SANTA FE SPRINGS, Calif. — Each one of these packets is filled with DNA samples. 

"In this sample here, we would use fingernail and toenail, and we also have hair follicles," said Theresa Oliver, who has owned and operated ARCpoint Labs in Santa Fe Springs for five years. It's one of 11 locations in California.

"I can talk about DNA all day," Oliver laughed.

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She pointed out some molars from a body buried for decades until the family decided to do ancestral testing and have the body re-buried in its rightful homeland.

"A lot of times people are coming to us because they need to prove a relationship or they’re trying to solve whether their significant other is cheating on them, so we’ll do infidelity testing," she explained. "Anything from undergarments to condoms. They bring in articles of clothing".

Oliver says you don’t need permission to test someone else’s DNA.  It just means the results can’t be used in court.

For relationship testing, most of the time it’s a simple oral swab, where she takes the inner linings of the cheek cells. Theresa says it’s less invasive than a blood test and just as accurate. She submits four samples, just to be safe. They are then sent to a lab in New Mexico where they’re analyzed, and results are typically available within a couple days.

"What makes us unique is that we’re not sharing that information with anyone," Oliver said.

While most clients come to them for paternity testing, they also offer a variety of tests so people can learn more about themselves.  Oliver took out her big book of DNA, which explains a variety of uses for DNA testing.

"You can do a DNA test to find out why aren’t you losing weight? What’s the best food that you should be eating? What’s the best exercise you should be doing?" Oliver said.

If you’re an athlete, what kind of exercises will be best the most effective for your workout routine?

Pharmacogentic tests look at more than 250 medications to determine which ones people should avoid.

"You have one out of five people that have adverse reaction from medication, and many times they don’t even know that they have an adverse reaction until they take the medication," Oliver said.

Costs range from around $350 for an ancestral DNA test to $800 for a predisposition that determines which diseases you’re more likely to get.

"I feel that we’re making a difference in people’s lives, and it’s something that’s so rewarding," Oliver said.

And with technology rapidly improving, it’s becoming easier for all of us to see what we’re truly made of.             

Oliver says some of her tests may run more than ones available online because the in-house tests are admissible in court. In addition, the lab technicians are certified, and she says they ensure your information is kept private.

Also, not all tests are created equal. Some can map a person's entire genome while others just a portion of it.