Paternity Test Answers

The recent Justin Bieber paternity suit brings to the surface many issues facing our youth today. One, peer pressure to engage in sexual activity before marriage. Two, the consequences of unprotected sex. Three, raising children in fatherless families and the long-term effects on them mentally. You don’t have to take our word for it, the studies are out there and unfortunately children are exposed to these realities daily. We learned some interesting facts from the TECHSex USA Report produced by ISIS, Inc. – A not-for-profit organization, founded in 2001, that supports and empowers young people to make informed decisions about their sexual activity. More information is available at www.isis-inc.org

Currently, about 42% of 15 to 19 year olds who are unmarried have engaged in sex at least once. On a monthly basis, about 25% are sexually active. Low income, urban youth of color are more likely to engage in sexual behavior at even earlier ages.

The U.S. teen pregnancy rate is at approximately 71.5 per 1,000 teens. It is still much higher than other Western industrialized nations. Pregnancy rates for African American and Hispanic teens are 126 and 127 per 1,000.

Approximately 80% of unmarried teenagers used contraception the first time they had sex, and 68% of unmarried women and 81% of unmarried men, used a condom. At their last time of intercourse, 84% of women and 93% of men used contraception.

Youth aged 15 to 24 accounts for half of the sexually transmitted infections acquired annually, despite comprising only 25% of the total US population. It has been widely reported that a quarter of all teenage girls suffer from some type of STI with one in five becoming infected within  a year of their first sexual encounter. Youth of color are disproportionately affected by STIs, including HIV, across the nation, with chlamydia rates for young African-American women reaching nine times as high as rates for Caucasian youth. African Americans were disproportionately affected by HIV infection, accounting for 55% of all HIV infections.

ISIS study can be read here: http://www.isis-inc.org/techsex_usa.php

We’re betting most of you have heard that there is a paternity suit involving teen pop star Justin Bieber. In case you haven’t, a young woman has claimed that JB “hooked up” with her after a concert and conceived a baby, born just 3 months ago. He denies the claim as just rumor. Los Angeles attorney Mychal Bilson explains to HollywoodLife.com, “In order to get a court order for a paternity test there has to be reasonable evidence presented to the court under oath. She would have to present details about her relationship with Justin Bieber, all under oath, such as providing dates of contact with Justin around the time of the  conception.” Many are suggesting that he just take a voluntary paternity test and not a “court ordered” paternity test to end this controversy. We’ll just wait and see what happens. Justin if you are reading this, give us a call and we can talk to you about taking the Identigene DNA Paternity Test. It’s 100% accurate and you get your results in 1-2 business days after we receive your cheeck swabs. You can even track it and receive your results online.

The advancement of using DNA in the criminal justice system has given prisoners another chance at freedom. Years ago juries relied on witness testimony and identification, alibis, and suspect examination for their verdicts. Today, courts can rely on DNA to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in most rape cases. CBS’s primetime show, Blue Bloods, explores wrongful imprisonment on its recent episode Innocence. The convicted rapist had been in prison for the last 18 years and was released after having his DNA prove he was innocent. How many innocent people are still in prison for crimes they didn’t commit? The estimate varies depending on the source but estimates range from 10,000 to 15,000. According to innocenceproject.org, it states that 273 people have been exonerated from prison by proving their innocence using DNA testing; 17 of those served time on death row. Witness misidentification is the single greatest cause of wrongful imprisonments. The average length of time these innocent prisoners served is 13 years. Watch the episode here. http://www.cbs.com/shows/blue_bloods/video/2153160728/blue-bloods-innocence

How do law officials distinguish the guilty from the innocent if they are identical twins?  Law and Order SVU episode Double Strands tackles this complicated scenario. The storyline presents itself to the viewer as an open and shut case because of a DNA match; however, the prime suspect continues pleading his innocence. The tenacious detectives later discover the suspect has an identical twin who is the actual guilty party. Although their DNA can’t distinguish the guilty from the innocent, fingerprints are the key! Did you know that fingerprints are one exception to the identical twin rule? Fingerprints are unique to every human being – even identical twins. Did you also know there are other traits that aren’t identical in identical twins? Identical twins are of the same sex, except in a few rare cases where a genetic abnormality occurs and one of the twins is born with both sex organs. Other unique traits of identicals can be handedness and hair whorl patterns.  For example, one twin might be left handed and the other right handed. Or one twin might have a cowlick and the other does not. Did you also know that identical twins have the same nuclear DNA but they don’t have the exact same mitochondrial DNA? Scientists actually use the term monozygotic (from one fertilized egg) instead of identical because of these differences. Watch the episode here. http://www.nbc.com/law-and-order-special-victims-unit/video/double-strands/1361805

