Study of In-vivo Analgesic Activity in Animals

Study of In-vivo Analgesic Activity in Animals A) ANIMALS Swiss albino mice (20-25 g) and wistar rats (150-200 g) of either sex were used for study of in-vivo analgesic activity. Animals were kept under standard laboratory conditions i.e. temprature is 24  ± 2 °C and relative humidity is 60-70%. The study protocol was approved by the institutional animal ethics committee (IAEC) before experiment (Approval No. 1452/PO/a/11/CPCSEA). Albino-Swiss mice were taken from Laboratory Animal House, Devsthali Vidyapeeth College of Pharmacy, Lalpur, Rudrapur (U. S. Nagar) and used for the study. The animals were procured from IVRI, Bareilly (U.P.) The animals were kept in polypropylene cages and maintained on balanced ration with free access to clean drinking water. All experimental procedures were conducted in accordance with the guide for Care and use of laboratory animals and in accordance with the Local animal care and use committee. Paddy husk was provided as bedding material, which was cleaned every day. The cages were maintained clean. All o f the animals were left for 2 days in the laboratory for getting used to before the day of experiment and on the last day they were given water only. Minimum of 6 animals were used in each group. B) ACUTE TOXICITY STUDIES The acute oral toxicity studies were carried out to study the acute toxic effects and to determine minimum toxic dose of the synthesized compounds. For the study swiss albino mice of either sex weighing 20-25 g were used. The aqueous solution of compounds were administered orally to different groups of over night fasted mice at the doses of 30, 100, 300, 1000 and 3000 mg/kg body weight. After administration of the compounds, animals were observed continuously for any toxic manifestation for the first three hours. There after, observations were made at regular intervals for 24 hrs. Further the animals were under investigation up to a period of one week. I) ANALGESIC ACTIVITY For the study of analgesisc activity two methods were used. (A) Hot Plate method (B) Acetic caid induced writhing method A) Method 1: Hot plate method186,187,188,189 By applying heat pain is inced to animals. All the animals one by one are kept in the hot plate maintain at constant temperature (55 °C) and there reactions was noted i.e. paw licking or jumping response. Work plan Albino rats of either sex (150-200 g) were selected and divided into four groups of six animals each. All the animals were fasted for 24 hrs. before the start of the experiment and water was given adlibitum. The animals were treated as follows : Group 1 : Control group received 0.5% sodium CMC (1mg/kg) orally. Group 2 : Diclofenac sodium 50mg/kg were administered orally. Group 3 : Novel benzimidazole substituted pyrazolidine 3,5 dione derivative in dose level of 50mg/kg was administered orally. Group 4 : Novel 2-quinolone substituted pyrazolidine 3,5 dione derivative in dose level of 50mg/kg was administered orally. Here Group 1 is the control, group 2 is active standard and group 3 and group 4 are test. Experimental Details The hot plate method is based on the fact that analgesic compounds increases the response time. This method was first described by Eddy Leimbach, where a cut off period of 15 sec is observed to avoid damage to the paw. All the synthesized compounds were dissolved in the CMC (0.5% suspension). After administration of control, standard and test compounds the animals were kept at the hot plate and their reaction time were note at 15, 30, 60 120 min interval. All the doses were given orally to animals. Diclofenac Sodium at dose of 50 mg/kg was used standard drug for comparison. The results so obtained were tabulated in Table 10, 12, 14 and 16 and figure 07, 09, 11 and 13. Results were expressed as means  ± S.E.M. Statistical significance was analyzed using the two-way anova analysis of variance followed by Tukey’s Multiple Comparison Test where p B) Method 2: Acetic Acid Induced Writhing Method186,187,188,189 In this method pain is induced by intraperitoneal (I.P) administration of 0.6% (0.1 ml/10g) acetic acid in mice. Analgesic activity was determined by calculating total number of writhings. Work plan Albino mice of either sex (25-30 g) were used for the study. All the animals were fasted for 24 hrs. before the start of the experiment and water was given adlibitum. The animals were treated as follows : Group 1 : Control group received 0.5% sodium CMC (1mg/kg) orally. Group 2 : Diclofenac sodium 20mg/kg were administered orally. Group 3 : Novel benzimidazole substituted pyrazolidine 3,5 dione derivative in dose level of 20mg/kg was administered orally. Group 4 : Novel 2-quinolone substituted pyrazolidine 3,5 dione derivative in dose level of 20mg/kg was administered orally. Here Group 1 is the control, group 2 is active standard and group 3 and group 4 are test. Experimental Details All the synthesized compounds were administered intraperitonealy (0.5 ml) as a suspension in sterile 0.9% DMSO solution as vehicle. Diclofenac Sodium at dose of 20 mg/kg was used standard drug for comparison. Acetic acid solution was intraperitonealy administered 30 min after administration of the compounds. 