...Assignment: DNA Testing James Bunch CRJ311 Forensics Instructor Will Curcio April 9, 2012 This paper will compare and contrast the newest DNA-typing techniques and short tandem repeats (STRs) with previous DNA typing tests. It will detail how DNA is currently used in criminal investigations. Finally, what is the current impact of DNA testing on the criminal justice system and how has DNA revolutionized this system? In April of 1953 Dr’s Watson and Crick announced the discovery of deoxyribonucleic acid, better known as DNA. The scientific world has not been the same. Before the discovery of DNA the investigators could use blood to narrow the list of suspects. With the discovery of DNA we now have a blood “fingerprint”. Identical twins do not have identical finger prints and in some cases they do not have identical DNA (2008, Casselman). This can make the job of the investigator easier. DNA testing began with Dr. Alec Jeffery in 185 he discovered that certain places on the DNA molecule were repeated. He also found that these repeated sequences were unique to each individual. These repeated sequenced areas are known as VNTRs which is an acronym for variable number tandem repeats. The technique Jeffrey...
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...lawfully-seized clothing and conduct a DNA test that generates a DNA identity profile. The petition explains: When the police lawfully seize a bloody article of clothing during a criminal investigation, they may wish to run a DNA test on the blood. DNA testing can reveal the DNA profile of the person whose blood was found on the clothing. The police can then try to match that DNA profile with profiles from other samples to prove identity. Lower courts have divided on whether the practice of removing blood from lawfully-seized clothing and testing it to obtain a DNA profile is a Fourth Amendment “search” of the owner’s effects. The Fourth Circuit has held that it is a search. The Maryland Court of Appeals (the state’s highest court) has disagreed. In the case below, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court agreed with the Maryland Court of Appeals and disagreed with the Fourth Circuit. Shortly after we filed our cert petition, the Maryland Public Defender filed an amicus brief in support of the petition. The respondent, the commonwealth of Massachusetts, initially waived its right to file a response. The Supreme Court requested a response, however, and the commonwealth filed its brief in opposition on Nov. 20. We filed our reply brief last week. The briefs mostly focus on whether the case is cert-worthy, which is pretty technical stuff. Blog readers are probably more interested in the underlying merits: Why is blood removal and testing a Fourth Amendment search? Here’s an overview...
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...Genetic testing is currently available for more than 1000 conditions, and it is increasingly considered an integral component of mainstream health care (Burke, 2004). Furthermore, many genetic tests are now being marketed directly to consumers. The increased availability of genetic testing may result in a wider distribution of the benefits of testing, such as decreased uncertainty, the chance to avoid passing on a gene mutation to future generations, increased psychological well-being, and greater awareness of available treatments or risk-reducing strategies, but it may also contribute to an increase in the risks associated with genetic testing, such as decreased individual and family well-being; increased depression, anxiety, guilt, stigmatization, discrimination, and family conflict; and unnecessary or inappropriate use of risk-reducing options (Riper & Gallo, 2005). Money is maybe the most important driving force in the modern era of biotechnology. Genome and genetic findings have been given also financial value. The possibility to test for genetically-based individual susceptibility provides new ideas for marketable products. In an industrial worker, a metabolic polymorphism that causes an increased risk for cancer would create an avoidable financial burden in industry and insurance companies. The involvement of such financial aspects brings along several ethical implications in genetic research. The first aspect is the motivation of scientists that...
