Professor Turi King

Professor Turi King discusses the results of a scientific paper about the evolution of hearing, which explores the combined impact of biological and environmental factors on how our ears respond to sound. The study was the brainchild of Dr. Patricia Balaresque who got really interested in the different factors, such as our sex or environment, that might have shaped our hearing sensitivity. This groundbreaking study, ‘Sex, and Environment Shape Cochlear Sensitivity in Human Populations Worldwide,’ is published in Scientific reports. It was led by Dr Patricia Balaresque at the Centre for Biodiversity and Environmental Research (CRBE) in Toulouse, supported by the Eco-Anthropology unit (EA-CNRS Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle / University of Paris) and the Toulouse Institute of Research in Computer Science (IRIT-CNRS / University of Toulouse) and others.

In the last 50 years, the number of single parent households in the UK has almost quadrupled to 23%. 43-year-old Sarah never met here dad and came to DNA Family Secrets to see if he could be found.

91-year-old Jean was evacuated in World War II. She never saw her mother again and was told that she died before the war ended. She appeared on series three of DNA Family Secrets to try and find out if the stories about her mother’s death were true.

Professor Daniel Panne discusses his work looking at the structure of chromosomes.

Jackie is one of over three million children orphaned during World War II, for nearly 60 years, he and his wife Lita have been searching for any information about his past.

Geneticist Professor Turi King shares her views on donor anonymity in response to the HFEA (Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority) opening a consultation on UK fertility law.

Nearly 1 in 12 children, in the 1970s, were raised by a single parent. 52-year-old Richard has always wanted to know the identity of his father and wondered if testing his DNA could finally give him some answers.

Triplets, David, Philip, and Peter were adopted when they were four years old and had never known the identity of their birth father. They hoped appearing on DNA Family Secrets and having their DNA analysed could solve the mystery of their ethnicity.

Professor Turi King discusses the history of Sudeley Castle with it’s archivist, Derek Maddock.

A UK law, passed on April 1 2005, means anyone conceived from a donated sperm, egg, or embryo, can find out the identity of their donor parent once they reach adulthood. But thanks to at-home DNA testing, many donor-conceived people are already uncovering their biological origins, in what can be an emotionally difficult process.

Around three-quarters of a million people in the UK are adopted, but before the law changed in 1975, most adoptees never knew the identity of their birth parents. Margaret was adopted when she was just six months old, ”My mum and dad tried for family, but it wasn’t successful, so they went to see the priest and the priest put them in touch with the adoption agency in Southport. Southport and Liverpool a lot of Irish ladies came over, for the adoption. So, I’ve made up this story that she was an Irish lady, she came over had me and probably went back to Ireland.”

Hands up who likes brussel sprouts? How are you with broccoli? I ask because we know that our genetic make-up goes some way to explaining whether you’ll be fine eating some foods, such as broccoli and brussel sprouts, that others find too bitter to nibble on.

Around 1 in 50 people do not have the biological father they think they have. 53-year-old Richard discovered he wasn’t blood related to the man who raised him and came to DNA Family Secrets seeking answers.