10 min after intraperitoneal injection of acetic acid solution, the number of writhings per animal was recorded for 20 min. Control animals received an equal volume of vehicle. Results were expressed as means  ± S.E.M. Statistical significance was analyzed using the two-way anova analysis of variance followed by Tukey’s Multiple Comparison Test where p II) ANTI-PYRETIC ACTIVITY STUDIES:190 For antipyretic activity yeast induced pyrexia model was used for the study. Work plan Albino rats of either sex (150-200 g) were selected and divided into four groups of six animals each. All the animals were fasted for 24 hrs. before the start of the experiment and water was given adlibitum. The animals were treated as follows : Group 1 : Control group received 0.5% sodium CMC (1mg/kg) orally. Group 2 : Peracetamol 100mg/kg were administered orally. Group 3 : Novel benzimidazole substituted pyrazolidine 3,5 dione derivative in dose level of 100mg/kg was administered orally. Group 4 : Novel 2-quinolone substituted pyrazolidine 3,5 dione derivative in dose level of 100mg/kg was administered orally. Here Group 1 is the control, group 2 is active standard and group 3 and group 4 are test. Experimental Details For induction of fever in rats, 20% w/v of brewer’s yeast in distilled water was administered by subcutaneous injection. All animals which were used for study, were induced pyrexia by injection of 10 ml/kg of brewer’s yeast solution under the skin in between the shoulder blades. The place of the injection was massaged in order to spread the suspension beneath the skin. Basal rectal temperature was measured before the injection of yeast, by inserting digital clinical thermometer to a depth of 2 cm into the rectum. The rise in rectal temperature was recorded after 19 hours of yeast injection. The rectal temperature was taken after 30, 60, 120, 180 and 300 minutes post treatment. If a drug is having antipyretic effect then there is a fall in the rectal temprature. Results were expressed as means  ± S.E.M. Statistical significance was analyzed using the two-way anova analysis of variance followed by Tukey’s Multiple Comparison Test where p III) ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY: 186,187,188,189 For anti-inflammatory activity carrageenin-induced rat paw oedema method was used. Work plan Albino rats of either sex (150-200 g) were selected and divided into four groups of six animals each. All the animals were fasted for 24 hrs. before the start of the experiment and water was given adlibitum. The animals were treated as follows : Group 1 : Control group received sterile normal saline (0.85% NaCl) orally. Group 2 : Ibuprofen 20mg/kg were administered orally. Group 3 : Novel benzimidazole substituted pyrazolidine 3,5 dione derivative in dose level of 50mg/kg was administered orally. Group 4 : Novel 2-quinolone substituted pyrazolidine 3,5 dione derivative in dose level of 50mg/kg was administered orally. Here Group 1 is the control, group 2 is active standard and group 3 and group 4 are test. Experimental Details This method was described by Winter et al. in 1962. The experimental animals were divided into ten groups, each containing five animals. After 30 min of administration of test compounds, 0.1 ml of 1% (w/v) carrageenin was injected subcutaneously in the subplantar region of the left hind paw. The right paw served as a reference to non inflammed paw for comparison. The initial paw volume was measured within 30 sec of the carrageenin injection by plethysmometer. The relative increase in paw volume was measured in control, standard and test compounds at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 h after the carrageenin injection. The difference between initial and final readings was taken as the volume of oedema and the percentage inhibition by the compounds was calculated using the formula- where dt is the difference in paw volume in the test compound-treated group and dc the difference in paw volume in the control group. Results were expressed as means  ± S.E.M. Statistical significance was analyzed using the two-way anova analysis of variance followed by Tukey’s Multiple Comparison Test where p Uttarakhand Technical University, Dehradun 1

Historical Analogy of the Democratic Party’s position in the Southern Region of America Essay

America’s Democratic Party is one of the country’s two major political parties. The organization has a long history, but when compared to the Democratic Party of 1792, today’s party is very different. The Democratic Party was founded in the 1790’s by Thomas Jefferson, who was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson became the first Democratic President of the United States in 1800. Over next 70 years, as the organization grew, so did its support in the South. After the end of the Civil War in 1865, African Americans favored the Republican Party and its anti-slavery views, while the Democratic majority was Southern Whites, who were not in favor of political rights for former slaves (Grantham, 1992). In 1868, Ulysses S. Grant, a Republican, was elected President with the help of African American Republicans, who were voting in a presidential election for the first time. During Grant’s presidency, the Radical