Blood Brothers,  a recent episode on Law and Order Special Victims Unit, featured a home DNA paternity test kit.   In this story, a 13-year old boy finds answers by purchasing a paternity kit from the drug store and sending it in with the toothbrush of his alleged father.  It turns out his suspicions were correct and his mother (housekeeper) had an affair with a prominent government figure.  The boy tells his biological father the result, hoping for love and acceptance. Let’s pause the story here.

We need to tell you the details that were dramatized to make such great TV.  First, our test kit contains three packs of swabs–one for mother, one for child and one for alleged father. True, our laboratory is capable of extracting DNA from toothbrushes, strands of hair, and other interesting items, but a simple cheek swab is all we need to identify paternity.  Second, we require an adult to provide consent if a child is tested. …

Back to the story:  Unfortunately, it is without a happy ending. The father doesn’t embrace the boy and emotions spin out of control resulting in a tragic ending for one of the characters. We give kudos to SVU for raising awareness about home paternity testing and showcasing the gamut of emotions that surround paternity.

You can watch the episode here.  http://www.nbc.com/law-and-order-special-victims-unit/video/blood-brothers/1360201

A typical day for some pediatric healthcare professionals is not complete without a patient asking questions about paternity. We spent the weekend speaking with pediatricians, nurses and pediatric specialists about the importance of our over-the-counter DNA paternity test kit.  It was so pleasing to see a doctor’s face when they realized they had a solution to give when asked about paternity. It was even more rewarding to know some had already sent patients to a major pharmacy chain to purchase Identigene’s DNA Paternity Test. Over the course of the weekend, our ears were full of stories – both personal and professional – that reiterated the importance of simply knowing paternity answers. Why not know for sure when the answer is so accessible, affordable and accurate?

I continuously receive inquiries from customers questioning if it’s possible for one participant of paternity testing to switch samples, either with themselves or someone else, or if they could have changed the DNA somehow by eating before collecting DNA.  

A paternity test can take an emotional toll on some. So let’s address this question one scenario at a time.

Mom submits her DNA as the alleged fathers sample for Paternity Testing

True or False Paternity Test Samples

One question I encountered recently was a concerned alleged father who thought maybe the mother of the child could have swabbed herself in his place to force the results to show not excluded, meaning he is considered to be the biological father. In all paternity testing cases our laboratory also includes the amelogenin gene to verify the sex of all participants. This helps to verify the alleged father being tested is male and the mother is female. We can also verify the sex of the child. This means mom could not swab herself and submit her sample as the alleged father without our laboratory experts discovering that. If this does occur we would place the paternity test on hold and contact the participants to ask them to re-swab the correct participants. Another sign that the mother swabbed in the alleged fathers place would be the mother and father would show as identical DNA, which is not possible. This would also be a red flag and cause the paternity testing to come to a stop.

Alleged Father Switches his sample with someone else for a Paternity Test

Another question I often get asked is whether the alleged father could have switched his own samples with someone else. If you purchase the home DNA collection kit for paternity testing purposes, the results you receive are not court admissible. This is because the laboratory can not verify whose sample they have actually received. If the participants do not collect the samples together and mail them off together, there is always a risk that someone could switch their samples with someone else. If you are in a situation where you doubt the reliability of the other person to be honest about submitting their own sample, I always recommend a legal paternity test collection. This is where all participants go to a third party collection facility to have their DNA collected by a third party. The collector will verify ID and take photos in most cases. The collector then sends the samples to the lab for testing to establish a chain-of-custody to verify samples could not have been tampered with.

