On Demand
Please Explain: DNA
Friday, April 25, 2008
DNA testing has been in the news lately, thanks to the raid on the FLDS compound in Eldorado, Texas where authorities don’t know which children belong to which parents. We find out what DNA is, how it defines us, and how DNA testing works. Dr. Timothy Bestor is Professor of Genetics and Development at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Brian McCabe is Assistant Professor of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia.
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I've heard that our DNA is like a list of ingredients in various proportions for a cake recipe - depending on the temperature of the oven, time baked, time cooled, and the way the ingredients are combined, gives each cake individual qualities.
The long term survivability of the human species, supported by sexual reproduction, as opposed to the more efficient asexual reproduction, supports diversity of genetics as the way of the world. Ask the expert about our MHC genes and how it helps women pick their correct mates for the most healthy offspring.
Need DNA For Dummies! Explain why many other surnames (last names) show up in our DNA test results. I cannot understand this since female DNA does not transfer to the male DNA after the first son. The other surnames are off by 1 marker or more, but still show as relatives. Please explain the relationships when this occurs. Thanks. Ann Allan
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