Ignoring scientific criticism the UK Border Agency has begun DNA testing for asylum seekers to determine their country of origin. Earlier this month the UKBA trialled the new approach after a rush of African migrants who claimed they had fled the wars in Somalia which would grant them legal asylum status. The UKBA later revealed that many of the supposed Somalis were pretenders from other African nations.

The new program has been labelled the Human Provenance Project although the UKBA has not revealed who is actually conducting the tests or indeed any scientific papers which support the use of such methods. The tests being used include isotope analysis of nails and hair, along with fingerprinting.

The DNA testing has provoked widespread disgust among scientists including isotope and genetic specialists who have called it naive, flawed and horrifying. Many have also claimed that apart from the obvious ethical questions that genes simply cannot reveal citizenship, regardless of how much they may point to an answer.

The new testing has thrown up several permutations for geneticists who claim that many British citizens would fail the test if forced to take it while US citizens technically would only be the native Indian population. The UKBA has been accused of huge generalisations about Africa including the obvious facts that borders can split genetic groups, and genes to do not follow borders.

One University professor claimed that DNA ancestry has been somewhat of a fad over the past decade as a variety of businesses seek to claim parts of the code, but that ultimately the results are nothing more than genetic astrology.

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