Paternity Test During Pregnancy

If you have any questions about who your baby's father is then the most reliable paternity test method is testing for DNA, and it can be done before the baby is born! ... read more »

Study Explains How Egg Captures Sperm

Scientists have discovered precisely how the human egg cells capture sperm to start the process of fertilization. ... read more »

Paternity Testing and Cord Blood

In cases where paternity testing needs to be completed as soon after birth as possible, the umbilical cord blood can be used in blood DNA paternity testing. ... read more »

What Can Be Used to Test Paternity?

While the cheek swab is the most common method to test paternity, any bodily fluid that contains DNA or cells can be used for the test. ... read more »

Experts Recommend 3-Step Diagnostic Process for Autism

A new study of two different kinds of genetic tests identified ASD in a small number of patients, leading the test’s authors to recommend a 3-step diagnostic process when autism is suspected. ... read more »

How Can I Find a Genetics Professional in My Area?

To find a genetics professional in your community, you may wish to ask your doctor for a referral. If you have health insurance, you can also contact your insurance company to find a medical geneticist or genetic counselor in your area who participates in your plan. ... read more »

Fetus Predetermined to Suffer Obesity or Heart Disease

Researchers at the Warwick Medical School have revealed a connection between life in the womb and obesity after birth. Healthier eating habits and regular vitamin intake may help reduce the risk of obesity late in life, according to the study. ... read more »

Safe Sex Before, During, and After Pregnancy

There are five distinct three-month periods trimesters associated with pregnancy and each one affects your sex life in distinctly different ways ... read more »

What are the Types of Genetic Tests?

Genetic testing can provide information about a person's genes and chromosomes. ... read more »

Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Antiphospholipid syndrome, also referred to as Hughes syndrome, is a condition of the immune system that causes blood clotting and other complications. ... read more »

DNA Testing During Pregnancy

Noninvasive Prenatal Paternity NIPP Testing can be done during pregnancy to establish biological paternity, to determine who the father of a person is. ... read more »

A Healthier Human Race with Spindle Transfer

During spindle transfer, the female chromosomes are separated from the unhealthy mitochondrial DNA. A healthy set of twin monkeys with healthy DNA and no genetic diseases was conceived after this procedure. ... read more »

What is DNA Paternity Testing?

DNA paternity testing is done to determine who the baby's father is and it usually involves taking a sample from the father and the baby. ... read more »

How Can a Child Get Court Ordered Paternity Testing?

In order to have DNA paternity testing completed, the child will need to be in contact with the suspected father or the parents of the suspected father. ... read more »

Chinese May Have New Answer to Genetic Testing

Testing for potential genetic problems typically requires piercing the abdomen and amniotic sac to collect a tissue sample from the fetus. Researchers in China may have found an alternative to invasive prenatal testing. ... read more »

Ryan Phillippe Has a New Daughter but No New Wife

Reese Witherspoon is happily married again and completely in love with being a mother. Ryan, on the other hand, is waiting DNA results to prove he is the father to a daughter born with his last name. ... read more »

New Method Could Double IVF Success Rates

About one in 15 couples worldwide are unable to have children after at least a year of trying, but new research promises to double the success rate of one type of fertility treatment. ... read more »

What is DNA?

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans andalmost all other organisms. Nearly every cell in a person's body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is callednuclear DNA). ... read more »

What is Mitochondrial DNA?

Although most DNA is packaged in chromosomes within the nucleus, mitochondria also have a small amount of their own DNA. This genetic material is known as mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA. ... read more »

What is a Gene?

A gene is the basic physical and functional unit of heredity. Genes, which are made up of DNA, act as instructions to make molecules called proteins. In humans, genes vary in size from a few hundred DNA bases to more than 2 million bases. ... read more »

What is a Chromosome?

In the nucleus of each cell, the DNA molecule is packaged into thread-like structures called chromosomes. Each chromosome is made up of DNA tightly coiled many times around proteins called histones that support its structure. ... read more »

How Many Chromosomes do People Have?

In humans, each cell normally contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, for a total of 46. Twenty-two of these pairs, called autosomes, look the same in both males and females. The 23rd pair, the sex chromosomes, differ between males and females. ... read more »

What are Proteins and What Do They Do?

Proteins are large, complex molecules that play many critical roles inthe body. They do most of the work in cells and are required for thestructure, function, and regulation of the body's tissues and organs. ... read more »

How do Geneticists Indicate the Location of a Gene?

Geneticists use maps to describe the location of a particular geneon a chromosome. One type of map uses the cytogenetic location todescribe a gene's position. ... read more »

What are Gene Families?

A gene family is a group of genes that share important characteristics. In many cases, genes in a family share a similar sequence of DNA building blocks (nucleotides). ... read more »

How Can Gene Mutations Affect Health and Development

To function correctly, each cell depends on thousands of proteins to do their jobs in the right places at the right times. Sometimes, gene mutations prevent one or more of these proteins from working properly. ... read more »

Do All Gene Mutations Affect Health and Development?

