Scientists at the Department of Genetics at the University of Leicester are developing techniques which will enable the identification of the surname of an individual through the analysis of DNA. Research has shown that men with the same British surname are highly likely to be genetically linked. From research done by Turi King, she has said that there is a link between the surname of an individual and the Y chromosome. Dr. King performed a test of about 2,500 men with 500 different surnames. Dr King's research showed that between two men who share the same surname there is a 24% chance of sharing a common ancestor through that name but that this increases to about 50% if the surname they have is rare. These results have a potential use in forensic science, since it suggests that, given large databases of names and Y chromosome profiles, surname prediction from DNA alone may be feasible.
http://www.brightsurf.com/news/headlines/40747/DNA_could_reveal_your_surname.html
10 comments:
Oliver that was a very informative and original post it was detailed enough to where the main idea was grasped but the last sentence is a little iffy. It was great that you found and article related to your heritage, good post.
The article had some good information but could use a little more. good job though.
I find it very interesting that surnames could be discovered using genetics, though this does make sense, considering in most cases having the same surname means you are from the same family. This coul dbe used to trace families and relatives back over generations. More examples could have been given and also it could have been longer and more descriptive in general
Right away the title of this article caught my attention, urging me to continue into the depths of the summary. It was very interesting to hear the surnames ususally suggest that there will be DNA similarities between two individuals with the same surname. This will prove to be helpful because scientists will be able to have a general idea of the surname of the victim, which can then narrow the search of possible suspects. I do believe that this article could be a little longer and filled with some more information in regards to how DNA can be used to find the surname. Overall, I enjoyed reading this article and the information it provided.
I found this article very interesting. The fact that people are discovering new things with DNA is amazing and I believe that developing techniques which will enable the identification of the surname of an individual through the analysis of DNA would help investigators identify people without having them commit a crime bofore hand. This article was very well written and summerized.
The article had alot of good information about DNA.
I found this review very much captivating. I was stunned to find out that surname could be used to establish a link between genetics and heritage. I found it very much interesting to read about how Y-chromosomes carry small indicators of surname which can be used to more or lesss accurately trace heritage based on name. ALthough this is fairly unusual, it could pose a very powerful tool in Forensic Science allowing it to have a good amount of use in possible historical cases or cases of paternity or maternity from may years ago. Also, ic could hypothetically help people trace their origin if it remains unknown to them, or their family members and relatives. Overall the review posed a great deal of informative potentiual, but I feel that it was overall a minimal amount of facts. I found it to be catchy rather than simply stating what really happened. Also, I feel that more statistics from the test should have been provided. However, I found it intruiging that heritage, name, and genetics all posess a common link.
I found this interesting but would have liked to know more. It was actually rather suprising to me that there were not more DNA matches for common surnames. This could, however, prove to be a good tool in forensic science.
Oliver that was a very good post. I enjoyed reading it very much. YOu could use more info but i found it interesting that surnames could be discovered using genetics.
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