An early DNA fingerprint showing DNA patterns from a mother (lanes 2 and 8) and her four children (adjacent lanes to the right). Lane 1 is an unrelated person. The two sets of lanes show the fingerprints reveled with two different probes that detect different types of repeated sequences. DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting, DNA testing, or DNA typing) is the process of determining an individual's DNA characteristics, called a DNA profile, that is very likely to be different in unrelated individuals, thereby being as unique to individuals as are fingerprints (hence the alternative name for the technique). Supplied by Alec Jeffreys courtesy of Wellcome Images.