What is a Twin?

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We are often asked about DNA testing for twins and the hope the following will explain a little more about the situation. By all means call us if you need more information. Firstly, the frequency of twins is much more common than it ever has been; twinning is now in over 90% of multiple births.…

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Sperm Donor Anonymity – A Distant Memory

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With the plethora of alternative ways now available to either participate in conception, birth or take care of a child and the interest in family trees, the issue of sperm donation has once again come into the spotlight. In particular, this is being accentuated by the use of social media, celebrity culture and the rapid…

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From Eternity to Paternity

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In this article Dr Neil Sullivan reports on a landmark case where the DNA testing of the extracted and stored genetic material of a deceased male has been used for a paternity test. In Spencer v Anderson1 , the applicant had previously been made aware that a male who died of bowel cancer, may have…

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Surrogacy

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At the dadcheck®gold DNA testing service, we have recently noticed a surge in the number of prospective parents wishing to enter into a surrogacy arrangement with an overseas mother. There are significant grounds for arguing caution in these arrangements, not least because there are cases where the intended parents are not at all linked genetically…

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He Has His Father’s Nose

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“You have your dad’s eye’s”, “your mums smile”, “and your grandfather’s ears”… We’ve all heard comments such as these; but do they have any basis in fact when attempting to assert paternity? As a leading DNA testing company dealing with hundreds of paternity cases every year, these types of comments often are posed to us.…

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A Sense of Self

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Both the Commons and the House of Lords have recently voted for the UK to be the first to accept the creation of a baby using DNA originating from three different people. This IVF (in vitro fertilization) technique is known as mitochondrial replacement therapy and concerns the prevention of certain genetic diseases, which could potentially…

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DNA Experts Assist Family Lawyers with Parentage Testing

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We all known that the dynamics of family life are immensely complex and this is especially so when the relationship between the adults begins to break down. Ultimately this may lead to a mutual separation (maybe the adults have just grown apart and want different things out of life) or in a more inflamed state,…

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DNA – The True Test of Any Relationship

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Over the last 15 years, the legal profession has taken to the use of DNA testing with alacrity. This is a fine example of the devolution of complex technology into our society – through testing for ancestry (the recent exhumation of Richard III is a good example), to testing for possible criminal activity (the use…

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Using DNA Testing to Aid the Transgender Community

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The increasing societal commitment to the well being of those wishing to express different gender identity and gender expression together with the legal recognition of same, is important for the protection of individuals, their dignity and their health. Recent instances however, concern the ability of transgender people to amend the birth certificate of a child…

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Data Protection Law Evolves into a New Niche

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We are at present seemingly swamped by marketing materials which are keen to point out the financial consequences of noncompliance with the new EU wide data protection regulation, the GDPR1, which is due to come into force on 25th May 2018. This legislation, despite the inevitable cost to business in terms of change to process…

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