Can you get DNA from nail-clippings or urine/faeces?

Question

(Watching too much CSI recently).

Answer 1

Saliva, skin cells, bone, teeth, tissue, urine, feces, and a host of other biological specimens, all of which may be found at crime scenes, are all sources of DNA. Saliva may be found in chewing gum and on cigarette butts, envelopes, and possibly drinking cups. Fingernail scrapings from an assault victim or a broken fingernail left at the scene by the perpetrator may also be useful DNA evidentiary specimens. Even hatbands and other articles of clothing may yield DNA. DNA testing of urine is becoming common to establish whether a particular individual is truly the source of the specimen in which illegal drugs have been identified. The array of evidence that can be found at crime scenes and subjected to DNA testing suggests its unrealized potential. For despite the abundance of evidence, and despite the advantages of DNA testing, little of this evidence is recovered from crime scenes, less is submitted to crime labs, and still less is analyzed.

Answer 2

You can, but it's not the best source of DNA (in a criminal investigation, I suppose you work with what you have, but... ewww..) The problem with fingernails is that if they're really clean, there probably won't be any DNA -- nails are just keratin, a protein that your body produces. Any DNA found there would be from skin cells that have been scraped off when you scratch yourself. Kind of the same deal with feces or urine -- there may be a few epithelial cells that get sloughed off in the process of waste elimination, but they'll be dead and potentially partially degraded (they're coming from inside your digestive tract, after all), so it's questionable whether you'd get useful genetic data from any cells you manage to find there. Really, a blood sample or cheek swab is the best source of DNA.

Answer 3

Yes, anything from your body contains your DNA. Don't you watch Law and Order and CSI? LOL.

Answer 4

Depends on WHAT DNA you are looking for. Fingernails & Hair normally only contain Mitochondrial DNA MtDNA).
It can provide blood line from the Mother, but that's it. Can not give a full or nuclear DNA

Answer 5

No, u cannnot obtain a DNA sample from nails,urine or feces
U see, DNA is found in CELLS...any body tissue(collection of cells) or body part(collection of tissues) can easily give u a DNA sample cuz these things contain DNA. Neither urine nor hair is composed of cells....they're just waste products excreted from our bodies. Nails are made of a protein called keratine...so they can't provide one with a dna sample.

BTW, most tv shows obtain dna evidence from blood stains (on cloths or things....cuz blood contains blood cells) and from semen (with contains sperm)

PS: CSI rocks =D

Answer 6

Of course you can,ant part of the human body and all that comes out of it cotains DNA.

Answer 7

Not personally. You can postpone going to the Post Office, thanks.

However, there are agencies who can do this ...though quite why you should want this and what you'd do with the results.....!

Can you not find a more interesting (or useful) hobby then?

Best of luck(!)
Sash.

Answer 8

Yes. The whole theory is we cant go anywhwere without taking something away or leaving something behind.

Answer 9

yup! you can get DNA off any part of yur body as you are made up of cells which all have DNA

Answer 10

YES WHEN YOU GO IN FOR A PISS TEST IT ONLY CHECK BACK AS FARE AS A 30-40 DAYS BUT IF THEY TAKE NAIL CLIPPINGS OR HAIR THEY CAN TEST BACK SEVERAL YEARS!!!