The AP reported today that scientists in Rome are attempting to gain clearance into Leonardo Da Vinci’s alleged burial site. The purpose is to perform carbon and DNA testing to determine two things:

1. If the body is that of Da Vinci

2. If the Mona Lisa is a self portrait

Wow.

I don’t think exhuming a body that has been buried for almost 500 years will provide any evidence to support either of their goals. The likelihood of obtaining DNA is EXTREMELY rare. The best place to check would be a molar or femur. The DNA is likely degraded by now. Even if they do get a DNA sample, what will they compare it to? Without a known Da Vinci reference sample there’s nothing they can do to identify him using DNA.

On to goal number 2. These scientists think they can reconstruct Da Vinci’s bone structure using the remains, and figure out if the Mona Lisa is actually a self portrait.

My suggestion: Look at some actual portraits of Da Vinci.

Leave the guy alone.

There are a lot of mothers and potential fathers who want to complete a paternity test without the other parent knowing. If you are a parent who wants a confidential paternity test, then this post is for you.

Step 1

Collect the DNA samples. The most cost effective way to do this is with a buccal swab or    Q-tip. If you are the potential father, and the child is too young to know, then this is your best option. Use 4 Q-tips for yourself and 4 for the child. With a firm scraping motion, twirl the swab on the inside of the cheek. The purpose is to obtain skin cells from the inside of the cheek, not saliva. Scrape each swab for 20 seconds, making sure to cover the entire swab. Collect two swabs from each cheek. Place the swabs in a paper envelope. Label the envelope clearly with the name of the participant, whether the participant is the father or child, and what race the participant is.

*Note: Do not store swabs in plastic bags or other plastic materials. This promotes moisture and bacteria, which can damage the DNA.

If you are the mother and do not want to collect swabs from the father, or if swabs are not available, you can collect DNA using other methods. Look for something that is handled often by the person you want to test, and only by that person. Do not get a sample that is handled by more than one person, as this will cause a mixture. Again, put the samples in a paper envelope or bag, label the envelope clearly.

*Note: Good samples for private paternity tests can be a razor blade, toothbrush, cigarette butt, hat, or hair from the root. Cut hair will not contain DNA.

Step 2

Choose a laboratory to send the samples. You can choose the lab based on price, turnaround time, experience, accreditations, customer service, or a combination of those characteristics.

Different labs will have varying procedures for private paternity testing.

*Note: Private paternity testing is not allowed in New York State. You must get a legally admissible test if you live in New York.

Step 3

Ship the samples to the lab. Make sure to include contact information. Since you want the testing to be private, be careful what information you provide. You may want to speak with a customer service representative at the lab to discuss payment and results reporting.

Step 4

Wait for your results. Results are available anywhere between 1 business day and 8 weeks, depending on which company you hire to complete the paternity test. Keep in mind that the results you receive will NOT be court admissible since they were not collected by an unbiased third party.

Learn more about a private paternity test or legal paternity test.

The USCIS has decided to change procedures in many of the foreign countries who suggest DNA testing for family based immigration cases.

In the past, U.S. DNA labs have sent testing supplies to physicians, who are authorized by the U.S. Embassy to perform DNA collections. In a slow moving process, U.S. Embassies across the globe are beginning to perform DNA collections at the Embassy itself, essentially cutting the physicians out of the loop.

This has caused significant delays in the DNA testing process for many families trying to immigrate to the U.S. We’ve noticed about 3 month delays with most countries making the transition. In addition, U.S. Embassies are not as equipped for DNA testing as the physicians.

For example, the Clinica Abreu, an authorized collection facility in the Dominican Rebublic, could handle more than 25 DNA cases each day. Now that testing has moved to the Embassy, DNA test appointments are limited to 10 cases.

The purpose of this change is to prevent any potential fraud. Although this may be effective at preventing this fraud, it is also creating a large time delay for many families who have been waiting years to see their loved ones.

View the immigration DNA testing procedures.

Evidence is coming out that DNA testing is sometimes wrong. What is considered by most people in the general public to be foolproof, DNA test results are assisting in the wrongful convictions of innocent citizens and contributing to child support payments for men who are not biological fathers. There are two reasons for bad DNA testing results; poor testing methods and poor interpretation.

60 minutes reported on a man who was wrongly convicted of rape and sentenced to 25 years in prison. The Houston crime lab said his DNA profile matched that of an evidence sample found at the crime scene. It turns out the profiles didn’t match at all. The test results were interpreted wrong.

DNA testing results show a series of peaks, which need to be interpreted manually by a  trained scientist. The machines that produce the data do not produce the final results. When you get a scientist who is undertrained or under the watchful eye of biased parties, it’s easy to get wrong results.

Cross contamination can occur during evidence collection or DNA testing. This is another leading cause of poor results. Evidence samples mix with reference samples or other evidence samples. It ruins the whole test.

Laboratories have been knows to mix standard paternity testing samples in child support cases, leading to false exclusions. Again, data can be interpreted wrong and produce a false inclusion.

In any regard, it’s of utmost importance to check the qualifications and methods of any DNA testing laboratory you choose to use for testing. There are plenty of reputable labs out there. There are also plenty of labs like Houston.

A man sent us an email over the weekend because he wanted to know if he was the father of a child. He hasn’t taken a paternity test yet, but he knows the blood types of himself, the mother and the child. Based on those blood types he wants to know if he can still be the father. Surely this man is not the only person with this question, so I’ll answer the question publicly.

Blood type antigens are inherited from the father and the mother. Depending on the blood types of these individuals it is sometimes possible to exclude an alleged father. However, it is never possible to prove paternity. Blood typing, based on the ABO blood group system is not an accurate method for determining paternity.

Blood typing is useful for predicting potential paternity situations, but it is not useful for a legal determination of paternity.

This specific case is as follows:

Potential Father: O

Mother: B

Child: AB

Using the chart to the right, we can determine that the potential father is excluded from being the father. ABO blood typing can exclude roughly 30% of the male population from being the possible father.