DNA fingerprinting

[Jessica]

1. If blood or hair samples are recovered at the scene of a crime, how could they be used to make a positive identification of a criminal? We could see if the DNA matches a criminal's DNA fingerprints (????).

2. What characteristic differs from person to person, causing the fragments to separate differently during electrophoresis? Their genes are located in different places from person to person.

3. What characteristic of DNA makes it possible to use radioactive probes to label it?

4. What would be the most logical explanation for two individuals having exactly the same DNA fingerprints? They are identical twins. Only identical twins have exactly the same DNA fingerprints.

5. Why is it more useful to differentiate between human DNA fragments based on the number of repeats rather than by looking at the differences between the genes?



Biology is soooo hard! :'(

[Fazor]

Originally Posted by jchen

Biology is soooo hard! :'(

It's complex, but the thing about science is that, at least for the most part, everything makes sense. It's like Math in that regard.

But alas, I cannot help provide answers, as I haven't taken biology in years. My focus in Law Enforcement was more on how to identify and collect samples, rather than how to analyze them.