After years of deliberation, Americans can rest easy and know that their DNA cannot be used against them. In May of this year, President George W. Bush signed and approved the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA).
More and more genetic tests are being produced that can test for a persons susceptibility to a certain disease. This doesn’t guarantee that the person will get the disease, but it can provide critical information about a person’s risk for developing that disease. In several cases, there are preventative treatments that can often control their risk to either prevent or delay the onset of the disease. For example, if breast cancer ran in a woman’s family, it may be a good idea for her to have the BRCA test done for breast cancer. If she tested positive for the gene, it still does not guarantee she would get breast cancer, but she could take a more active approach in possibly knowing what could happen and catching something sooner. Prior to GINA, the results of that test, could have affected that woman’s coverage from insurance companies. So, she may decide to not get the test done for fear of losing coverage. With GINA in effect, there is room to breathe. Insurance companies cannot use the information obtained from DNA tests as a basis for determining eligibility or premiums to people that would be too high risk for them to cover.
GINA also protects people from their employers as well. It was a very realistic fear that employers could decide not to hire someone based on their genetic information. If a person had a predisposition for alcoholism, the employer might think that was too much of a risk. But that is no longer a concern. Employers also cannot use information obtained from a DNA test when making employment decisions. Employers cannot even request genetic information about a person or their family members.
This bill allows people to get the proper testing and preventative treatments without having to fear the consequences from the insurance companies, or even employers. As science continually advances, it is important that what we learn from it can benefit people, not introduce fear.
www.800dnaexam.com
Thanks to the President's DNA Initiative and organizations like The Innocence Project, postconviction DNA testing has become an invaluable tool in exonerating the innocent, often after decades of unjust prison-time and, in some cases, even death row sentences. Investigating innocence claims, however, can be very costly. This past Tuesday, the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs awarded nearly $8 million to Texas, Kentucky, Arizona, Virginia and Washington to assist in postconviction DNA testing. This is definitely an encouraging step as there could potentially be thousands of innocent men and women currently behind bars for crimes they did not commit...and who, without efforts like these, may never find the justice they deserve.
For more information visit: www.800dnaexam.com
Thanks to the President's DNA Initiative and organizations like The Innocence Project, postconviction DNA testing has become an invaluable tool in exonerating the innocent, often after decades of unjust prison-time and, in some cases, even death row sentences. Investigating innocence claims, however, can be very costly.
Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs awarded nearly $8 million to Texas, Kentucky, Arizona, Virginia and Washington to assist in postconviction DNA testing. This is definitely an encouraging step as there could potentially be thousands of innocent men and women currently behind bars for crimes they did not commit...and who, without efforts like these, may never find the justice they deserve.
For more information please visit: www.800dnaexam.com
Statistics show that approximately 30% of all paternity tests performed reveal that the alleged father is not the biologial father of the child in question. Children of all ages and their presumed fathers undergo DNA paternity testing, and almost a third of them discover that their relationship is not what they thought it to be. In quite a number of these cases, paternity fraud is to blame. When a woman knowingly, falsely names a man to be the biological father of her child, usually for the purpose of obtaining child support, this is known as paternity fraud. So, how is a father to know, without a doubt, that his child really is his? Of course, DNA testing is the answer, but currently, it is not a requirement to legally name a man as the father of a child.
A man has to opt to have a DNA paternity test, and generally must also have consent of the mother to test the child. So, if paternity fraud is a factor, it would be unlikely that the mother would consent to testing. To make matters worse for the potential father, even if the mother did consent, in many states, even if he is proven not to be the child's biological father, a court will likely rule in favor of what is in the child's best interest...likely that the man falsely named as the father still be held legally responsible for that child.
I have talked to many men, victims of paternity fraud, who unjustly are held financially responsible for children that they did not biologically father. Some men scorn the women who wronged them while others take a different approach and feel a moral obligation to care for the child, regardless of what a DNA test proves. In either case, what about the child's right to know his or her biological father? Children are also victims of paternity fraud. I've also talked to grown children who have come to discover, after decades, that they do not know who their biological father is. This sort of discovery can be detrimental to a person.
Fortunately, today, we do see more requests for prenatal paternity tests or tests on newborn children. Many hospitals allow a two week period for adding a man's name to a child's birth certificate as the father, which is plenty of time for a paternity test. Knowing the truth very early on can help protect fathers and children from the injustice of paternity fraud.
With the advancement of DNA technology, many cold investigations are now being re-opened and evidence submitted for DNA testing. In many cases, the clear evidence may reveal or rule out a suspect, however, if it doesn't, what more can be done? See, when a piece of potential DNA evidence is examined, there is usually a particular area of interest, like a stain, blood, perhaps. So, the stain is what is used for testing, not the seemingly clean remainder of the evidence material. But, if the stain does not provide sufficient proof of a suspect or not, further testing may not be performed since there is nothing else obvious to test. Or, is there?
