homeDNAdirect.com.au Blog

Blog on DNA Testing and Paternity Testing

Can I do a DNA Paternity Test in Australia?

Posted on | August 24, 2010 | No Comments

homeDNAdirect Australia specialises in providing accurate and reliable DNA paternity tests. The company has over 7 years of experience in the field of DNA testing. We are proud to have come this far and will continue striving to offer the best possible service throughout Australia. One of the main test homeDNAdirect specializes in is the DNA paternity test.

homeDNAdirect offers accredited paternity testing in Australia. Our portfolio of tests includes various relationship tests and infidelity testing using various DNA samples which might include hair DNA testing or blood DNA testing. All tests are carried out in accredited laboratories which follow the strictest and most scientific procedures which are constantly being revised and updated. The main accrediting bodies which are internationally recognized are ISO 17025 and AABB; these are specifically designated to laboratories carrying out just these kinds of tests.

HomeDNAdirect Australia has offices in Longanholme, Queensland and Chatswood, New South Wales. The location and efficiency of our offices means that we are able to provide our DNA testing kits anywhere in Australia including Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra and Sydney. Kits contain everything you need to do your test.

Using a DNA home-kit means being able to collect samples in the comfort of your own home and then just sending off the DNA samples you yourself collected for laboratory testing. DNA samples are collected using mouth swabs. Your paternity test results with homeDNAdirect Australia will be ready in just 5-7 working days. To make life easier and shorten turnaround times it is also possible to select the express testing option for most tests; in fact with express you can have them in just 2 working days. If you want to know more about the paternity report why not visit sample paternity test results.

It is possible to carry out ancestry DNA testing, MtDNA tests and DNA tests using tiny, old, perhaps even degraded DNA samples. The  paternity DNA test is in big demand across the continent but people are also becoming more aware of the diverse number of DNA tests available.

Ancestry DNA testing: A General Overview

Posted on | August 13, 2010 | No Comments

There are many reasons to carry out ancestry DNA testing; ancestry testing can tell you so much about your history and ancestors, that which you cannot find out any other way than by doing such a test. The test will link you to your deep and far back geogenetic roots going back thousands and thousands of years. Moreover, it can help all the more those who are clueless or simply wish to know more about their ancestral origins.

To trace you ancestral origins, you will be provided with an ancestry testing kit. You will need to supple a DNA sample which is indeed very simple. A mouth swab (supplied within your kit) is simply rubbed within the mouth to collect some cheek cells and then sent for laboratory analysis. Laboratories will establish the likelihood that your genes are linked to studied groups or populations and also geographical regions. Results of your ancestry DNA test will be displayed on an easy to read high resolution map. Strength indicators will clearly tell you, often with some kind of coloured coded ticks, where your ancestors most likely came from.

You may also wish to opt for more specific tests such as the following:

Maternal Lineage test: The test is done by testing a special type of DNA found in the cell mitochondria and known as MtDNA or Mitochondrial DNA. Children inherit MtDNA from both their mother and father but the one inherited from the father is destroyed at conception. The child preserves the MtDNA inherited from the mother and this is passed through the female line with a very low rate of mutation. The maternal lineage test will again trace the movement of your maternal forbearers out of the African continent but taking ancestors from your mother and not your father.

What an ancestry test cannot do

Having exact definitive answers is not the scope of the test and geneticists are still not able to say with 100% accuracy what you origins are but they can give a very close idea that can really guide and help people have a clearer picture. Moreover, the test will not pinpoint where ancestors came from and thus, the level of precision is again not 100%. The ancestral origins given will be vaster and include for example Asia or Northern Europe.

Moreover, if you wish your family to be traced with the names of specific distant ancestors and relatives than this is definitely not the test you need. Having you family tree plotted takes intense genealogical research, extensive investigating of national archives, birth records and of course also DNA testing but this is extremely costly and time consuming.

Ancestry DNA testing can make a very personalised present to a friend or relative and is also very insightful for those wishing to have connections to their ancestral past.

Paternity Testing in Australia

Posted on | July 28, 2010 | 1 Comment

More and men are finding out that they are not the biological father of a child that they thought was theirs. Many companies now offer paternity testing in Australia. This test has come to the rescue in many cases where a father needs a conclusive and definitive answers as to whether his doubts regarding the issue of paternity are founded or not.

Men’s group in Australia are trying to get the government to implement a law whereby all fathers take a paternity test to verify whether they are bringing up and maintaining their real children and to solve parentage issues as early as possible.

Statistics are difficult to get hold of when it comes to paternity and the delicate nature of the issue means that having exact data is a challenge but however one looks at it, the results consistently show a high number of children are not the children of the man they call daddy. Analogously, the same applies for the numbers of fathers who are raising children that they think are theirs but are actually children of another man. Many men are for these reasons seeking the aid of paternity tests which are nowadays selling like hot cakes.

Thousands of men in Australia (and all over the globe) are buying home paternity tests and carrying out the test in marriage or even when simply in long term relationships. The paternal test can be done at home and without the knowledge of the mother or partner. DNA is sampled by rubbing mouth swabs inside the mouth- the swabs are usually provided by the company providing the test. Once the DNA has been collected the swabs can be sent back for analysis and the results will tell you whether you are or are not the father.

How many fathers have been dishing out thousands to the Child Support Agency (CSA) for children they think are theirs? How fair is this on the children and on the fathers? The emotional and financial consequences are huge and thus, a law protecting this from happening may indeed alleviate the matter. Under Australian law, the father that is registered on the birth certificate is considered the father of the child and this will suffice as proof of paternity.

 Getting a paternity test means you may directly be questioning the fidelity of your spouse and this can have a very negative effect on a relationship between a couple. Although to some having mandatory paternity testing in Australia may be a good idea so as to have definitive parentage and no unpleasant surprises later in life, it can clearly have an negative impact on relationships-

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