DNA Forensics: Unlocking Crime Mysteries and Ensuring Justice
E N D
Presentation Transcript
FORENSICS Dante Chavez Trujillo
The discipline in which professionals use scientific means to analyze physical crime evidence • Applies scientific method of discovery to legal issues • Forensic scientists collect, preserve, and analyze scientific evidence during the course of an investigation
Fingerprinting – one of the first applications • Used by the ancient Chinese to identify business documents • First crime lab established in France in 1910 • First American crime lab establish in Los Angeles in 1924 • FBI did not have their own forensic crime laboratory until 1932 • By the end of the 20th century, scientists had many high-tech tools for analyzing evidence at their disposal
UV spectrophotometry, Gas Chromatography, Mass spectrometry, solvent tests, various chemicals • Forensic Drug Testing • Paint Analysis • Arson Investigations • Gunshot Residue • Fibers • Fingerprints • Body fluids
Also known as DNA profiling or DNA fingerprinting • First developed in 1984 by Sir Alec Jeffreys • Most commonly associated with forensic science • Analyzes DNA sequences to recognize patterns and comparison points that allows one set of DNA to be compared to another after a sample has been obtained
RFLP analysis • Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) analysis • STR analysis • DNA family relationship analysis • Y-chromosome analysis • Mitochondrial analysis
Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism • One of the first methods used for DNA profiling • DNA collected and cut into small pieces using restriction enzymes • Different sizes of DNA fragments are generated and separated through the use of gel electrophoresis • Southern Blot • Requires large amounts of non-degraded sample DNA • Difficult to discern individual alleles
Polymerase Chain Reaction • Made huge strides in the ability to recover information from very small or degraded DNA samples
Short Tandem Repeat • One of the most useful methods in molecular biology used to compare specific loci on DNA from two or more samples • A short tandem repeat is a microsatellite consisting of two to thirteen nucleotides repeated hundreds of times in a row on a DNA strand • Nuclear DNA extracted > Amplification by PCR > Amount of repeats of STR sequence determined with gel • Different from RFLP – no restriction enzymes • Chances of two people having the exact same 13 STR regions virtually impossible
Liquid or dry blood • Saliva • Hard tissues • Bone, teeth • Hair follicles • Various other biological secretions
DNA efficiently recovered and extracted from the biological sample • Harvested on EDTA • Retains original shape and size of cells • PCR used to determine quantity of DNA and amplification • Detection and analyzation of amplified products • Interpretation
DNA evidence difficult to prevent • Greater certainty than standard fingerprinting • Collected evidence can be stored long-term in databases • No specific sample size needed– can be amplified • 99.9% accurate
An imperfect science – errors still happen • Relies on human accuracy • Technologists • Incorrect processing/handling techniques • Unreliable result interpretation • Not as easy and quick as TV makes it out to be • Wrongful conviction
Wrongfully convicted of rape when his DNA was found on a genital swab • DNA was a perfect match and was the only evidence used to convict him • Scott claimed that he was more than 200 miles away on the night of the incident • Spent 5 months in custody until a technician from the crime lab came forward • Technician admitted to reusing a plastic plate that contained a sample of Scott’s saliva from an unrelated case • Case changed views on using DNA evidence as only type of proof
Female serial killer linked to 40 crimes, “Woman without a face” • 6 out of the 40 crimes were murders • DNA from one individual found at every crime scene pointing to the same perpetrator • Evidence inconclusive • Never captured on a security camera and described as looking like a man by witnesses • March of 2009 case was closed • Investigators came to the conclusion that the Phantom did not exist and recovered DNA had been a result of contamination of the cotton swabs being used
“The DNA on a weapon might come from the person who actually touched the object or the person who shook hands with the person who touched the object” • Christopher Philips, forensic geneticist • Study completed in 2015 to test this theory • Subjects were asked to shake hands with a partner for two minutes and then handle the same knife between the two • DNA was found on 85% of the knives handled • 20% of the cases showed more DNA present from the secondary source
Show paternity or other familial relationships • Identify endangered/protected species • Prosecution of poachers • Detect bacteria polluting air, soil, water, and food • Match organ donors with organ receivers
Gasiorowski-Denis, Elizabeth. “The Mystery of the Phantom of Heilbronn.” ISO, 6 July 2016, www.iso.org/news/2016/07/Ref2094.html. • “THE BEST REVIEW OF STR'S (SHORT TANDEM REPEAT) MUTATION | APPLIED TO THE FORENSIC.” YouTube, 23 Sept. 2015, youtu.be/9bEAJYnVVBA. • “Application of Next-Generation Sequencing Technology in Forensic Science.” Genomics, Proteomics & Bioinformatics, Elsevier, 14 Oct. 2014, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1672022914001053. • Jobling, Mark A., and Peter Gill. “Encoded Evidence: DNA in Forensic Analysis.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 1 Oct. 2004, www.nature.com/articles/nrg1455. • Jamieson, Allan, and Scott Bader. “A Guide to Forensic DNA Profiling.” Wiley.com, 8 Mar. 2016, www.wiley.com/en-us/A+Guide+to+Forensic+DNA+Profiling-p-x000673241. • Murnaghan, Ian. “STR Analysis - Short Tandem Repeat.” STR Analysis - Short Tandem Repeat, 2018, www.exploredna.co.uk/str-analysis.html. • Jack Doyle for the Daily Mail. “Adam Scott: Innocent Man Spent FIVE MONTHS in Prison after Forensics Mix-up Meant He Was Falsely Accused of Rape.” Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 1 Oct. 2012, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2211365/Adam-Scott-Innocent-man-spent-FIVE-MONTHS-prison-forensics-mix-meant-falsely-accused-rape.html. • “DNA Profiling.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Oct. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_profiling#DNA_profiling_process. • Corazon, Dulce, and W. Everett. “What Is an EDTA Anticoagulant?” WiseGEEK, Conjecture Corporation, 20 Oct. 2018, www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-edta-anticoagulant.htm. • Dumache, Raluca, et al. “Molecular Genetics and Its Applications in Forensic Sciences.” IntechOpen, IntechOpen, 7 Sept. 2016, www.intechopen.com/books/forensic-analysis-from-death-to-justice/molecular-genetics-and-its-applications-in-forensic-sciences. • Watson, Stephanie. “How Forensic Lab Techniques Work.” HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 8 Mar. 2018, science.howstuffworks.com/forensic-lab-technique4.htm. • Roos, Dave. “Why DNA Evidence Can Be Unreliable.” HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 15 Feb. 2018, science.howstuffworks.com/why-dna-evidence-can-be-unreliable.htm.