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...this. On one hand I would say yes to testing their blood, as an owner of a team you’re going to be paying someone millions of dollars for a sport you should be allowed to test whatever you want. After all it is a big investment, and just like any investment you want insurance. On the other hand as a player I feel like it would violate my rights as a person if you wanted to test my blood for no reason. In Curry’s case I feel like he should have let them do a DNA test to see if their investment was a good one. I also believe some professional athletes get paid too much money for what they do. 2. I believe that negligent referral could possibly be an issue if the New York Knicks were unaware of Curry’s condition. Mixed Motive also plays a huge part in this case. I believe that since they were not allowed to take a DNA sample if his blood they had a legitimate and illegitimate reason for letting him go to another team. They already had Curry go to one of the best doctors in the world and if he cleared Curry to play and said he was fine they should have trusted the doctor they sent him to. Since he did not do a DNA test I believe they let him go to protect their investment. Also the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) is an issue in this case. If they want to test Curry to see if he is susceptible for the Disease then they are in Violation of GINA. 3. In most cases I would not think it would be necessary for a company to test DNA of an Employee, but not everyone...
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...a whole in my opinion has become something of a marvel and something that can be scary if in the wrong hands. I think that DNA is extremely important and that it has tons of viable applications, but have potential to do harm just as much as it can do good. Life has shown me that for the most part we do not actually have certainty of most of the science we conduct daily which can be scary if you think about changing things at an atomic a molecular level. In the grand scheme of things if we do not make leaps of faith we shall never truly test the boundaries set in place. DNA holds a critical function in research and has solved tons of problems. It outlines the foundation for a lot of science like medical, forensic, and agricultural...
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...criminal justice system is DNA testing because of how it is handled, tested, and transported, and there are many logical solutions for this issue. In our court system, DNA is a large evidential piece of proving someone’s innocence, but it is not always trustworthy. DNA can make or break a case, especially if it is not cared for in the right way. “the problem with DNA evidence is no longer 1 of validity, but one of proficiency, 2 cofounding variables in the DNA testing process weaken and often destroy DNA powerfulness and usefulness in the court room, crime labs and juries”(innocence project). . First off, DNA is a very complex molecule that is located everywhere in our body, and there are many different ways to test it. There is also many different kinds of DNA testing, a...
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...Current Applications of Genetic Technology in Predisposition Testing and Microsatellite Instability Assays By Marsha L. Frazier, Li-Kuo Su, Christopher I. Amos, Patrick M. Lynch From the Departments of Epidemiology, Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology and Digestive Diseases, and Molecular and Cellular Oncology, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. Address reprint requests to Marsha L. Frazier, MD, Department of Epidemiology, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX 77030; email mlfrazier@notes .mdacc.tmc.edu. INTRODUCTION IT IS POSSIBLE TO test selected subjects for germline mutations in genes causing familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP),1 hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer(HNPCC),2-8 Peutz-Jeghers syndrome,9,10 and juvenile polyposis.11-13 Because the genes that are mutated in familial colorectal cancer syndromes can be mutated at a variety of different locations, assays for mutation detection are not simple. Many different approaches to mutation detection have been described in the literature, some of which are also described here. Specific strategies for testing are also discussed. THE BASICS Isolation of DNA and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) DNA or RNA for genetic testing is almost always isolated from peripheral-blood leukocytes. This requires that the blood be drawn in tubes containing some sort of anticoagulant. The preferred anticoagulants are either citrate or EDTA. The cells are lysed...
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...Brett Henson DNA Assignment 10/23/13 STR is an improvement over PCR because the STR are locations on the chromosome that contain short sequence elements that repeat themselves within the DNA molecule. The strands are significantly shorter than compared to the PCR which means that the STRs are much less susceptible to degradation and are often recovered from bodies or stains that were subject to extreme decomposition. This is an improvement over PCR which is found from blood semen or saliva. Also the longer strands of PCR take a longer time to retrieve a possible answer. The PCR test is considered to be an improvement over the RFLP because of a couple reasons. It takes much less time to complete, a week at most. The test can be performed with a small crime scene sample, which helps investigators who have little physical evidence. The DNA doesn’t have to be recently collected either. The PCR test can still be performed even years or decades after the fact, and still be just as accurate. This is because the PCR method involves copying the available DNA and analyzing only one specific gene. These are all improvements over the RFLP which requires many sample cells from the crime scene. The RFLP needs several strands of hair or large splatters of blood. The cells have to be “fresh”, which means undamaged and recently dead. The test takes anywhere from 3 weeks to three months to complete. Mitochondria are structures within cells that convert the energy from food into a...
