# Does DNA Test Determine Fatherhood?

**URL:** <https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/does-dna-test-determine-fatherhood/6952>\
**Category:** Side Conversation\
**Tags:** Science, Article\
**Created:** [July 12, 2019, 2:30am UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/does-dna-test-determine-fatherhood/6952 "2019-07-12T02:30:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![swamidass](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/swamidass/32/3_2.png) [@swamidass](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/swamidass)\
**Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 2:30am UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/does-dna-test-determine-fatherhood/6952/1 "2019-07-12T02:30:47Z")

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> **[The Fraught Science of Fatherhood | RealClearScience](https://www.realclearscience.com/articles/2019/07/06/the_fraught_science_of_fatherhood_111031.html)**
>
> It was a Maury Povich-style drama decades before the talk-show era. In the early 1940s, actress Joan Berry claimed that Charlie Chaplin had sired her baby daughter, Carol Ann. Chaplin copped to...

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**Author:** ![Dan\_Eastwood](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/dan_eastwood/32/2368_2.png) [@Dan\_Eastwood](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Dan_Eastwood)\
**Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 8:19pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/does-dna-test-determine-fatherhood/6952/2 "2019-07-12T20:19:28Z")

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Modern methods are more rigorous, but still not without a few problems.

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**Author:** ![swamidass](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/swamidass/32/3_2.png) [@swamidass](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/swamidass)\
**Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 8:23pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/does-dna-test-determine-fatherhood/6952/3 "2019-07-12T20:23:01Z")

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Kinship does not equal ancestry.

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**Author:** ![Jordan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/jordan/32/756_2.png) [@Jordan](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Jordan)\
**Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 8:46pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/does-dna-test-determine-fatherhood/6952/4 "2019-07-12T20:46:10Z")

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Are you talking about the difference between “family” and “biological lineage” (i.e. adoptions, step-parents, etc.)?

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**Author:** ![swamidass](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/swamidass/32/3_2.png) [@swamidass](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/swamidass)\
**Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 8:47pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/does-dna-test-determine-fatherhood/6952/5 "2019-07-12T20:47:26Z")

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Yes that’s exactly it. Just because a man is your biological parent does not necessarily make him your father. Kinship is thicker than blood.

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**Author:** ![Jordan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/jordan/32/756_2.png) [@Jordan](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Jordan)\
**Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 9:10pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/does-dna-test-determine-fatherhood/6952/6 "2019-07-12T21:10:42Z")

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So I was thinking about this a little in the context of the book club discussion I had Wednesday about David Reich’s (and others) recent work as a “so what’s been happening since 2002?” update to _Mapping Human History_. With the explosion of DNA and [protein sequence](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/ancient-protein-sequencing/6813) information coming out, I can envision a “flip-flop” in our understanding of ancient history from archeological information that is largely behavior and cultural (garbage heaps seem to be a common treasure trove) to genetic information that provides biological linkages. Hopefully it means we gain a richer view of the past and what it means to be human, but I do worry a little about losing the idea of kinship and the importance of non-biological relationships in history.