Genetics/Questions Answered by Expert Darren Raffety
| Subject | Date Asked |
| eye color | 11/13/2009 |
| Q: Recently I heard that 2 brown-eyed people can not have a child with blue eyes. I have also heard ... A: Your right to be confused having heard so much contradictory advise! Thank you very much for the ... | |
| Cleft chins on newborns. | 11/11/2009 |
| Q: I'm 6 months pregnant with a boy. My boyfriend has a cleft chin, though neither of his parents have ... A: Yes it is entirely possible. There are two genes responsible for a cleft chin. One of those genes ... | |
| DNA | 11/7/2009 |
| Q: Either by observation or testing, does DNA give any indication of the passage of time? A: Fantastic question! There isn't actually a correct answer as of yet, still highly debated. ... | |
| Chin dimple & rolling tounges | 11/6/2009 |
| Q: We had a daughter who has a chin dimple (as does my hiusband). He is under the impression that all ... A: I can understand where the doubt is coming from and this is a much asked question. Firstly, ... | |
| question please | 11/3/2009 |
| Q: I have a quick question can DNA tests for paternity ever be wrong? Assuming no tampering,expert ... A: I'm trying hard not to reach any conclusions on whom is telling the truth ect and I'm a little ... | |
| Question on clif chins | 11/3/2009 |
| Q: My boyfriend and I had a baby with a clif chin.He said it is not possible that my son is his because ... A: To obtain a cleft chin, there are two genes required. One of those genes codes for the proteins that ... | |
| skin tone | 11/3/2009 |
| Q: i am having my 3rd baby with my husband. we don't know if its a girl or boy yet. but we keep ... A: Hey Alecia, Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to predict any characteristic of your baby, ... | |
| Cofused about brown/brown eyes haveing a blue eyed baby | 11/1/2009 |
| Q: Ok so ive been searching everywhere for an answer to this question can a person who has brown eye ( ... A: I understand your confusion! Eye colour is actually controlled by at least 6 different genes. The ... | |
| what will our baby girl look like?? | 10/31/2009 |
| Q: hello im 7 months pregnant i hav dirty blonde straight hair with greenish blue eyes and fair skin my ... A: It really is impossible to determine the characteristics of an unborn child. This is because any ... | |
| eye color | 10/30/2009 |
| Q: I am pregnant and hoping that our child will get my blue eyes, not that my husbands brown aren't ... A: Hey Erin, You're right that it is the luck of the draw! Unfortunately, eye colour is determined ... | |
| question please | 10/29/2009 |
| Q: I have a quick question can DNA tests for paternity ever be wrong? Assuming no tampering,expert ... A: Its a difficult situation however, mosaic twins are not only extremely rare but will still have some ... | |
| eye colouring | 10/29/2009 |
| Q: if a mother and father both have blue eyes is it possible for there baby to have brown eyes or ... A: Eye colour is determined by more than one gene so it doesn't automatically follow that their baby ... | |
| question please | 10/28/2009 |
| Q: I have a quick question can DNA tests for paternity ever be wrong? Assuming no tampering,expert ... A: There are two situations to consider in paternity tests relating to accuracy. In a situation where ... | |
| balanced translocation and cancer | 10/27/2009 |
| Q: I was wondering if there was an increase in incidence of ALL in patients with the t(5;14) balanced ... A: There has been growing evidence of a link between ALL and the t(5;14) balanced translocation for ... | |
| Twins!! | 10/26/2009 |
| Q: My twin is male an he has two kids but they are not twins. My father is a identical twin as well as ... A: It is almost impossible to determine whether you're going to have twins or not or whether they would ... | |
| Is this possible? | 10/24/2009 |
| Q: Okay my boyfriends parents are mexican but his mom is light skinned, brown hair, and brown ... A: This is perhaps the most interesting side of genetics for most people. Inheritance of genetic ... | |
| Evolutionary genetic mutation | 10/23/2009 |
| Q: My understanding of evolutionary change is that it relies on mutations to occur, these more ... A: Hey Jason, Thanks for a very in depth question! Your correct in your assessment that, in most ... | |
Answers by Expert:
Darren Raffety
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can answer questions relating to molecular genetics, specifically the roles that genes play in both health and disease in mammalian cells. I am also able to answer with relation to experimental organisms (e.g. S. pombe and S. cerevisiae) that are widely used in the biochemistry of genetics. I am knowledgable in the history of genetics ranging from the start (widely accepted to be Mendel, although his work was ignored for many years after his death). I can't answer questions directly relating to an individuals disorder only to give a general overview of widely accepted and experimentally proven concepts and theories. It is also impossible to determine the characteristics of an unborn child based on the phenotypes of the parents.
Experience
4 years educational experience at 2 UK Universities
Organizations
Instituate of Biomedical Sciences
University of Sussex
Education/Credentials
BSc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences (University of Brighton)
MSc Genetic Manipulation and Molecular Cell Biology (University of Sussex)
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