The National Institute of Justice’s article “Extending Time to Collect DNA in Sexual Assault Cases” explains the usage of DNA profiling in identifying a suspect in a sexual assault case, but the current standard DNA profiling methods have different shortcomings. DNA profiles often require the use of short sequences that repeat a number of times, called short tandem repeats (STRs). With the current DNA profiling method, many jurisdictions require the samples to be collected within three days of the sexual assault. This is due to the protocol of various jurisdictions. However, recent research suggests that a viable analysis is still possible after 5-6 days after the incident. Yet, in many cases, after collecting the evidence, the female cells vastly outnumber the available sperm cells.
…show more content…
Regardless of the shortcomings, DNA profiling is a tricky matter. Because 99.9% of our DNA is the same as everybody else’s DNA, scientists use one-tenth of DNA that is not known to be coded by anything specific to distinguish between individuals. Because of this, there is a lot of variability involved, which helps scientists to determine between individuals. There are two type of forensic evidence that can be used: Autosomal STR or Y-STR. Autosomal STRs are derived from the autosomal chromosome, which is not used in determining the gender of a person. Y-STRs are derived from male sex-determining Y-chromosomes. It is much stronger to use autosomal STR because autosomal DNA is randomly exchanged between matched pairs of sperm and egg cells. This is the primary reason why no two people are alike. In addition to this, Y-STRs are much weaker due to them based on the Y-chromosome, which all males obtain from their fathers. Thus, all males in any paternal line have nearly the same
Regardless of the shortcomings, DNA profiling is a tricky matter. Because 99.9% of our DNA is the same as everybody else’s DNA, scientists use one-tenth of DNA that is not known to be coded by anything specific to distinguish between individuals. Because of this, there is a lot of variability involved, which helps scientists to determine between individuals. There are two type of forensic evidence that can be used: Autosomal STR or Y-STR. Autosomal STRs are derived from the autosomal chromosome, which is not used in determining the gender of a person. Y-STRs are derived from male sex-determining Y-chromosomes. It is much stronger to use autosomal STR because autosomal DNA is randomly exchanged between matched pairs of sperm and egg cells. This is the primary reason why no two people are alike. In addition to this, Y-STRs are much weaker due to them based on the Y-chromosome, which all males obtain from their fathers. Thus, all males in any paternal line have nearly the same