Republicans introduced the15th Amendment, which stated that a right to vote could not be denied because of â€Å"race, color, or previous condition of servitude† (Carnes & Garraty, 2006, p. 434) Over the years, the Democratic Party has left behind many of its old principles and ideals, especially with today’s presence of African Americans in the party. The Democrats once maintained the support of White Southerners by backing Jim Crow laws and supporting racial Historical Analogy 2 egregation, but today, the majority of African Americans vote for the Democratic ticket (Aldrich, 1995). African Americans began to shift from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party in the 1940s, despite the Democrats opposition to 14th Amendment, which granted citizenship to â€Å"all persons born or naturalized in the United States† (Carnes & Garraty, 2006, p. 430). In the election of 1940, Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, added ci vil rights to his party platform. As a result, Roosevelt and the Democratic Party gained support from African American voters (Aldrich, 1995). Today, the majority of African Americans are registered as Democrats. John Kerry carried 89% of the African American vote in the 2004 presidential election, and African Americans continue to gain more political position in the Democratic Party (Wenner, 2004). In 2008, the Democrats nominated Illinois Senator Barack Obama, as its presumptive presidential nominee, solidifying Obama’s place in history as the first African American to be a major political party’s presumptive nominee for President of the United States. For almost a century after the end of the Civil War, the Democratic Party had a strong presence in the Southern region of America. From 1880 to 1960, the region was known as the â€Å"Solid South† because Democrats won by large margins in the area (Grantham, 1992). The Solid South began to come apart when President Harry S. Truman, a Democrat, began supporting the civil rights movement (Black & Black, 2003). Following Roosevelt’s path, civil rights was a part of Truman’s 1948 Democratic platform, used at the Democratic National Convention. Historical Analogy 3 As a result of Truman’s endorsement of the civil rights movement, which included adopting a resolution to condemn the Ku Klux Klan, many conservative Southern Democrats walked out of the National Convention and left the Democratic Party (Aldrich, 1995). The Democratic support of the civil rights movement significantly reduced Southern support for the Democratic Party and allowed the Republican Party to step in and gain a little success in the South. In the 1950s, the Southern Democrats, who opposed the Democratic Party’s support of the civil rights movement, formed the Dixiecrat Party, which was led by then-Governor of South Carolina, Strom Thurmond. When the Dixiecrat Party proved to be unsuccessful, Thurmond and many other former Southern Democrats switched to the Republican Party. â€Å"Thurmond, a tenacious champion of unreconstructed conservatism, abandoned the Democratic Party to become the first Republican senator from the Deep South in the twentieth century† (Black & Black, 2003, p. 1) The Republican Party’s strength in the South grew during the election of 1964. Although Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat won the election, he did not carry the five states of the Solid South, which included Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama (Aldrich, 1995). The Deep South states provided an electoral victory to the Republican candidate, Barry Goldwater. It was the first time since Reconstruction that a Republican carried the South in a presidential election (Carnes & Garraty, 2006). Johnson and the Democrats continued to lose support in the South by supporting the Civil Rights Act of 1964. After signing the landmark legislation, Johnson said to his aide, Bill Moyers, Historical Analogy 4 â€Å"I think we just delivered the South to the Republican Party for a long time to come† (Grantham, 1992, p. 12). As support for the Democrats in the South dwindled, in 1968 election Republican candidate Richard Nixon used â€Å"Southern Strategy,† to capitalize in the election (Carnes and Garraty, 2006, p. 810). Nixon used a method that attracted the former Southern Democrats, who were still conservative and supported segregation. With his strategy, Nixon defeated the Democratic candidate, Hubert Humphrey, in the election. The era of the Solid South proved to be over, with the Democratic candidate only carrying one Southern state in 1968 election (Dewey, 1992). The Republican’s strategy to win voters in the South alienated African American voters from the Republican Party and pulled in more Southern Whites, who did not support integration, which was favored by the Democratic Party. Over time, Southern White voters continued to support the Republican Party. Today the Democratic Party is no longer the dominant party in the South. The South is now considered a stronghold of the Republican Party. In 2000, presidential candidate Al Gore received no electoral votes from the South, and neither did John Kerry in the following election in 2004 (Wenner, 2004). As the Democratic Party‘s strength weakens in