can you determine race by looking at someone's DNA?
139354
All great answers.\nIt is nearly impossible to determine race.  \n\nAnalyzing DNA in a petri dish you would be able to determine probably eye color, probably hair color, and some other identifying informaton. But not race. You could link to some degree of certainty the sample to a known population, but not with enough specifity to hold up in court.\n\nIn general, we as a species are all very similar. Distinct culture and populations have some unique traits that repeat due to the closed nature of that society but as a species we work out genetically to be quite the same. \n\nThink of it this way. If an alien came to Earth, took random samples of people from all over, they would conclude we are all the same. That any variations in structure or color must be normal variety in the genome.
602863
Scientifically, yes.  Negroid, Caucausion, and Asian are the three categories identified by Anthropologists.  Also note "Human populations do vary biologically in many ways, but it is important to realize that few of these ways are correlated with each other."  The three categories were established at the beginning of Anthropology (it's only abou 150 years old as a science)...Presently, many anthropologists point out that the differences between black/caucasian/asian's exist, but when put on a spectrum, you couldn't tell the difference from one to the next because the changes are so slight.  Egypt is a good example, in the south, they're darker, in the north, they're lighter skinned.  What are they?  They exhibit many bone structures of both caucasians and negroid.  They live on the continent of Africa... hhmmm?  \n\nso, first I had to debunk the whole caucasian thing to begin with...it exists only as a marker for science, not in reality...\n\nbut...by using that marker, most people from the country of Mexico exhibit caucasian traits in their skeletal structure.  I didn't know this until my best friends mom told me they were caucasian.  I said "what?  I don't follow"...and she said Latinos are considered cacasoid.  Hard Liberal Arts and Science Educated Latinos will know as much (i.e, if you majored in music in college, you probably didn't get this lecture).  \n\nPolitically:\nPeople of Mexican descent are considered "caucasian of hispanic descent" (go look at any government form).  Hispanic is a term derived by politicians in the late 1940's early 1950's to describe people the spoke Spanish as having descended from Spain; however, the politically correct word for people from this area of the world is Latino --- being of/from Latin America.  \n\nby the way...most mexicans have both indegenous blood and European blood...a mix...Look at people from Spain...they're not all dark, most of them are very "white".\n\nHope this helped some!\n\nGrab a cultural anthro book on race, you'll find plenty more.
796615
Blood type is not going to prove much of anything, since most populations have a mix of blood types. Some blood types are more common or rare in certain populations. In Asian populations, rH negative blood is about six times more rare than it is in the US, for instance. \n\nThe DNA tests used by the National Geographic Genographic Project will look at mitochondrial DNA for females, and will test either the Y-chromosone or mitochondrial DNA for males. In other words, you can test for the maternal ancestry of your mother's mother.  Guys can also test for the paternal ancestry of their father's father, but not for the ancestry of your father's mother. If your father tests his own mitochondrial DNA, or if his sister or sister's daughter did, you could find out about the ancestry of your father's mother. Perhaps if you offered to pay, they will provide the cells!\n\nYou pay about USD100 to order a testing kit. They send you a couple of cheek swabs--which are like a cross between a Q-tip and a toothbrush. You scrape some cells off the inside of your cheek, put the top of the swabs in vials, mark them with your code and send them in. \n\nA website tells you where your DNA sample is in the testing process when you enter your code. About two months after you send the swabs in, the website will tell you what haplotype was found in your DNA, and what they know about where your ancestors were 30 or 40 thousand years ago. \n\nThere are a few Native American haplotypes, and I wondered if my 18th century Georgia colony ancestors would turn out to have one of those. My results combined with my known genealogy suggest that my maternal ancestry came out of Africa through Central Europe and Scandinavia, invaded the British Isles as Vikings, and crossed the Atlantic as colonists.\n\nI happened to find this out the day before I took a ferry from Britain to the smaller island where my Viking/Scottish ancestors on my father's side lived 500 years ago. In between my maternal and paternal lines are a lot of French and Germans, even a woman who may have been Powhatan. But with my surname on one side and my DNA showing a similar heritage on the other, I have a pretty strong sense of ancestral identity now.
