Using DNA to trace people who are suspected of committing a crime has been a major advance in policing. When DNA profiling is used wisely, it can help to convict people who have committed serious crimes or exonerate people who are innocent. However, concerns arise when individuals' tissue samples, computerized DNA profiles, and person data are stored indefinitely on a DNA database. There are concerns that this information could be used in ways that threaten people's individual privacy and rights…
and combined between people under the bracket of one common denominator: deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) (US. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, 1990). In many cases, criminals take the initiative to clean up the crime scenes, which involves fixing furniture, wiping the place for fingerprints or wearing gloves. Additionally, there are also attempts to remove larger stains of blood. Hence, the use of DNA as a tool for forensic investigation cannot be overstated as almost all the cells in the…
DNA Gel Electrophoresis Electrophoresis is a process in which macromolecules are separated by utilizing their electrical charge and size. A technique for separating protein molecules of varying sizes in a mixture by moving them through a block of gel, as of agarose or polyacrylamide, by means of an electric field, with smaller molecules moving faster and therefore farther than larger ones. Gel electrophoresis of DNA is used in DNA profiling. When DNA is found at a crime scene, it's sent to a…
Forensic Functioning In America the word forensics proposes crime in a way that excites stories on serial killers, murder, crime scene investigation, and heavy DNA analysis. In reality, this only breaks the ice on what forensic science fully consists of. Forensic science is initially any science used for the purpose of law. The evidence tested is used in the court of law, criminal investigation, and trial. A forensic scientist does perform tests on blood and bodily fluid as well as…
Science, “In April of 1953 Watson and Crick published a model of the DNA helix in a one page letter to Nature. It began with the now famous understatement: ‘We wish to suggest a structure for the salt of deoxyribose nucleic acid (D.N.A.). This structure has novel features which are of considerable biological interest’” (Laboratory. 2011). This is the very foundation that DNA was discovered. According to Forensic Magazine, “DNA profiling was originally developed as a method of determining…
note is that I would recommend that new samples be taken from the clothing at each testing stage and not to use the samples tested with LMG as according to a study by Alenazy, Refaat and Babu, 2015 the use of LMG to test samples that then go off for DNA analysis produce poor partial profiles, apparently due to the longevity of the LMG chemiluminescence…
Background On February 23th 1957 a young man was checking up on his muskrat traps around a dirty, abandoned area and spotted the dead boy inside the box, yet he refused to tell the police because he knew those traps were illegal so he wanted to save himself fromthe trouble. Two days later on February 25th 1957 a college student traveling along Susquehanna Road in Philadelphia spotted a box with “Furniture, Fragile, do not open with knife” written on it with red letters. The traveler found a…
FSC239Y5Y Assignment 1: Case Report Presentation Question 1- The Role of a Forensic Anthropologist a) In general, the role of a forensic anthropologist is to examine human remains. In this particular case, the role of the forensic anthropologist was to excavate, examine and identify an unknown body that was discovered near a prohibited burial site at a cemetery in British Colombia (Rogers 2017). Dr. Rogers, who was the forensic anthropologist for the case was successful in her role of…
forensics, commonly used by police departments and prosecutors around the world, frequently relies upon these small bits of shed DNA to link criminals to the crimes they commit. This fascinating science is often portrayed on popular television shows as a simple, exact, and infallible method of finding a perpetrator and bringing him or her to justice. In truth, however, teasing out a DNA fingerprint and determining the likelihood of a match between a suspect and a crime scene is a complicated…
at times. Her testimony also spoke to the need of leadership as well as funding for the forensic community. The amount is large, congress has allocated one billion just for DNA backlogs so much more would be needed to truly make the forensic discipline better in all the areas needed. Scott Burns testimony supports the DNAs evidence good track record in court. He notes that the majority of false convictions were due to non forensic factors such as false testimony, misidentification, and bad…