Category Archives: Transhuman News

Published: Tuesday, March 5, 2013, 12:01 a.m.

All she knew was that he was the red-hot retriever prancing around the neighborhood.

So, she had a DNA test done.

It was obvious that Leila's mom, a mixed-breed who belonged to her in-laws, had some border collie, but McKee wasn't sure what else. She suspected Leila's dad was likely the product of some heat-of-the-moment mixed matings as well.

A drop of blood revealed more than Leila's pedigree, or lack of. "You can find out what kind of medical conditions they might run into," said McKee, a receptionist at a Mukilteo vet clinic. "Or how big the dog might get."

DNA analysis showed Leila's dad was half Labrador and her mom half border collie. Well, that explained the pup's bossiness and the spring in her step.

Her parents' other halves were of mixed breed ancestry, as was Leila's.

The DNA blood test, which distinguishes more than 235 breed types, determined the five next best breed matches in Leila's makeup were: Argentine dogo (17.75 percent); Russian wolfhound (10.88 percent); Akita (5.4 percent); Great Dane (4.75 percent); and Cesky terrier (2.95 percent).

Health risks for Leila's main breeds include exercise-induced collapse, drug sensitivity, narcolepsy, skeletal dysplasia and eye problems.

So far, she's a healthy, frisky 4-year-old who keeps a nose in everything that goes on with McKee's two kids and husband at their Marysville home.

Read the rest here:
A DNA test can reveal what your mutt's made of

By Larry Altman,The Daily Breeze

TORRANCE, Calif. - Kevin T. Kemp's blood sample sat in a coroner's office refrigerator, pretty much forgotten.

But 23 years after the fluid was drawn from Kemp's dead body, Torrance police have used the sample to solve a murder in Venice that was long ago put on the "cold case" shelf.

Discovering the blood in April, detectives and Sheriff's Department crime lab officials examined the sample to determine its DNA code to see if it matched any other crimes.

Kemp's DNA revealed that he killed a man in Venice in 1990, just three weeks before a Torrance woman shot him to death when he attacked her in front of her home, Torrance police Sgt. Robert Watt said.

Kemp's blood matched the forensic evidence found on the Venice victim's body, allowing Los Angeles police detectives to close another case, Torrance police Sgt. Robert Watt said.

The 33-year-old Hawthorne man died Sept. 8, 1990, shortly after he ambushed the 28-year-old woman in an apparent attempt to rape her.

Police at the time said Kemp randomly attacked the woman in her driveway, wrapping a canvas strap around her neck. He tried to drag her toward his car, but she fought back.

Kicking and screaming as she scraped along the ground with the strap tugging at her neck, the woman reached into her purse, where a .22-caliber handgun was concealed inside.

Continued here:
DNA ties slain would-be rapist to 1990 California killing

Ovodov et al. / PLOS ONE

The skull of a 33,000-year-old canid was found in a cave in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia.

By Stephanie Pappas LiveScience

A canine skull found in the Altai Mountains of Siberia is more closely related to modern domestic dogs than to wolves, a new DNA analysis reveals.

The findings could indicate that dogs were domesticated around 33,000 years ago. The point at which wolves made the transition to man's best friend is hotly contested, though dogs were well-established in human societies by about 10,000 years ago. Dogs and humans were buried together in Germany about 14,000 years ago, a strong hint of domestication, but genetic studies have pinpointed the origin of dog domestication in both China and the Middle East.

The Altai specimen, a well-preserved skull, represents one of the two oldest possible domestic dogs ever found. Another possible domestic dog fossil, dated to approximately 36,000 years ago, was found in Goyet Cave in Belgium.

Anatomical examinations of these skulls suggest they are more doglike than wolflike. To confirm, researchers from the Russian Academy of Sciences and their colleagues drilled a tiny amount of bone from the Altai dog's incisor and jaw, and analyzed its DNA. They conducted all of the work in an isolated lab and used extra precautions to prevent contamination, as ancient DNA is extremely fragile.

The researchers then compared the genetic sequences from the Altai specimen with sequences from 72 modern dogs of 70 different breeds, 30 wolves, four coyotes and 35 prehistoric canid species from the Americas. [10 Breeds: What Your Dog Says About You]

They found that the Altai canid is more closely related to modern domestic dogs than to modern wolves, as its skull shape had previously suggested. That means that the Altai canid was an ancient dog, not an ancient wolf though it had likely diverged from the wolf line relatively recently, the researchers report Wednesdayin the journal PLOS ONE.

If the Altai dog was really domesticated, it would push back the origin of today's house pets more than 15,000 years and move the earliest domestication out of the Middle East or East Asia, as previous studies have suggested. However, the analysis was limited to only a portion of the genome, the researchers wrote.

The rest is here:
DNA suggests dogs were tamed 33,000 years ago

At the recent Who Do You Think You Are? Live roadshow in London, customers were offered a range of DNA tests claiming to determine whether they were related to Richard III or descended from Roman soldiers.

A warning about the accuracy of the tests was made by the Sense About Science campaign group, which said "such histories are either so general as to be personally meaningless or they are just speculation from thin evidence."

The warning was backed by a number of leading genetics experts. Steve Jones, Emeritus Professor of Human Genetics at UCL said: On a long trudge through history two parents, four great-grandparents, and so on very soon everyone runs out of ancestors and has to share them.

"As a result, almost every Briton is a descendant of Viking hordes, Roman legions, African migrants, Indian Brahmins, or anyone else they fancy.

His colleague Prof Mark Thomas said: "These claims are usually planted by the companies that provide these so-called tests and are not backed up by published scientific research. This is business, and the business is genetic astrology.

Tracey Brown, Director of Sense About Science added: Genetics researchers are telling us that you are better off digging around in your loft than doing a DNA ancestry test if you want to find out about your family tree."

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DNA ancestry tests branded 'meaningless'

6 March 2013 Last updated at 22:05 ET By Pallab Ghosh Science correspondent, BBC News

Scientists have described some services provided by companies tracing ancestry using DNA as akin to astrology.

Some test findings tell people that they have links to groups such as Vikings, to particular migrations of people and sometimes to famous figures such as Napoleon or Cleopatra

But researchers working with a campaign group say DNA tests cannot provide accurate information about ancestry.

Ancestry companies insist they are able to provide a valuable service.

Almost every Briton is a descendant of Viking hordes, Roman legions, African migrants, Indian Brahmins, or anyone else they fancy

An increasing number of companies are offering to profile the genetic history of individuals based on a DNA sample for around 200.

But in a public guide, published by Sense About Science, Prof David Balding and Prof Mark Thomas of University College London warn that such histories are either so general as to be "personally meaningless or they are just speculation from thin evidence".

The scientists say that genetic profiles cannot provide accurate information about an individual's ancestry.

They say "the genetic ancestry business uses a phenomenon well-known in other areas such as horoscopes, where general information is interpreted as being more personal than it really is".

Excerpt from:
DNA ancestry 'astrology' claim