DNA Testing
The phrase “DNA” conjures up exotic and remarkable images of the majestic ascending double helix, and of diligent scientists toiling in immaculate labs with high-tech machines. Indeed, the idea of DNA was brought to many people’s attention by the blockbuster hit “Jurassic Park”, fantastically using DNA molecules to clone dinosaurs. Back in reality, DNA testing is a real and practical application of the remarkable discovery and technological advances in biotechnology related to DNA. With DNA testing, a given cell sample can be matched to an individual, and paternity (or maternity for that matter) can be scientifically proven. DNA testing, indeed, has reshaped what our ideas of identity are, and how we go about testing it.
DNA testing is a deceptively simple concept. Every person has a unique genetic code, present in every cell of the body. Each cell thus contains a recipe for the entire human being to which it is a part. With modern DNA testing, then, with a sample of a cell from the test subject (often obtained by a blood sample or the even less invasive cheek swab), scientists in the lab can match human cells to their owners.
The applications of this DNA testing technology are clear and well-known, especially in criminal cases. A hair, or a fingernail, left behind at the scene of a crime can be matched with a suspect to help prove their guilt or indeed their innocence through DNA testing. Popular TV shows like “CSI” have used the drama inherent in the DNA testing process for entertainment ends, but even in real life many persons serving long sentences have been freed by DNA evidence for crimes they were convicted of before DNA testing became a feasible possibility.
DNA testing is also the method of choice for testing paternity. A person’s DNA is given to them by a mixture of their father and their mother. With DNA testing, looking for specific genetic markers in a person’s DNA strand, a lab can within days and for very little cost determine beyond a doubt that a person is or is not the father of the test subject. All that this DNA testing requires to settle such potentially large and life shaping questions is a cheek swab sample from both subjects. Interestingly, though less commonly used for practical reasons, DNA testing is equally available to test for maternity. Again, this space age DNA testing has had its dramatic potential greatly exploited by certain television programs, notably the daytime chat show variety; however, in the right hands DNA testing for paternity is a perfectly respectable, confidential and appropriate tool to achieve certainty in an important question.
The amazing science of DNA testing is even being brought to the home-use market. Online, home DNA testing kits are available, notably for use in the paternity applications mentioned above. With these kits, private individuals can take advantage of the DNA testing apparatus formerly available only to top research scientists.
DNA testing really is a major breakthrough in how we view many things, from evidence in courts of law, to what really makes us who we are.