerprinted for records.).
- The samples are carefully tracked and matched to each test participant throughout the entire DNA testing process.