757401
Yes, start with your blood type....for example 0+,\n\nnow check your siblings (brother & sisters)\nnow check your parents....and see who's blood everyone has!\n\nNow check your grandparents, and/or your aunts...if available.\nIt's amazing how many people do not know what their blood type is!
988094
This is about as close as I can get you. Good luck\nhttp://www.genetree.com/product/dna-test-collection.asp
916912
Mestizo. (Mixed European- White and American Indian.) It's not technically a race, but it tells who they are genetically.
235952
Its true that melanin controls the color of the skin, but I assume you are asking the entire genetic difference.  First, there is no definition in science for a black or white person, and even individuals would differ in what they consider dark enough to be black, or light enough to be white- But even assuming you had a definition, based on how dark a person is, there isnt any clear genetic difference.  In fact, people from Ethiopia and Somalia are more closely related to European caucasians then they are to west African tribes.  Extremely dark people from the Indian subcontinent are closely related to Europeans, and are genetically considered nearly identical-Native Australians are not very closely related (relatively speaking) to African blacks.  The skin color of a person is only one aspect of thousands of characteristics-it just happens to be one that we can easily see.  If you look at blood types, certain african groups are more closely related to Ethnic Slavs than the slavs are to other European groups (even though the slavs "look" like other Europeans)- this is only one example of many that have been found...what a person looks like appears to have very little to do with genetic relatedness.
695792
DNA profiling is used in courts of law to ascertain whether a person's DNA matches the DNA obtained from samples or pieces of legal evidence such as blood stains or hairs.  It also can be used to identify a crime victim or a child's biological parents, to determine whether two people have a common ancestor or in research (to study evolutionary relationships).\nhope i helped =)
680106
In criminal cases, this generally involves obtaining samples from crime-scene evidence and a suspect, extracting the DNA, and analyzing it for the presence of a set of specific DNA regions (markers).\n\nScientists find the markers in a DNA sample by designing small pieces of DNA (probes) that will each seek out and bind to a complementary DNA sequence in the sample. A series of probes bound to a DNA sample creates a distinctive pattern for an individual. Forensic scientists compare these DNA profiles to determine whether the suspect's sample matches the evidence sample. A marker by itself usually is not unique to an individual; if, however, two DNA samples are alike at four or five regions, odds are great that the samples are from the same person.\n\nIf the sample profiles don't match, the person did not contribute the DNA at the crime scene.
992028
go to MAURY POVICH and get a DNA TEST, to be for sure
101925
it would be difficult to judge solely from physical characteristics. \n\ntry researching your genealogy (your family tree).
570150
the only way to determine your percentage is through geneology.\n\nDNA tests cannot provide enough information to 'proove' anything as far as nationality goes.
851889
It can be linked to a specific person because of the DNA \nin it.
625549
looking for relatives via DNA
16328
DNA testing can be pretty accurate, but it depends on how many sequences they test.  If you read my test procedure explanation you will understand why DNA is used.\n\nFirst, Carbohydrates and lipids are pretty much identical between all people.  A few people have metabolic disorders that result in a build up of certain carbs, but generally it would be useless to test for the specific carb or lipid present, because they are the same for everyone.\n\nProteins do differ among people, but not as much as DNA does.  DNA provides the information telling ribosomes how to put proteins together in people, but only a small portion of DNA is ever tranlsated to protein.  Most of your DNA is junk, and the big DNA differences between two people are in this junk DNA, so that is what is used for DNA testing.\n\nThis is an explanation of how it is typically done:\n\nThe way DNA testing works is by measuring the lengths of DNA segments between two endonuclease cleavage sites.  An endonuclease is an enzyme that will cleave DNA at a particular sequence of bases.  Some specific cleavage sites exist in the DNA of all people.  In between two specific cleavage sites, you may have a sequence of tandem repeat DNA.  For example le us say your DNA looks like this:\n(Cleave) gene1-TGTGTGTGTGTG-gene2 (Cleave)\nWe will denote this length of tandem repeat segment as (TG)6.  My DNA may have a tandem repeat segment may be (TG)10, in which case the segment of DNA between the two cleavage points is longer for me than it is for you.  This additional length also makes it heavier.