Get A DNA Sample From Almost Anything

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted June 6, 2007 in DNA Fun, DNA Testing

So-called “DNA vampires” stalk people for DNA and they can pretty much filch anyone’s personal property to get it. Kate Moss’s unofficial biographer, Fred Vermorel, claims that he obtained her underwear, sent it in for DNA analysis, and learned that she had Scottish ancestry. (Big whoop dee doo.)

Here are some other specimens from which you can extract DNA:

• Sweaty t-shirts
• Undergarments
• Semen stains
• Vaginal stains
• Paper or plastic cup
• Glass
• Ear wax
• Fingernail clippings
• Socks
• Urine
• Licked stamps
• (Inner) cheek swabs
• Hair with roots
• Dried blood
• Whole blood
• Chewed gum
• Dental floss
• Cigarette butts
• Used tissue [boy, have I got a lot of these!]
• Dried skin
• Used razor
• Other biological specimens [I shudder to think]

Just to give you some more ideas, every once in a while celebrity DNA turns up on eBay in the form of corn dogs (Britney Spears and Kevin Federline), hair (Marilyn Monroe), gum (Jessica Simpson), and cream puffs (Matt Damon). There’s even a site that supposedly cells celebrity skin and bodily fluids. Jack Black’s fecal matter is going for $92.00. (Not sure how much fecal matter you get for that price.) And sadly, bacteria from Burt Reynolds is currently out of stock. FYI, Celebrity Skin is supplied by former Hollywood personal assistants. Better make sure your next personal assistant isn’t a DNA vampire.

Source of list: GeneTree DNA Testing Laboratory (no affiliation)

Tags: genetics, genes, dna, genome, genomics, sample, celebrities, britney spears, jessica simpson, matt damon

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7 Comments

Comment by David Bradley

2007-06-08 23:59:47

You’re going to get all sorts of odd characters hitting your blog now that you’ve created that list of sources…hope you realize.

db

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Pingback by 100 Facts About DNA

2007-08-20 11:04:26

[...] can be extracted from many different types of samples: blood, cheek cells, [...]

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Pingback by Eye on DNA Headlines for 28 August 2007 and a Poll on DNA Storage

2007-08-28 09:39:51

[...] DNA from strangers for genealogical purposes, “discreet” paternity testing, or other nefarious purposes? This doesn’t include DNA collected for neonatal genetic screening or criminal [...]

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Pingback by DNA Ranks Number One!

2007-10-27 12:42:16

[...] Britney Spears DNA “corn dogs” yields Get a DNA Sample from Almost Anything [...]

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Pingback by How to Clean DNA Off a Knife

2007-11-21 14:06:38

[...] November 21, 2007 in DNA and the Law As most of us are now aware from many episodes of CSI, you can get DNA off of most anything. Because this is the case, if you’re contemplating a crime, you should think twice. Chances [...]

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Comment by jules

2008-05-15 23:08:42

can u get a DAN sample from just natural skin falling on the ground. since your milions of skin flakes are coming of your skin every second , is it possible to get a DNA sample from 1?

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Pingback by guacariduit » Blog Archive » 100 Facts About DNA

2008-05-26 16:53:23

[...] can be extracted from many different types of samples: blood, cheek cells, [...]

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