Eating or Drinking before DNA collection in Paternity Testing

One last situation I want to discuss is the question of whether someone can alter their DNA by eating or drinking something before they swab their mouth. The answer is no. You can not alter your DNA with putting anything in your mouth. If you have had a bone marrow transplant recently, that may come into account. Anything like that should be discussed with the facility doing the paternity testing.

We do ask that you don’t eat or drink anything for about an hour before collecting the DNA samples, and this is to keep food or anything else off the swabs. Eating or drinking before the collection can cause remnants to get on the swab with the DNA. The worst this will do is creating a situation where we can’t get a profile at all. If a profile is obtained, then the food or drink did nothing. If we can’t get a profile we need to recollect samples for the participant for re-testing. The first recollection is always at no charge to the customer here at IDENTIGENE.

Do you have situations that you question? Let me know, we can talk about them.

Twin Zygosity

Do you question if your twins are identical? Here at IDENTIGENE we are known for our paternity testing, but did you know we can also conclude if twins are identical or fraternal? Are you curious?

Are They Identical Twins?

The Twin Zygosity test will determine if siblings share identical DNA, which means they are identical twins, or if they have different DNA which indicates fraternal twins. It’s that simple.

Identical twins share genetic traits such as hair color and eye color. Fraternal twins may not share similar traits and can even be different sexes. Sometimes however,  fraternal twins do share common traits but have different DNA profiles. The Twin Zygosity DNA test will determine if the twins are identical. Simply submit DNA samples (cheek swabs) to the laboratory for DNA testing, and in a matter of days you will have a  definite answer.   

IDENTIGENE DNA Tests

Twin Zygosity testing and our paternity test are just a couple of examples of test types IDENTIGENE offers, and if our website doesn’t answer all of your questions (I really would like to know) our team of expert client support  representatives can. They can be reached Mon-Fri 9am-8pm EST at (888) 404-GENE.

Peace of Mind with Paternity Testing

Paternity testing is a precise way to verify who is the biological father of a child when there are questions about the child’s paternity.

Science and Paternity Tests

With amazing innovations in technology and science today, paternity testing is a reliable way to obtaining peace of mind that is sometimes needed. Whether a father is trying to determine if a child is biologically theirs or an entire family that want answers to questions that could possibly change the dynamic of their family structure, paternity tests are available and affordable.

Why a Paternity Test?

Statistics all over the World Wide Web indicate 30% of fathers paying child support are paying for children that are not biologically theirs. Knowing the biological father of a child has many advantages from family health history to peace of mind for all individuals involved.

Is taking a paternity test difficult?

Taking a paternity test is not a complex process. With the IDENTIGENE Paternity Test kits readily available at local retail outlets, finding answers to paternity questions are no longer out of reach. Whether you require a legal paternity test or are searching for peace of mind with the personal paternity test, the IDENTIGENE team is available to make the process simple, and to assist you throughout the paternity test process.

If you have a paternity question please contact our professional client support team at (888) 404-GENE Mon-Fri 9am – 8pm EST. They are happy to answer your questions and help you decide which test is best for your unique situation.

I have been following the ‘Baby Kate’ case with intrigue. A missing child, the father accused of kidnapping, paternity testing to answer the question of paternity, and a mother frantically searching for her missing baby.  Where is baby Kate?

Paternity Test Confirms Biological Relationship

The latest development is the paternity test results that have been released and confirm Sean Phillips is in fact the biological father of a missing infant, ‘Baby Kate’.

Katherine Shelbie-Elizabeth Phillips went missing on June 29, 2011, after the alleged father (at that time), tried to take baby Kate and her mother to the Department of Human Services hoping to put the child up for adoption. Arial Courtland, baby Kate’s mother believed they were on their way to for paternity testing because Mr. Phillips did not believe the child was his, and had not told his parents about the baby.

When Mr. Phillips was arrested for kidnapping baby Kate, they found the babies car seat and diaper bag in the trunk of his car, and the clothing she was wearing that day in his pockets. Mr. Phillips has been charged with kidnapping and held on bond. He is not talking to police. However, baby Kate is still missing and authorities are not sure if the child is still alive, or if she was involved with some sort of black market adoption.