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...the Future Genetic Testing and Privacy CHAPTER OVERVIEW Chapter 1 provides a glimpse of the basic concepts of genetics and genomics, and offers examples of DNA information impacting daily life. In this new era of genomics, individuals have access to their own genetic information, and health care providers are learning how to incorporate DNA data into diagnostic and therapeutic medicine. Bioethics deals with issues of privacy, discrimination, and justice that arise from use and misuse of genetic information. DNA, genes, chromosomes, and genomes are the levels of genetic information, and they impact biology at the cell, tissue, organ, individual, family, and population levels. Genes encode proteins, and the exome is the small part of the genome that does so. Most traits arise from interactions of genes and environmental factors. Genetic information is in health care to identify individuals, in investigating the environment, and in understanding evolution. CHAPTER OUTLINE 1.1 Introducing Genes and Genomes 1. Genetics is a branch of biology concerned with inherited traits and their variation, and how these traits are passed from one generation to the next (heredity). 2. With continuing analysis of human genome sequences, human genetics has grown from a largely academic science to touch many areas of medicine, with practical and societal implications. 3. Genes are the unit of inheritance and are composed of DNA. 4. An organism’s genome...
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...hearing her grandmother screaming. So his niece ran into the kitchen to see her grandmother being beaten by a man. She ran back into her bedroom to be followed by this man. The niece was sexually assaulted by him. Her next memory was waking up to see her grandmother dead in the kitchen. She then proceeded to run to her neighbor’s house to call the cops. While the cops were on the way the niece proceeded to tell her neighbors that the man she saw last night looked like her uncle Clarence Elkins. Elkins was immediately brought in for questioning and he was the police’s number one suspect. Biological evidence, including hairs, was found at the crime scene and from the victim’s body. Mitochondrial DNA testing was done on pubic hairs from the victim’s bodies. This testing excluded Elkins as a possible contributor of the hairs. The only piece of evidence that was presented to the jury was the testimony of Elkin’s niece. The niece had only seen the attacker for a short period of time and it was in bad lighting. The state of Ohio admitted that there was no physical evidence connecting Elkins to this crime. Elkins presented an alibi to the court but that didn’t work. Elkins was convicted of murder,...
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...Molecular analysis of Jawahar Rice Hybrids for genetic purity and fingerprinting Amrita Ingole, Abstract Varietal identification and genetic purity has attained critical importance worldwide especially in the context of plant variety protection. The estimation of hybrid seed purity is done conventionally by grow out test, which is based on the assessment of morphological and floral traits in plants grown to maturity, which locks up the capital while awaiting the results for GOT. GOT could be replaced with DNA based assays. The present investigation was undertaken with an objective to identify distinguishable microsatellite markers to establish fingerprinting of rice (Oryza sativa L.) hybrids, assessing variation within parental lines and testing the genetic purity of hybrid seed develpod by JNKVV Jabalpur, 4 cms, 4 restores and 5 hybrids were employed in this study. About 52 most informative microsatellite markers were employed for fingerprinting five rice hybrids and their parental lines. A total of 77 alleles were detected, and the number of alleles per locus ranged from 1 to 6, with an average of 2.56±1.33 primer pair. Eleven markers amplified specific alleles those separated the male from female lines. 13 markers were found polymorphic for female lines. Marker RM 164 clearly differentiates all the 4 CMS lines under study. 24 markers were found polymorphic among the male parents. No such marker was found that could differentiate all the male lines from each other...
