DNA testing : Java Glossary

DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) testing can tell you all sorts of information:

• Because mitochondrial DNA is always passed on to you unmodified from your mother (unmixed with your father’s) it is possible to trace your lineage and what parts of the world you ancestors lived over the last 100,000 years. This works whether you are male or female.
• Because the Y chromosome is always passed on to you unmodified from your father (your mother does not even have a Y chromosome) it is possible to trace your lineage and what parts of the world you ancestors lived over the last 70,000 years. This works only if you are male, though you could get a brother with the same father as you to take the test.
• You can determine paternity and maternity.
• You can check for genes that if passed on to a child could be fatal or result in deformity.
• You can check which diseases are most likely to give you trouble later in life.
• You can check which drugs are most likely to be be effective.

Science is not yet to the point where they can sequence your entire genome, then turn a computer loose to answer any potential question. Instead, they just do small special-purpose tests. There are many labs on the Internet that will accept a cheek swab to analyse. Read the fine print. Many use wording to make it look as if the tests are free but you will be paying to per test. You might want to read up on just what each test tells you before plunking down your cash. You can find labs by Googling maternal mitochondrial DNA testing.