• Question: Can ethnic origin be determined by genetic testing?

    Asked by hannaah to Amelia on 22 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Amelia Markey

      Amelia Markey answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      Yes this is usually called genealogical DNA testing.

      This is quite a good wiki article that prob goes into way to much detail:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genealogical_DNA_test

      An interesting fact is that the DNA in your mitochondria (these are organelles – organs of the cell) is inherited only from your mother. Therefore this can be used to trace back your maternal lineage as (unlike the DNA in the nucleus of your cells) it’s not mixed with the DNA that you have inherited from your father.

      Hope this and the wiki page answers your question 🙂

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