The World's Premier Home Paternity Testing Service

An Asian health publication reports that a Singaporean company is offering DNA testing that claims to predict a child’s genetic predisposition to certain skills, such as intelligence, emotional quotient (EQ) and entrepreneurship. It is also offering another test to determine susceptibility to over 100 genetic diseases.

Personal genetic testing has been gaining attention in the media this year, with companies offering genome scanning services or direct to consumer testing for specific inherited diseases. Many concerns have been raised about access to genetic information, particularly when it comes to medical genetics, without the benefit of a genetic counselor or medical professional.

The topic of DNA testing for aptitude and talent in areas of intelligence and sports is even more controversial. The factors affecting such characteristics are complex and diverse, notwithstanding the effect of the environment. The article cites geneticist Peter Scambler, who noted that “On an individual basis, it is not possible to identify whether a child would be predisposed to possess certain talents. One must also keep in mind that a gene accounts for only 2 to 3 per cent of the variation in, say, athletic performance.”

UPDATE: Eye on DNA posts this comment, including links to related science blog discussions on the topic.

A CNN article reports that DNA testing on a shark pup carried by a female blacktip shark proved that the pup was the product of parthenogenesis, a phenomenon observed in nature in which a female bears offspring without the involvement of a male member of the species. Using methods similar to a human DNA paternity test, scientists compared the DNA profiles of the mother and pup and found that both had exactly the same DNA profile. Normally, only half of the pup’s DNA is from the mother, and half comes from its father’s DNA.

The mother, dubbed “Tidbit,” was caught in the wild when she was very young and reached sexual maturity in a tank at the Virginia Aquarium in Virginia Beach, where she lived for eight years. During the entire time of her captivity, there were no other male blacktip sharks in the tank. Unfortunately, Tidbit died during a routine medical exam, and it was during the examination that the nearly-full term pup was found inside her womb.

Tidbit’s case is the only the second in which the “virgin birth” phenomenon was observed and proven via DNA testing. The first case involved a hammerhead shark born in a Nebraska zoo in 2001.

A new film about Italian composer Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) has revealed that he may have a second living descendant, Nadia Manfredi, who has asked for a DNA test to find out the truth.

Puccini composed many of the frequently-performed operas in musicians’ standard repertoires today, including La Bohéme, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly. Like the passionate dramas his operas portrayed, his own life (particularly his love life) has not been bereft of intrigue. The new film, titled “Puccini e la Fanciulla” (Puccini and the Girl), which premiered at the Venice film festival, suggests he had an affair with a maidservant’s cousin, Giulia Manfredi. Manfredi’s granddaughter, Nadia Manfredi, is now seeking to prove this relationship through a DNA test.

In 1978, Simonetta Pucini, currently the only living heir to Puccini’s estate and legacy, won a legal battle to prove that she was the illegitimate daughter of Puccini’s son Antonio. She inherited most of his estate, including a villa in Torre del Lago, which is now a museum and archive. With the news of another possible new heir, she has asked local residents to sign a petition to protect his memory from what she dismisses as local gossip.