DNA Testing

DNA Testing was created in the 1980s, DNA testing began with the development of DNA fingerprinting by Dr. Alec Jeffreys, which allowed for the identification and comparison of individual DNA profiles, significantly impacting forensic science and paternity testing. The restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) technique was introduced during this time, marking the first genetic test using DNA. Additionally, the first notable instance of DNA testing for genetic linkage analysis occurred in the U.S. in the mid-1980s, laying the groundwork for modern DNA testing practices. You spit in a tube, send it to a lab, and six weeks later your results come back saying you're 25% Nigerian, 13% Scottish, 7% Indigenous American, and the rest… a mystery soup. You feel excited. Maybe confused. Maybe even validated. But hold on. That DNA test might help you find your relatives, but it's not your cultural passport and it's certainly not the final word on who you are. Analogy 1: DNA for Relatives = GPS Coordinates. DNA for Ethnicity = Weather Forecast When you use a DNA test to find relatives, you're using exact coordinates of measurable genetic markers passed from one generation to the next, like a GPS signal. When you use DNA to predict your ethnicity, it's more like forecasting the weather. There's probability, pattern recognition, and a lot of assumptions about what "Scottish DNA" or " American Indian DNA" even looks like.