A relatively new technique called 'touch' DNA utilizes a surface scrape or swab of evidence material, without a visible stain, to detect traces of DNA. Employing this new technique in cold investigations could possibly provide a resolution. USA Today recently released a story that explained a rise in the interest in touch DNA. In July of this year, JonBenet Ramsey's parents were cleared as suspects through touch DNA technology. Other high profile cases have incorporated touch DNA, and with these made public, many crime units are hopeful that touch DNA can help with their cold cases.
As with all other DNA techniques, touch DNA can not necessarily guarantee results or answers. The integrity of a DNA sample is dependent on many factors, such as handling, contamination and storage conditions. The good news is that, even though touch DNA has its downfalls, it gives yet another avenue to explore, when all else seems to have failed.
For more information visit: www.800dnaexam.com
DNA polymerase is an enzyme that assists in DNA replication. Such enzymes catalyze the polymerization of deoxyribonucleotides alongside a DNA strand, which they "read" and use as a template.The newly-polymerized molecule is complementary to the template strand and identical to the template's partner strand. DNA polymerase is considered to be a holoenzyme since it requires a magnesium ion as a co-factor to function properly.
Function of DNA Polymerase
DNA polymerase can add free nucleotides to only the 3’ end of the newly-forming strand. This results in elongation of the new strand in a 5'-3' direction. No known DNA polymerase is able to begin a new chain (de novo). DNA polymerase can add a nucleotide onto only a preexisting 3'-OH group, and, therefore, needs a primer at which it can add the first nucleotide. Primers consist of RNA and DNA bases with the first two bases always being RNA, and are synthesized by another enzyme called primase. An enzyme known as a helicase is required to unwind DNA from a double-strand structure to a single-strand structure to facilitate replication of each strand consistent with the semiconservative model of DNA replication.
Variation in DNA Polymerases Across Species
DNA polymerases have highly-conserved structure, which means that their overall catalytic subunits vary, on a whole, very little from species to species. Conserved structures usually indicate important, irreplicable functions of the cell, the maintenance of which provides evolutionary advantages. Some viruses also encode special DNA polymerases that may selectively replicate viral DNA through a variety of mechanisms. Retroviruses encode an unusual DNA polymerase called reverse transcriptase, which is an RNA-dependent DNA polymerase (RdDp). It polymerizes DNA from a template of RNA.
DNA Polymerase Families
Based on sequence homology, DNA polymerases can be further subdivided into seven different families: A, B, C, D, X, Y, and RT. Family A polymerases contain both replicative and repair polymerases. Family B polymerases mostly contain replicative polymerases and include the major eukaryotic DNA polymerases. Family C polymerases are the primary bacterial chromosomal replicative enzymes. Family D polymerases are still not very well characterized. Family X contains the well-known eukaryotic polymerase pol â, as well as other eukaryotic polymerases such as pol ó, pol ë, pol ì, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT). The Y-family polymerases differ from others in having a low fidelity on undamaged templates and in their ability to replicate through damaged DNA. Family RT the reverse transcriptase family contains examples from both retroviruses and eukaryotic polymerases.
Another of the many different DNA testing techniques available today is mitochondrial DNA testing. Mitochondrial DNA is different than conventional, nuclear DNA as it is found in the mitochondria of cells, rather than the nucleus, and tends to be much hardier. Another attribute of mtDNA is that it is inherited from one's mother, so it can only be traced through maternal lineage. Due to the properties of mtDNA, the mtDNA testing technique has several benefits over routine DNA testing.
mtDNA is often found, intact, in very old and/or degraded DNA samples, like bone and tooth remains. When nuclear DNA testing can not provide a profile for an old or degraded sample, often mtDNA testing can. For instance, mtDNA testing was useful in the identification of many Hurricane Katrina victims, as water and bacteria degraded much of the victims' remains. mtDNA is also contributive in cold case investigations when very old DNA samples are available.
Another great application for mtDNA is in ancestry. Since mtDNA is found in old to ancient remains, mtDNA profiles have been traced back to tens of thousands of years ago. Many people today can get their own mtDNA profile and enter ancestral databases to determine where their maternal ancestors originated from. National Geographic's The Genographic Project is a great resource for this.
mtDNA is also a good tool in missing persons cases. Firstly, as mentioned before, since mtDNA is found in old or degraded samples, it may be useful in missing persons cases where a missing person's remains are in poor condition. Secondly, missing persons can be identified through comparison of mtDNA profiles with those of potential relatives who share maternal lineage, whether they be mothers, grandmothers, aunts/uncles, brothers/sisters, or children. Aside from parentage tests, nuclear DNA tests sometimes can not conclusively determine a relationship, whereas mtDNA testing can.
Typically, mtDNA testing is more costly and time consuming than nuclear DNA testing, however, in special cases, it proves to be a better avenue for resolving issues. Our laboratory is now offering mtDNA testing and we are finding that more and more people, from law enforcement to private individuals, have reason to refer to DNA testing.
