It’s an age-old question, and one that many scientists have attempted to answer. Is there a gene that makes an individual more likely to be obese?

Unlike several diseases like Huntington’s and Tay-Sachs that are caused by a single gene error, there is no one gene that we can blame obesity on. There are thousands of factors—and genes—that contribute to obesity.

Sekar Kathiresan, a cardiologist at Harvard and a geneticist at the Broad Institute, and a team of experts set out to determine a genetic pattern for obesity. They hoped to find an answer for why some people struggle to lose or keep the weight off, or are prone to being obese.

Despite their large pool of subjects and millions of genes they analyzed, the findings weren’t conclusive. There was no genetic pattern that led to obesity.

Instead, the study found that the impacts to genetics starts at age 3. This means that preventing obesity starts much earlier in life than we all thought. Prevention of obesity was most successful when healthy lifestyle patterns were taught early in life.

Some of the study’s experts are disappointed that so much money is being poured into genetic analysis for obesity. Instead, they suggest an emphasis on a change to environmental factors, lifestyles, and behaviors that contribute to obesity, and teaching these to our children at young ages.

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That simple take-at-home DNA test you received at Christmas, a birthday, or other celebrations isn’t as innocent as it would seem. While many people are excited to learn their ancestral history and migration patterns, that knowledge comes at a high price.

The results from take-at-home tests are entered into an ever-increasing database of information. You can’t “retract” your DNA once it’s been submitted. One would assume that these databases are private, but it turns out many databases are used by law enforcement to determine criminals.

Both GEDmatch and Family Tree DNA confirmed that they regularly allow law enforcement to use their databases—a combined total of 2.2 million profiles.

While this may not seem like a bad thing, there could be severe repercussions. Namely, there are no laws surrounding law enforcement’s use of these databases. When law enforcement can take every measure allowed by the courts, there is the potential for abuse of DNA information.

Police will inevitably begin to overstep and apply genetic genealogy not only to major crimes like rape and murder, but also to minor crimes like trespassing. Crime victims may not report because they fear DNA testing of them or their families. Reports are even surfacing of how criminals can manipulate DNA profiles to mislead police.

However, at DNA Paternity Testing, you can rest assured that your results are safe with us! We use extreme measures to keep your medical information secure, especially with our home kits. We train all our staff on all HIPAA compliance policies and ensuring that all tests and counseling remain confidential.

DNA Paternity Testing provides rock-solid answers to important questions like parentage and ancestry. With over 2,000 centers nationwide, DNA Paternity Testing Centers is one of the largest, most affordable, networks of accredited DNA testing labs in the United States. Our price is unbeatable without sacrificing quality. We offer DNA testing for paternity, maternity and all other relationships (grandparents, siblings, aunts/uncles).

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For Christmas 2017, Sandra Pyne was gifted an AncestryDNA test kit to help build a family tree. The results came back a few months later and showed that Pyne, who grew up in a Slavic family, was predominately Italian. Pyne disregarded the information as a simple mix-up.

But in a neighboring town, Debra Zaffuto was also awaiting her AncestryDNA results. Much to her shock, she discovered that she had a full-blood sister less than 20 minutes away! That sister was Sandra Pyne.

Debra and her brother Ron also grew up with a sister named Sandra Smith. Both Sandra’s were born on the same day, September 22, 1942, at the same hospital.

Eventually Debra got the courage to contact Pyne, and a genetic test of Pyne’s sons confirmed that they were Debra’s nephews. DNA tests of Smith confirmed that she was predominately Eastern European. The only explanation is that the infant Sandra’s went home from the hospital with different parents.

Smith was terminally ill with cancer and both parties agreed to not share the shocking news with her. She died in November at age 76.

The three reunited siblings have since been making up for lost time. Debra and Pyne in particular have built a strong bond.

“We may not have been sisters all of our lives, but we will be sisters the rest of our lives,” Pyne said.

At DNA Paternity Testing, we love to bring families together. We provide rock-solid answers to important questions like parentage and ancestry. With over 2,000 centers nationwide, DNA Paternity Testing Centers is one of the largest, most affordable, networks of accredited DNA testing labs in the United States. Our price is unbeatable without sacrificing quality. We offer DNA testing for paternity, maternity and all other relationships (grandparents, siblings, aunts/uncles).

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With every passing year, we gain more and more knowledge of our world and humanity through science. Significant strides are also being made in our understanding of genes and how those affect our personal futures. Is it possible for a DNA test to predict your future?

Consumers often seek to peer into their medical futures by taking a genetic test. Do I carry the gene for Alzheimer’s Disease or breast cancer? Some genetic testing companies believe they can give you the answer.

However, genetics and DNA is incredibly complex. While huge advancements have been made, genetic tests are still not able to predict the medical future of an individual.

A recent analysis of “direct to consumer” tests—like AncestryDNA and 23andMe—found that upon reanalysis of raw data, 40 percent of variants associated with specific diseases were shown to be false positives.

There are even major discrepancies between direct to consumer companies. This is because these companies take a shortcut of only picking the “highlights” of your DNA and don’t sequence your entire genome. But because different companies choose to highlight certain genes and not others, results can appear as conflicting information.

As it turns out, there are no specific genes “for” anything in particular. Even if you do carry a gene for a disease, many variables like diet and exercise can change the impact of that gene. So be wary of companies that advertise a peek into the crystal ball!

But at DNA Paternity Testing, we provide rock-solid answers to important questions like parentage and ancestry. With over 2,000 centers nationwide, DNA Paternity Testing Centers is one of the largest, most affordable, networks of accredited DNA testing labs in the United States. Our price is unbeatable without sacrificing quality. We offer DNA testing for paternity, maternity and all other relationships (grandparents, siblings, aunts/uncles).

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The DNA tests of the future claim to go beyond simply identifying our ancestral background or where they migrated from. The next big trend in DNA tests claim to determine your specific genetic code for rapid weight loss.

A recent CNN report highlighted several DNA tests claiming to discover the key to an individual’s weight loss breakthrough. Do you benefit more from diet or exercise? Do you lose more weight eating low-carb or low-fat? They answer, they say, is in your DNA.

It’s no wonder that this grabs the attention of millions of Americans. With countless diseases stealing the health of adults and children alike, combined with our desire for instant gratification, a DNA test that reveals the secrets to speedy weight loss sounds like a worthy investment.

But is it too good to be true?

In short, yes.

Genes and DNA are incredibly complex and contain countless forms of information about each individual. While there may be potential for this in the future, science is not there yet.

Nutrition researcher Christopher Gardner led the DIETFITS trial to determine a certain combination of genes would control whether people lost more weight on a low-carb or a low-fat diet. But the study concluded that the subjects’ genetic profiles were not associated with their chances of successful weight loss.

For now, it looks like the old-fashioned nutrition, diet, and exercise are still the answer to weight loss. Don’t waste your money on DNA tests promising weight loss, because it most likely won’t change your results!

DNA Paternity Testing provides rock-solid answers to important questions like parentage and ancestry. With over 2,000 centers nationwide, DNA Paternity Testing Centers is one of the largest, most affordable, networks of accredited DNA testing labs in the United States. Our price is unbeatable without sacrificing quality. We offer DNA testing for paternity, maternity and all other relationships (grandparents, siblings, aunts/uncles). Call us today at 866.944.9546 or ORDER ONLINE!