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Asked by morgancope to Damien, Rachael, Simon, Suzi, Tim on 17 Jun 2011.
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Suzi Gage answered on 17 Jun 2011:
Hi @morgancope
Great question.
Your entire DNA in every cell in your body (apart from eggs and sperm, which only have half of it), so there’s no real reason why you couldn’t take it from anywhere. However, the most common way is either by taking a small amount of blood from a person, or taking a swab of their saliva.I had to have a test on my DNA a couple of years ago, as there was a chance I carried the gene for Cystic Fibrosis. I have to have some blood taken (and rather embarrassingly I passed out, but most people don’t!), then the blood gets sent to a lab to be checked. Luckily I didn’t have the gene, phew!
Less common ways to get DNA include from hair, fingernails, and any bit of flaked skin – it’s often these left on crime scenes that can lead to genetic identification of the criminal. It’s a lot more difficult to extract DNA from very few cells, but it’s still possible.
Hope this answers your question!
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Comments
morgancope commented on :
Yes you have answered it, thankyou Suzi.
And oh my God I have some really intense fear of needles iefhuasdsaok eugh I hate the thought of them it makes me cringe so much.
Is there any way that DNA (or the cell itself) in your hair or skin can be damaged by hair products or make-up or is the membrane(I think) too I don’t know, fussy about what goes in and out?
Suzi commented on :
Hi morgancope
I don’t think hair products damage your DNA, but I don’t know.
And there are ways to get DNA without needles – the saliva sample involves putting a piece of a foam-like substance in your mouth, swilling it around a bit, and spitting it back in to a tube. No problems!!!
morgancope commented on :
But what if you had just eaten?
Suzi commented on :
Hahaha – good point!!
I’m sure that as long as you swill out your mouth with water first it should be OK. Or they may tell you not to eat for a while before you do the saliva collection!