Hidden Trace

Sitting alone towards the back of the town diner, you mind your own business and drink your coffee. You get up to leave, putting both your hands on the table to support your weight. Then dig in your pocket for a couple singles then let them lay in the middle of the table. Then you glide across the floor and slowly slip out of the door. But what really happened was you took a drink and left behind a bit of saliva, then when you placed your hands on the table, you left behind fingerprints and skin cells, also when you dig through your pocket and grab out your change you leave behind some cloth fibers and again fingerprints. Then you push that door open you leave behind more skin cells and fingerprints. These are all traces of DNA leading back to you. “DNA fingerprinting” is everywhere you go (Cline). It has helped solve crimes for many years.Now a days the devolment of new technology has in the crime scene  investgation department has come a long way.

First, let me introduce you to the idea of DNA fingerprinting. All living things must have DNA. In humans and many animals, DNA is inherited from their parents. Your DNA is unique to you only if you don’t have an identical twin that is. (David F. Betsch).  Fingerprint is not referring to the funny swirls located on the pads of your fingers. It is reffering to the fact that your DNA is kind of similar to a fingerprint,you leave it behind where ever you go (Cline). Where do they find these cells with DNA you ask? Well, to that question the answer is; the different cells used to find a DNA fingerprint can be a skin cell, a hair root, or a cheek cell which is in your mouth and is spread with your spit. This is because your unique DNA is the same in all your cells (Cline). But did you know this type human indentification was not introduced until 1987 (Cline). Since then it has grown to be very helpful in solving crimes.

Second, let’s see what the process of analyzing DNA fingerprints. Unlike a fingerprint from your hand, police can’t just find it by “dusting the prints.” Scientists actually have to take the DNA out of the nucleus of a cell (Cline). But what do they do with the DNA after they have dissected it from the nucleus?  They take it and analyze it to show the differences of DNA with different people (Cline). They are able to take in this information then use it to find lost children or the criminal of a murder. Every individual has different DNA fingerprints the police are starting a program so they can collect DNA from everyone in the U.S. (David F. Betsch).This will help the development of investigation an stop criminals faster so they don’t havetime to strike again.

Lastly to fully understand how DNAfingerprinting works we have to meet the master minds who spend their days in the lab trying to solve the crimes. The forensic scientists. For scientest to be able to look into an investigation they have to have som eveidence, such as a weapon or maybe a hair folical. Also if there is a dieceased body on the premisies they can clean under nieth there finger nails to see if the attackers skin cells have been left behind. Those are ways that Police and scientiest use DNA fingerprinting, but they can actually use other ways like collecting actual fingerprints. There are two methods that police use to collect finger prints. One is to dust the surface with a powder that has aluminum in it because aluminum is met also it reflects off the light. Then the take pictures of the object with the finger print. Then they lift the print using transparent tape. The other way that police can find finger prints is a laser. A laser is a good way to find finger prints where police wouldn’t think of looking (Parker). These two ways definatly beat “man measurement” which was used by police in the early days before all this fancy technology exsisted. They believed that new two men had the same body measurments (Parker). Then they came acrossed fingerprints and all that changed.

In conclusion, DNA fingerprinting has proven to be very helpful to those in the criminal investigation field.  If it wasn’t for new technology people would have their forearms measured to prove guilt or innocence. DNA fingerprinting is defiantly the best way to solve crimes. Honestly you have left behind at least two different types of DNA reading this paper.

Bibliography

Cline, Erin. "DNA is Everywhere!" Understanding Genetics. 23 April 2012 <http://www.thetech.org/genetics/news.php?id=16>.

David F. Betsch, Ph.D. "DNA Fingerprinting in Human Health and Society." AccessExcellence. 20 April 2012 <http://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/AB/BA/DNA_Fingerprinting_Basics.php>.

Grayson, Lee. "How Are Fingerprints Used in Forensic Science?" eHow. 17 April 2012 <http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5273470_fingerprints-used-forensic-science.html>.

Parker, Janice. Forgeries Fingerprints and Foransics. Austin: Steck-Vaugh Company, 2000.