G -Z
Gene
A gene as a region of the DNA which carries information for a certain hereditary charactersistic. The region where the gene is located is called a DNA or genetic locus (see below).
Gene Locus
A gene locus is simply the position of gene on the DNA. The different variants of a gene are called alleles (see above). The alleles are on the same locus.
Legal Father/ Legal Paternity
The man being acknowledged by law is the legal father. From this the following legal consequences derive: he has parental care/ custody for the child, he has maintenance obligations and is responsible for the child’s education. Legal paternity is automatically given to the husband of the mother, if the child is borne within a marriage. Yet, he does not have to be the biological father and he does not necessarily take over social paternity.
Marker
A DNA marker is a short DNA region used for genotyping a person. A marker can have many different alleles.
Objection to Paternity
Once paternity has been acknowledged (see above), objection to paternity is only possible by filing a legal complaint at the family court. The complainant files the law suit under the assumption, that he is not the biological father of the child.
Parentage analysis
In a parentage analysis the relationship of at least two persons are determined using a DNA test.
Parental care/ Custody
By German law for a child born within a marriage both partners will have shared parental care/ custody over the child. If the parents are not married, they can give a formal letter of intent that they have shared parental care. The mother can only share parental custody with the biological father, if she is not married with someone else.
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
This reaction is used to amplify the DNA regions need for generating a DNA profile. The DNA has two strands which are melted and with the help of starter molecules certain regions on each strand are copied. Thus the information is duplicated. in the next round of amplification these copies will again be copied and so on. Therefor only small amounts of DNA are needed as starting material for a DNA test.
Proof of Identity
For a DNA test a proof of identity is mandatory. The sampler hast to check the identity of each participant when taking the samples. The sampler (a GP or medical doctor or any other authorized person) will document that the identity of the participants has been confirmed by himself when taking of the sample. The documented taking of the sample is also called witnessed taking of the sample.
Social Father
Social paternity is characterised by the emotional and caring relationship between father and child. The social father does not have to be the man who sired the child. He can be genetically unrelated to the child. Social paternity may be the case when the mother enters a new relationship. The social father has no legal obligations and this kind of paternity needs no acknowledgement by jurisdiction, but it is important for the well-being of the child.
Test kit
Our test kit for your DNA tests is free of charge. It contains all necessary documents, a pre-labelled and pre-paid envelope for sending the samples back to us und the swabs for taking the samples as well as sample envelopes for storage of samples.
Trio Case
If both parents and the child are participating in the test, it is called a trio case. (see also deficiency case)
Zygosity, Twin Zygosity Test
Through a twin zygosity test we can determine if your twins are identical or fraternal twins. The difference of these two types of twins lays in their DNA. Identical, or monozygotic, twins result from a single sperm which then fertilises a single ovum. Dicygotic twins result from two sperm cells which fertilise two egg cells. These do not possess the same DNA even though they develop as "twins" in the womb. From a biological point of view their DNA can be seen as sibling DNA with no more difference or similarity between them than in any other brother or sister.
