3 November 2005
Following the trend to find long-lost friends and family online, a 15 year-old boy has managed to track down his father with just a DNA sample.
According to reports in the New Scientist magazine, a young American boy used an online DNA-testing service to track down his unknown father.
By sending off a sample of his own DNA, the website then matched his Y chromosome against their records of Y-chromosomes from other men.
He was then contacted by two men whose Y-chromosomes were so similar to his, there was at least a 50 per cent chance they shared the same fathers and grandfathers.
He then used another genealogy website and armed with just a place and date of birth and a surname, he managed to track down his genetic father.
According to the New Scientist, the two have made amicable contact.
The incident is an exceptional example of the growing interest in the web as a medium to discover your family history and reunite with old friends.
Just last month the website, Friends Reunited.com, became involved in a bidding war with major companies such as ITV and BT showing an interest in the site.
The site has recorded profits of almost £6.5 million this year and expects this to climb to £8 million in 2006.
The company, set up by a husband and wife team, has spawned hundreds on friendships, marriages, affairs and the odd divorce during its five-year existence.
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