Tag Archives | dna testing

DNA Testing Reveals Six-Inch “Alien Ata” Skeleton To Be Human

By on April 26, 2013 in News 0

alien ataThe tiny being found in the desert turns out to be human, but is still quite puzzling. Via the Huffington Post:

The mummified remains of what looks like a 6-inch space alien has turned “Sirius” into the most eagerly awaited documentary among UFO enthusiasts. The findings, however, might come as a disappointment.

Filmmakers claimed the documentary would reveal that the DNA of the creature with an oversized alien-looking head couldn’t be medically classified. In fact, the film, which premiered Monday, features a scientist who concluded the little humanoid was human.

“I can say with absolute certainty that it is not a monkey. It lived to the age of six to eight. It calls into question how big the thing might have been when it was born,”said Garry Nolan, director of stem cell biology at Stanford University’s School of Medicine in California.

The remains of the small humanoid, nicknamed Ata, were discovered in Chile’s Atacama Desert 10 years ago.

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Supreme Court Considers Whether Government Has Right To Log DNA Samples Of Anyone Arrested

By on March 5, 2013 in News 15

Does your arrest allow the government to access your genetic information? Conservatives, and the Obama administration, say yes. Via CNN:

The U.S. Supreme Court offered a surprising amount of concern about states laws allowing police to collect a DNA sample of anyone arrested — but not yet convicted — of serious crimes. A ruling will be issued within a few months, and could have wide-reaching implications in the rapidly evolving technology surrounding criminal procedure.

Privacy rights groups [say] the state’s “trust us” promise not to abuse the technology does not ease their concerns that someone’s biological makeup could soon be applied for a variety of non-criminal purposes.

“There is something inherently dangerous about DNA collection that is not the same as fingerprinting,” said Justice Sonia Sotomayor. “How far do we let the state go each time it has some form of custody over you in schools, in workplaces, wherever else the state has control over your person?”

And civil liberties groups worry inadequate DNA testing by overwhelmed lab technicians can lead to errors, such as the one that sent Dwayne Jackson to prison for armed robbery.

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On A Future Saliva DNA Test For One’s Sexual Orientation

By on November 29, 2012 in News 12

One wonders, in the near future, will employees, clergy, teachers, and politicians catering to conservative Christians undergo genetic testing to prove that they don’t possess “gay genes”? Dystopianism via the Advocate:

As testing organizations, particularly 23andMe, the largest and most popular DNA analysis service, grow their databases, consumers are learning many more things about their lives, including — soon — if there’s a genetic root to their sexual orientation.

23andMe initiated its sexual orientation project about six months ago, and researchers are hoping that tens of thousands of LGBT folks take the genetic test and fill out the accompanying survey — the information from which allows 23andMe to see patterns among, for example, gay men or transgender women. Several thousand people have participated in the survey so far, though few identify as transgender. As soon as the company has a big enough sample, it plans to make those results public, regardless of where they lead.

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