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...chromosome 12 3. TGF β, SMAD4 mutation (Late adenoma) 4. P53 mutation on chromosome 17 (Carcinoma) 5. Metastasis d. Evidences 1. Foci of cancer are frequently seen within large polyps 2. Adenomatous (dysplastic) tissue is frequently seen adjacent to large cancers 3. Similar distribution of polyps and cancers within the colon 4. 10-15 year progression of polyp to cancer 5. Reduction of polyps causes reduction in subsequent incidence of cancer 3) Tumorgenesis a. Chromosomal instability 1. Gain of function – oncogenes 2. Loss of function – tumor suppressor genes (APC genes in FAP) b. Epigenetic alteration (microsatellite instability) i. Altered methylation or defective mismatch repair genes resulting in erroneous DNA synthesis Increased mutation rate and microsatellite instability ii. Exemplified by germline mutations causing HNPCC /Lynch syndrome which is characterized by premature and proximal location of colon cancer c. Common pathways 1. Mutations in Ras pathway, Wnt pathway, loss of p53 tumor suppressor, and SMAD2/4 mutations i. Decreased exit or increased entry into cell cycle, and anti-apoptotic signaling Increased cell growth, decreased cell death: Cancer 4) HNPCC (Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal Cancer): 2-3% of colorectal cancer a. Most common genetic cause of colorectal cancer (Right-sided) b. Clustering in relatives without established inheritance pattern c....
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...Tommie Brown Grand Canyon University The History of Criminal Investigations DNA Overturned June 29, 2016 Many cases have been solved with good investigation work and the technology of DNA. As a result of this technology many convicted criminals have been released due to DNA overturned in their cases. This was true in the case of Anthony Capozzi who spent 22 years in prison for a crime he did not commit (innocenceproject.org). In the mid-1980s Capozzi was wrongfully convicted of committing two sexual assaults in Buffalo, New York. It was DNA testing that proved his innocence (innocenceproject.org). The true perpetrator’s identity was revealed and DNA testing also revealed that this criminal committed multiple rapes and murders. The crimes itself consist of several women being raped along the bike path in Delaware Park. The crimes took place around December of 1983 and July of 1984. The attacker had it all planned out as he would wait for the right moment then move in for the attack. The attacker apparently surprised his victims from behind by threatening them with a gun. Once the victim was at his mercy he went on to rape them and when finished he gave them instructions to remain on the ground for up to 20 minutes before they move (innocenceproject.org)...
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...Introduction The Human Genome project (HGP) is interesting to me, because everyone has DNA and the way that scientists are able to tie our DNA to our possible future in the way of diseases is amazing and scary. The Human Genome Project is a project that was created by the U.S. Department of Energy in conjunction with the National Institute of Health in order to determine the complete DNA sequence of a person’s hereditary information. The project started in 1990 and was finally completed thirteen years later in 2003. The goal of this project was as follows: “identify all the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA, determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA, store this information in databases, improve tools for data analysis, transfer related technologies to the private sector, and Address the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) that may arise from the project.” (Popular Issues Home, 2012) So far in the project: “more than 60 disease-linked genes have been identified and are believed to be advantageous to gene-based therapy development”; going forward scientist hope to identify all of the estimated 80,000 genes in human DNA. (Wattanapitayakul & Schommer, 1999) The total cost of this project was $3 billion dollars this includes the study of” human diseases, experimental organisms (such as bacteria, yeast, worms, flies, and mice); development of new technologies for biological and medical research; computational methods...
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...In the past thirty years,the war on cancer has evolved in many ways. One way cancer treatment has progressed is the technology of genetic mapping. Genetic mapping is researching one’s genes to identify gene markings for certain diseases. Genes are found in the DNA in each cell that makes up the human body. There are typically 30,000 different genes per cell, and they control every function and aspect of every living organism (“Genetics”). People have forty-six chromosomes in two sets of twenty-three, one set from your father and one from your mother (“Genetics”). Genes control how a person is made by making proteins. Each gene has a "code" for making proteins. This is because each cell needs to perform a certain task. Cancer begins when one...
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