DNA Finger Printing
Techniques to retrieve DNA and the development of DNA probes have come up and made it possible the matching of DNA molecules to other DNA molecules to serve purposes like identification. This process has been incorporated into what is known as DNA fingerprinting.DNA fingerprinting is therefore a test for identification and evaluation of genetic information i.e. ones DNA. This technique is referred to as a fingerprint because two people cannot have exactly the same DNA information as it applies to fingerprints. The DNA structure of everyone's DNA is same the only difference is on the base pairs and hence the development of the different DNA sequences. The same DNA fingerprint exists on every cell, tissue and organ of an individual. No alterations can be made on a DNA fingerprint by any treatment that is known. For this reason DNA fingerprinting is rapidly becoming a commonly used method for the identification and distinguishing of human beings (WebMD, 2012).
How DNA fingerprinting works
When making DNA fingerprints there are several steps to be done in the laboratory. The isolation of DNA from a given sample is the first step in DNA fingerprinting. The sample can be blood, semen, hair or saliva even in the smallest proportion like a single hair strand or a drop of blood. This sample contains white blood cells that will be broken down DNA removed from them in a mixture of other cellular material. The second step is cutting, sizing and sorting of DNA that has been isolated. The DNA is the cut into small pieces by using special enzymes known as restriction enzymes at specific regions....
(Aronson, 2007) The problems and future of DNA Testing The scientific soundness of the DNA test has not been doubted at all. Courts have increasingly relied on the outcomes of DNA tests. The common man is at a loss to understand the complexities of the method, and as a result in jury trials it is not taken as standard proof but approached with hesitancy. Jurors are ignorant of science and the
Abstract This paper discusses the origins of fingerprinting and the usage of fingerprint analysis in the field of forensics. It traces the history of the practice from the 19th century on into the 20th and discusses the methods used to obtain fingerprints from a crime scene. It also examines some of the problems of fingerprint analysis and how it is not a foolproof manner of identification and never has been. It
False Identification and Lineup Instructions Biased/Unbiased There are many instances where people have been wrongly accused only because they were falsely identified or either because there was not enough evidence present that would prove them guilty. George Allen Jr. was convicted in 1983 on the charges of capital murder, rape, sodomy and first degree burglary. It has been noted that the reason for his false conviction was false confession, invalid or
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