Œh ^Jnrtlanò © bserucr March 29. 2006 Page A3 Unlocking Bloodline Mysteries con tin u ed fro m F ront profit that aim s to prom ote dialogue about new genetic research and its impact on p eo p le's lives. He said there are more than 1 ,(XX) genetic tests on the Internet, and this abundance o f quick answ ers to com plex q u estio n s has becom e problem atic - results can be highly variable and hard for the average person to understand. But what is most alanni ng about mai 1 order com ­ panies is how much DNA is float­ ing around the postal system. Earlier this month a public forum, conducted by students linked to G eneforum , discussed the poten­ tial risks o f sending DNA sam ples Field o f genetic genealogy. Family beyond the scope o f individual his­ Tree was the first w orldw ide co m ­ tory, it challenges accepted social pany to offer genetic tests, and beliefs. since 2000 th ey ’ve been "unearth­ “W e’re all 99.9 percent identical ing history" daily. T heirever-grow - at the genetic level," Fow ler said. ing database holds 57,148 Y chro­ "W e’re dissim ilar with that remain­ m osom e D NA (m ale) records and ing 1/10“’ percent.” 19,844 mitochondrial DNA(female) Jennifer Doncan, an English and records. social studies teacher at Jefferson Family T ree’s vice president o f High School, said the scientific ex ­ operatio n s M ax B lankfeld said plosion o f information has strength­ they’ve mailed hom e tests to 60,000 ened the minority perspective. people over the past five years. This year alone they expect 35,OOOclients to request kits, co n tain in g tw o brushes, tw o swabs and two vials. C lients are instructed to scrape the inside o f their cheek, where cells break loose with the most ease "T here was a social construct p erpetuated through the ed u ca­ tional system ,” she said. "N ow it’s very nice to have som ething we can point to and bring up the ques­ tion.” D oncan has follow ed how g e­ netic testing engages people in that respect. She coordinates and hosts Jefferson’s m ulticultural film festi­ val, held the first M onday each m onth at the school. Ingredients for life. Doncan said she’s not interested ternnnes a p erso n 's ability in an y ­ in mail order genetic tests, because thing intellectual. You c a n 't a c ­ she never had a doubt o f where she count for m otivation or success cam e from. However, she sees a sim ply by looking at a person." great benefit since the new expo­ Fow ler said despite the opportu­ sure is debunking racial myths. nities DNA provides, there is still “ Many anthropologists w orld­ m uch territory that we d o n 't under­ wide never supported the idea of stand. separate races, and now science "M urky waters lie in the analysis can say why they d id n ’t offer their o f genes,” he said. "The perception support,” she said. "T here is no is that your genes are you. T hey plethora o f characteristics that de- d o n ’t tell all o f your story." SAFEWAY Ö SPIOVS i* O cnsaj < photo by S arah B iount /T he P ortland O bserver Reference materials from the Black Resource Center at the North Portland Library, 512 N. Killingsworth St., offer tips on tracing your history. to com panies, w ho often give am ­ biguous privacy statem ents. A side from legal and privacy is­ sues, Fowler doesn’t find much fault in the technology, other than the incom plete picture it presents. He said accuracy is one o f the central issues in using D NA to trace roots. "They only focus on DNA from a m other’s or father’s line," he said. “ Depending on how the test is car­ ried out it, that may not give you an accurate view .” Fow ler said although results can be partial o r confusing, the value outw eighs the shortcom ings. “I think it’s a unique situation with groups like African A m eri­ cans,” he said. “They have a unique history and many identity issues based on that history. It’s not sur­ prising so many are utilizing these opportunities, it’s really rew riting their history.” Curiosity Fulfilled "Your ancestors left clues in your D N A .. .unlock your deep ancestral origins with DNA testing.” The statem ent above is found online at Family Tree DNA, a Hous­ ton-based firm that pioneered the and least pain. They mail their DNA to Fam ily Tree ($129 for fem ale clients and $159 for m ales), w ho sends the sw abs to a research lab with their partner in a jo in t venture at the U niversity o f Arizona. They draw a com parison betw een a clien t’s spe­ cific genetic m arkers and those o f others in the database. They notify the client if another person m atches their results perfectly. B ecau se o f a h ig h v o lu m e , B lankfeld said clients wait four to five w eeks before they receive re­ sults and a certificate by mail, along with a passw ord for inform ation on the clien t’s personal w eb page. T heir w ebsite says sam ples are kept in a secure, private and confi­ dential non-w eb-based genetic li­ brary for 25 years for a clien t’s exclusive use. Blankfeld said their research is limited to paternal and maternal lin­ eage, and clients seeking inform a­ tion betw een those specific lines need to provide genetic inform a­ tion on other fam ily members. A Paradigm Shift Remarkably, DNA testing moves To Go! -. 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