Testing for DNA

Testing for DNA has now become the standard in many different types of DNA tests, such as the paternity and maternity test. In fact, DNA testing is done for many reasons. Law enforcement can use a DNA test to find an alleged criminal and link them back to almost each item that was touched during a crime and it can also be used effectively for biological and relationship testing, such as to find out if two individuals are half or full siblings. Testing for DNA can also help anyone determine specific ethnic origins and even genealogical roots.

Since each persons DNA is unique, it has been commonly called "DNA fingerprinting" or profiling. DNA is the best way known to scientists on how to accurate and effectively test when someone's identity is questioned. DNA testing has definitely evolved over time with methods of testing become more and more accurate as time has passed. In the 1920's blood typing was conducted, but the differences in blood types only allowed for a 30% exclusion rate among individuals which left room for a lot of error. In the 1930's, serological testing was done that analyzed proteins that "somewhat" differentiated from person to person. However, with this type of testing, scientists were only able to exclude 40% of individuals, it was an improvement, but no where near the reliable testing that was needed in order to get reliable results.

In the 1970's HLA testing was being used, which profiled different tissue types, mainly the human leukocyte antigen or (HLA), which is a protein that is present in every tissue of the body except red blood cells with the highest concentration available for testing in the white blood cells. HLA was the standard for some time for paternity testing prior to testing for DNA, but this type of testing was only able to accurate exclude 80% of the population, leaving still too much room for error. This process was also dangerous for infants under 6 months.

Testing for DNA- Powerful, Easy and Accurate

The first genetic testing for DNA came in the 1980's with RFLP testing, which allowed scientists to look into sections of DNA which proved highly variable as opposed to HLA testing. In RFLP paternity testing, scientists would cut out different sections of DNA from the mother and the child. to determine a biological relationship. RFLP testing was able to exclude over 99.99% of the population but it required a large blood sample and had a long turnaround time. In today's fast moving society, these two factors make RFLP testing almost impracticable.

Home DNA Testing

In the 1990's scientists began to experiment with PCR technology as a way to test DNA for biological relationships and other DNA profiling. PCR technology has now become the standard for DNA profiling. It is easy to obtain a sample, all that is needed is a small substance from saliva or the insides of the cheeks, and it has a very quick turn around time. Unlike RLFP testing that requires a large blood sample, PCR is easy, in fact, so easy a child can easily give a sample with no problem!