A documentary about DNA ancestry testing entitled Faces of America, hosted by well-known literacy critic Henry Louis Gates, Jr – who had recently blown the media with his arrest controversy; and featured a line of celebrities who have their genealogy examined including:

• Elizabeth Alexander
• Mario Batali
• Stephen Colbert
• Louise Erdrich
• Malcolm Gladwell
• Eva Longoria
• Yo-Yo Ma
• Mike Nichols
• Queen Noor
• Dr. Mehmet Oz
• Meryl Streep
• Kristi Yamaguchi

Watch the short trailer of Faces of America below:

Source: FacesofAmerica

Watch the whole episodes here.

via Psychology Today.

Picture courtesy of DeusXFlorida

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DNA Testing for Ancestry Documentary – Faces of America

We have been dependently relying on chicken for so many centuries as they are the main source of protein by providing meat and eggs. Let’s not talk about food now. Basically, chickens have been used to study human diseases but this time it has a more vital role for humans – as a biomedical model organism to study “lifestyle diseases” like obesity and diabetes.

You might be wondering why chickens were selected as the new biomedical model organism but not mice and rats. Here’s why:

According from The Scientist:

There are other reasons why chickens, which have already been used to study epilepsy, autoimmune diseases, and the human pigment disorder vitiligo, make good biomedical models, Kuenzel said. For one thing, he noted, like humans, chickens are bipedal, diurnal organisms (unlike mice and rats). Also, embryonic development in chickens takes place largely outside the mother’s body in eggs, making studying that process easier than in placental mammals. “The beauty of the chicken is that you can follow the development and do very detailed expression studies during development,” said Andersson.

Find out more about the biomedical model organism research here.

Picture courtesy of law_keven

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Chicken DNA Sequencing For New Biomedical Model Organism to Study Human Lifestyle Diseases

Most people think science – particularly DNA testing and art do not really get along as they are belong to two different worlds. Nonetheless, seven playwrights have carried out a DNA test and written a play about their DNA test results. It is an articulate way to bring DNA testing in theatre – known as the The DNA Trail.

Perhaps it’s time for playwrights to get the right science resources for their writing (I would suggest DNAmazing as one of their resources)

Watch this clip and listen to their insights about DNA testing:

Source: SilkRoadTheatre

If you’re curious about the play – watch this selected scenes from the play below:

Source: SilkRoadTheatre

via Chicago Tribune

Pictures courtesy of Silk Road Theatre Project

Download your free 26-page ebook: Common Guide For DNA Testing Beginners

When DNA Testing Becomes a Play – The DNA Trail