\n\nNow let us make a suspend lots of copies of this particular segment of your DNA in a fluid and make another suspension with my DNA.  \n\nLet us also say that we know that everyone has a sequence of TG repeats at least 6 repeats long.  The complement to this sequence is:\nACACACACACAC -> (AC)6\nWe could create a radio labelled (AC)6 probe and sprinkle it into the suspension with your DNA, the suspension with my DNA, and a suspension with unknown DNA.  This probe would bind to the DNA in all three solutions, but my DNA segment would still be heavier than yours, because it contains 10 repeats, even if only 6 are bound to the probe.\n\nWe now place some of the suspension of your DNA at a point on an adsorbent surface.  The suspnsion will travel along the surface, but at some point the DNA will stick to the surface.  If it is heavier it will stick sooner.  With good equipment all DNA of a certain length will stick at the same spot (or short line)\n\nSince my DNA is heavier than yours, mine will travel less far.  The unknown DNA will travel either as far as your DNA does or as far as my DNA does, and that will tell whose DNA it is.\n\nThe way you view the DNA on the adsorbent surface is with a film that will darken when exposed to our radio labelled probe.  You place this film on top of the adsorbent bed with the DNA samples and three small spots (or short lines) will show.  The distance the unknown DNA travelled in comparison to your DNA and mine tells us whose DNA it is.\n\nInvestigators do this with evidence; only they use many different tandem repeat segments scattered throughout the genome.  The more segments used, the lower the probability of a coincidence.
1128357
The best way to trace maternal ancestry is through Mitochondrial DNA. It is only passed down throught the mother and therefore much less intergrated than "normal" DNA.\n\nThey have used this technique to find the origins of the first "Eve" as it were. So its definitely possible.
925661
What a fascinating question.  I'm no geneticist, so take my words with such forewarning.\n\nI think if one were to closely look at human evolution, one would find a different degree in evolutionary history.  \n\nHow does one best differentiate the degree between races? That is not so debatable. Most scientist, today, do not recognize race.\n\nOnce upon a time they did it with "discernible" qualities based on "eyeball" measurements.  \n\nSkin color demonstrates this old fashioned method quite well.  And still, it counts for something, despite its inaccuracy.  \n\nOur world wide communication has increased, and people of different skin colors have discussed (and seem to agree) that human nature seems to be same, no matter where we are.  \n\nThere are good and bad people out there, despite the preponderance of race you live amongst.  \n\nThis could be comforting in the sense that no race is better than the other,  or discomforting in the sense that there will always be "different" people out there, no matter where you live.\n\nThe debate on "degree" of human evolution, in my humble opinion, should be viewed in light of the environment in which the human is required to adapt to.\n\nYes the degree of evolution among Humans is different, and so is the environment in which Humans live in.\n\nA current trend for scientist is to observe closely the Human genome and how it may or may not change within different situations.\n\nI suppose the phrase of "genetic adaptation" is appropriate to use here.\n\nSpecifically, I'm thinking of the adaptation of the Human gene 'hemoglobin' has gone through, in an attempt allow Humans to survive.  \n\nIn some environments Plasmodium parasitism has changed the degree of evolution by favoring the level of genetic adaptation in those with an altered (or evolved?) globin genes.  Having those altered genes in an an environment where Plasmodium is prevalent is a plus. (Please google "genes, hemoglobin, parasites, Africa).\n\nHaving those altered globin genes in a part of the world where Plasmodium is NOT prevalent might mark you as different.  Just like skin color.\n\nI sometimes wonder if race might better be described by historic ability to survive genetic insults.  \n\nDo you have an Alu element in NM_94327343?\n\nOr better yet, are you evolving differently because your Alu element at NM_94327343 is no longer methylated?\n\nTake home points: (1) Skin color is not a current basis of race.  (2) Environment suggestively role-plays in our differences during Human evolution.  (3) According to experts every time the sperm and egg "dance", there is an opportunity for a degree for evolution (Sorry I didn't expound on this in my answer, but it can be googled.  Try 'XX', 'XY', 'meiosis' as a point in a good direction).  (4) There are probably other reasons that Humans evolve to different degrees, and they might be unmeasurable at the moment. However, current standard genetic measures on "old" populations seems to say "yes, there are degrees of difference in human evolution".  \n\nI had a lot of fun thinking about your question.  I can't wait to see your other replies regarding this topic.  Don't forget to pass on your good Karma!