What Is a DNA Test?
A DNA test compares DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) samples from two people and allows family relationships to be proved or disproved to a very high level of accuracy.
One very common reason for a DNA test is to find out if someone is the biological father of a child (paternity test), but there are many other uses and tests. Click here to order your testing kit.
Since all our body cells contain DNA, skin cells from the lining of the cheek provide a simple and convenient source for collecting a testing sample.
Purified DNA from these cells is compared to parallel samples of DNA from a family member or potential family member, and the variations on different chromosomes are read out by a DNA analysis machine to yield an overall signature somewhat like a bar-code. When the net DNA 'bar-codes' from family members are lined up next to each other it is possible to spot a biological relationship between them. In the case of offspring from true biological parents half the bands (stripes) in the bar-code like signature will line up with those of the mother, and half will line up with those of the father.
If on the other hand, there is no biological relationship between the test subjects there will be less than a 50% match in the bands.
DNA testing is the most convenient and scientifically accurate method of determining biological relationships between people. |