No; only a small percentage of mutations cause genetic disorders'mosthave no impact on health or development. For example, some mutationsalter a gene's DNA sequence but do not change the function of theprotein made by the gene. ... read more »

Can Genes be Turned On and Off in Cells?

Each cell expresses, or turns on, only a fraction of its genes. The rest of the genes are repressed, or turned off. The process of turning genes on and off is known as gene regulation. Gene regulation is an important part of normal development. ... read more »

What is the Epigenome?

DNA modifications that do not change the DNA sequence can affect gene activity. Chemical compounds that are added to single genes can regulate their activity; these modifications are known as epigenetic changes. ... read more »

How do Cells Divide?

There are two types of cell division: mitosis and meiosis. Most of thetime when people refer to 'cell division,' they mean mitosis, theprocess of making new body cells. Meiosis is the type of cell divisionthat creates egg and sperm cells. ... read more »

How do Genes Control the Growth and Division of Cells

A variety of genes are involved in the control of cell growth anddivision. The cell cycle is the cell's way of replicating itself in anorganized, step-by-step fashion. ... read more »

Will Health Insurance Cover the Costs of Genetic Testing?

In many cases, health insurance plans will cover the costs ofgenetic testing when it is recommended by a person's doctor. Healthinsurance providers have different policies about which tests arecovered, however. ... read more »

What are Reduced Penetrance and Variable Expressivity?

Reduced penetrance and variable expressivity are factors that influence the effects of particular genetic changes. These factors usually affect disorders that have an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. ... read more »

What do Geneticists Mean by Anticipation?

The signs and symptoms of some genetic conditions tend to become more severe and appear at an earlier age as the disorder is passed from one generation to the next. This phenomenon is called anticipation. ... read more »

What are Genomic Imprinting and Uniparental Disomy?

Genomic imprinting and uniparental disomy are factors that influence how some genetic conditions are inherited. ... read more »

What Kinds of Gene Mutations are Possible?

The DNA sequence of a gene can be altered in a number of ways. Gene mutations have varying effects on health, depending on where they occur and whether they alter the function of essential proteins. ... read more »

What is a Genetic Consultation?

A genetic consultation is a health service that provides information and support to people who have, or may be at risk for, genetic disorders. ... read more »

Why Might Someone Have a Genetic Consultation?

Individuals or families who are concerned about an inherited condition may benefit from a genetic consultation. The reasons that a person might be referred to a genetic counselor, medical geneticist, or other genetics professional include: ... read more »

What Happens During a Genetic Consultation?

A genetic consultation provides information, offers support, andaddresses a patient's specific questions and concerns. To help determine whether a condition has a genetic component, a genetics professionalasks about a person's medical history. ... read more »

How are Genetic Conditions Diagnosed?

A doctor may suspect a diagnosis of a genetic condition on the basis of a person's physical characteristics and family history, or on theresults of a screening test. ... read more »

What are Complex or Multifactorial Disorders?

Researchers are learning that nearly all conditions and diseases have a genetic component. Some disorders, such as sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis, are caused by mutations in a single gene. ... read more »

How are Genetic Conditions Treated or Managed?

Many genetic disorders result from gene changes that are present in essentially every cell in the body. As a result, these disorders often affect many body systems, and most cannot be cured. ... read more »

How are Genetic Conditions and Genes Named?

Genetic conditions are not named in one standard way (unlike genes, which are given an official name and symbol by a formal committee). Doctors who treat families with a particular disorder are often the first to propose a name for the condition. ... read more »

What is Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing?

Traditionally, genetic tests have been available only through healthcare providers such as physicians, nurse practitioners, and genetic counselors. ... read more »

What Does it Mean if a Disorder Seems to Run in My Family?

A particular disorder might be described as 'running in a family' ifmore than one person in the family has the condition. Some disordersthat affect multiple family members are caused by gene mutations, whichcan be inherited (passed down from parent to child). ... read more »

How Can Consumers be Sure a Genetic Test is Valid and Useful?

Before undergoing genetic testing, it is important to be sure that the test is valid and useful. A genetic test is valid if it provides an accurate result. Two main measures of accuracy apply to genetic tests: analytical validity and clinical validity. ... read more »

Why is it Important to Know My Family Medical History?

A family medical history is a record of health information about a person and his or her close relatives. A complete record includes information from three generations of relatives. ... read more »

What do the Results of Genetic Tests Mean?

The results of genetic tests are not always straightforward, which often makes them challenging to interpret and explain. ... read more »

What are the Benefits of Genetic Testing?

Genetic testing has potential benefits whether the results are positive or negative for a gene mutation. Test results can provide a sense of relief from uncertainty and help people make informed decisions about managing their health care. ... read more »

What is Genetic Discrimination?

Genetic discrimination occurs when people are treated differently by their employer or insurance company because they have a gene mutation that causes or increases the risk of an inherited disorder. ... read more »

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