the South, the opposite is happening in the Northern region of America. The Democratic Party was weak in North from the 1880s to the 1960s, when the organization controlled the South, but it is now strongest in the Northeast (Black and Black, 2003). In the 2004 election, all nine Northeastern states, from Pennsylvania to Maine, voted for the Democratic ticket of John Kerry and John Edwards (Wenner, 2004. Historical Analogy 5 From supporting slavery in the 1800s to supporting its first African American presidential candidate in 2008, the Democratic Party has evolved. Despite going through name changes, leaders and incarnations over the years, the Democratic Party has retained its same basic values. It prides itself on being the party for the working people, but as Americaâ₠¬â„¢s view of who was entitled to be a referred to as the working people has changed, so did the views of Democratic Party.

Mahatma Gandhi Essay

Mahatma Gandhi Leadership Style The Father of the Nation is now being held up as the master strategist, an exemplary leader, and someone whose ideas and tactics corporate India can emulate. Gandhi reinvented the rules of the game to deal with a situation where all the available existing methods had failed. He broke tradition. He understood that you cannot fight the British with force. So he decided to change the game in a fundamentally different way. He unleashed the power of ordinary people, inspired women and men in the country to fight under a unifying goal. Resource constraint did not bother him. That was the motivation. Gandhi’s leadership style is being termed as ‘follower-centric’ and one that took into account existing conditions before determining the strategy. Gandhi advocated having leadership styles that were dependent on the circumstances. When Gandhi was in South Africa, he launched his protests in a suit and a tie. But when he came back to India, he thought of  khadi  (handspun and hand-woven cloth) and launched non-violent protests on a greater scale, It shows that Gandhi’s leadership style was situational leadership style. A Quote from the book: Count your chickens before they hatch by Arindam Chaudhuri â€Å"Mahatma Gandhi’s example to me is a perfect case of adopting styles to suit the culture. The country today stands divided on whether what he did was good or bad†¦ I just know one thing: there was never a leader before him nor one after him who could unite us all and bring us out in the streets to demand for what was rightfully ours. To me, he is the greatest leader  our land has ever seen. It is ‘Theory ‘I’ management’ at its practical best: productively and intelligently utilizing whatever the resource you are endowed with,† says Chaudari.

Ancestry DNA Tests for Genealogists

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a macromolecule that contains a wealth of genetic information and can be used to better understand relationships between individuals. As DNA is passed down from one generation to  the next, some parts remain almost unchanged, while other parts change significantly. This creates an unbreakable link between generations and it can be of great help in reconstructing our family histories. In recent years, DNA has become a popular tool for determining ancestry and predicting health and genetic traits thanks to the increasing availability of DNA-based genetic testing. While it cant provide you with your entire family tree or tell you who your ancestors are, DNA testing can: Determine if two people are relatedDetermine if two people descend from the same ancestorFind out if you are related to others with the same surnameProve or disprove your family tree researchProvide clues about your ethnic origin DNA tests have been around for many years, but it is only recently that it has become affordable for a mass market. Ordering a home DNA test kit can cost less than $100 and  usually consist of a cheek swab or a spit collection tube that allows you to easily collect a sample of cells from the inside of your mouth. A month or two after mailing in your sample, youll receive the results—a series of numbers that represent key chemical markers within your DNA. These numbers can then be compared to results from other individuals to help you determine your ancestry. There are three  basic types of DNA tests available for genealogical testing, each serving a different purpose:   Autosomal DNA (atDNA)   (All lines, available for both men and women) Available for both men and women, this test surveys 700,000 markers on all 23 chromosomes to look for connections along all of your family lines (maternal and paternal). The test results provide some information about your ethnic mix (the  percentage of your ancestry that comes from Central Europe, Africa, Asia, etc.), and helps to identify cousins (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) on any of your ancestral lines. Autosomal DNA only survives recombination (the passing down of DNA from your various ancestors) for an average of 5–7 generations, so this test is most useful for connecting with genetic cousins and connecting back to more recent generations of your family tree. mtDNA Tests   (Direct maternal line, available for  both men and women) Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is contained in the cytoplasm of the cell, rather than the nucleus. This type of DNA is passed by a mother to both male and female offspring without any mixing, so your mtDNA is the same as your mothers mtDNA, which is the same as her mothers mtDNA. mtDNA changes very slowly, so if  Ã‚  two people have an exact match in their mtDNA, then there is a very good chance they share a common maternal ancestor, but it is hard to determine if this is a recent ancestor or one who lived hundreds of years ago. It is important to keep in mind with this test that a males mtDNA comes only from his mother and is not passed on to his offspring. Example: The DNA tests that identified the bodies of the Romanovs, the Russian imperial family, utilized mtDNA from a sample provided by Prince Philip, who shares the same maternal line from Queen Victoria. Y-DNA Tests   (Direct paternal line, available for males only)   The Y chromosome in the nuclear DNA can also be used to establish family ties. The Y chromosomal DNA test (usually referred to as Y DNA or Y-Line DNA) is only available for males, since the Y chromosome is only passed down the male line from father to son. Tiny chemical markers on the Y chromosome create a distinctive pattern, known as a haplotype, that distinguishes one male lineage from another. Shared markers can indicate relatedness between two men, though not the exact degree of the relationship. Y chromosome testing is most often used by individuals with the same last name to learn if they share a common ancestor. Example: The DNA tests supporting the probability that Thomas Jefferson fathered the last child of Sally Hemmings were based on Y-chromosome DNA samples from male descendants of Thomas Jeffersons paternal uncle, since there were no surviving male descendants from Jeffersons marriage. Markers on both mtDNA and Y chromosome tests can also be used to determine an individuals haplogroup, a grouping of individuals with the same genetic characteristics. This test may provide you with interesting information about the deep ancestral lineage of your paternal and/or maternal lines. Since Y-chromosome DNA is found only within the all-male patrilineal line and mtDNA only provides matches to the all-female matrilineal line, DNA testing is only applicable to lines going back through two of our eight great-grandparents - our fathers paternal grandfather and our mothers maternal grandmother. If you want to use DNA to determine ancestry through any of your other six great-grandparents you will need to convince an aunt, uncle, or cousin who descends directly from that ancestor through an all-male or all-female line to provide a DNA sample. Additionally, since women dont carry the Y-chromosome, their paternal male line can only be traced through the DNA of a father or brother. What You Can and Cant Learn From DNA Testing DNA tests can be used by genealogists to: Link specific individuals (e.g. test to see whether you and a person you think may be a cousin descend from a common ancestor)Prove or disprove the ancestry of people sharing the same last name (e.g. test to see if males carrying the CRISP surname are related to each other)Map the genetic orgins of large population groups (e.g. test to see whether you have European or African American ancestry) If youre interested in using DNA testing to learn about your ancestry you should start by narrowing down a question you are trying to answer and then select the people to test based on the question. For example, you may wish to know if the Tennessee CRISP families are related to the North Carolina CRISP families. To answer this question with DNA testing, you would then need to select several male CRISP descendants from each of the lines and compare the results of their DNA tests. A match would prove that the two lines descend from a common ancestor, though would not be able to determine which ancestor. The common ancestor could be their father, or it could be a male from over a thousand years ago. This common ancestor can be further narrowed down by testing additional people and/or additional markers. An individuals DNA test provides little information on its own. It is not possible to take these numbers, plug them into a formula, and find out who your ancestors are. The marker numbers provided in your DNA test results only begin to take on genealogical significance when you compare your results with other people and population studies. If you dont have a group of potential relatives interested in pursuing DNA testing with you, your only real option is to input your DNA test results into the many DNA databases starting to spring up online, in the hopes of finding a match with someone who has already been tested. Many DNA testing companies will also let you know if your DNA markers are a match with other results in their database, provided that both you and the other individual have given written permission to release these results. Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) When you submit a DNA sample for testing an exact match in the results between you and another individual indicates that you share a common ancestor somewhere back in your family tree. This ancestor is referred to as your Most Recent Common Ancestor or MRCA. The results on their own will not be able to indicate who this specific ancestor is, but may be able to help you narrow it down to within a few generations. Understanding the Results of Your Y-Chromosome DNA Test (Y-Line) Your DNA sample will be tested at a number of different data points called loci or markers and analyzed for the number of repeats at each of those locations. These repeats are known as STRs (Short Tandem Repeats). These special markers are given names like DYS391 or DYS455. Each of the numbers that you get back in your Y-chromosome test result refer  to the number of times a pattern is repeated at one of those markers. The number of repeats is referred to by geneticists as the alleles of a marker. Adding additional markers increases the precision of DNA test results, providing a greater degree of probability that a MRCA (most recent common ancestor) can be identified within a lower number of generations. For example, if two individuals match exactly at all loci in a 12 marker test, there is a 50% probability of a MRCA within the last 14 generations. If they exactly match at all loci in a 21 marker test, there is a 50% probability of a MRCA within the last 8 generations. There is a fairly dramatic improvement in going from 12 to 21 or 25 markers but, after that point, the precision starts to level off making the expense of testing additional markers less useful. Some companies offer more precise tests such as 37 markers or even 67 markers. Understanding the Results of Your Mitochondrial DNA Test (mtDNA) Your mtDNA will be tested on a sequence of two separate regions on your mtDNA inherited from your mother. The first region is called Hyper-Variable Region 1 (HVR-1 or HVS-I) and sequences 470 nucleotides (positions 16100 through 16569). The second region is called Hyper-Variable Region 2 (HVR-2 or HVS-II) and sequences 290 nucleotides (positions 1 though 290). This DNA sequence is then compared to a reference sequence, the Cambridge Reference Sequence, and any differences are reported. The two most interesting uses of mtDNA sequences are comparing your results with others and determining your haplogroup. An exact match between two individuals indicates that they share a common ancestor, but because mtDNA mutates extremely slowly this common ancestor could have lived thousands of years ago. Matches which are similar are further classified into broad groups, known as haplogroups. A mtDNA test will provide you with information about your specific haplogroup which may provide information on distant family origins and ethnic backgrounds. Organizing a DNA Surname Study Organizing and managing a DNA surname study is very much a matter of personal preference. There are, however, several basic goals which need to be met: Create a Working Hypothesis:  A DNA Surname Study is not likely to provide any meaningful results unless you first determine what you are trying to accomplish for your family surname. Your goal can be very broad (how are all the CRISP families in the world related) or very specific (do the CRISP families of eastern NC all descend from William CRISP).Choose a Testing Center:  Once youve determined your goal you should have a better idea of what type of DNA testing services you will require. Several DNA Laboratories, such as Family Tree DNA or Relative Genetics, will also assist you with setting up and organizing your surname study.Recruit Participants:  You can reduce the cost per test by assembling a large group to participate at one time. If you are already working together with a group of people on a particular surname then you may find it relatively easy to recruit participants from the group for a DNA surname study. If you have not been in touch with other researchers of yo ur surname, however, you will need to track down several established lineages for your surname and obtain participants from each of these lines. You may wish to turn to surname mailing lists and family organizations to promote your DNA surname study. Creating a website with information about your DNA surname study is also an excellent method for attracting participants.Manage the Project:  Managing a DNA surname study is a big job. The key to success is in organizing the project in an efficient manner and keeping participants informed of progress and results. Creating and maintaining a Web site or mailing list specifically for project participants can be of great assistance. As mentioned above, some DNA testing labs will also provide assistance with organizing and managing your DNA surname project. It should go without saying, but it is also important to honor any privacy restrictions made by your participants. The best way to figure out what works is to look at examples of other DNA Surname Studies. Here are several to get you started: Pomeroy DNA ProjectWells Family DNA ProjectWalker Surname DNA Project It is vitally important to keep in mind that DNA testing for the purposes of proving ancestry is not a substitute for traditional family history research. Instead, it is an exciting tool to be used in conjunction with family history research to aid in proving or disproving suspected family relationships.