DNA Fingerprint

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DNA Fingerprint

Like the fingerprints identification that came in to use by detectives a police labs during the 1930s each person has a unique DNA fingerprint. Unlike a conventional fingerprint that occurs only on the on the finger tips and can be altered by surgery, a DNA fingerprint is the same for every cell, tissue and organ of a person, and it can not be alters by any known treatment, therefore the DNA Fingerprint is rapidly becoming the primary method for Identifying and distinguishing among individual human beings.

The Structure of DNA

The characteristics of all living organisms, including humans, are essentially determined by information contained within DNA that they inherit from their parents. The Molecular structure of DNA can be imagined as a zipper with each tooth represented by one of four letters (A, C, G or T) and with opposite teeth forming one of two pairs, either A-T or G-C. The letter A, C, G and T stands for adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine, the basic building blocks of DNA.
The information contained on the DNA is determined primarily by the sequence of letters along the zipper.
Living organism that looks different or have different characteristics also have different DNA sequences. The more varied the organisms, the more varied the DNA sequences. DNA fingerprinting is very quick way to compare the DNA sequences of any two living organisms.
The usage of DNA finger printing is most common in health care research and in the justice system.
The FBI and police labs around the United States have begun to use DNA fingerprints to link suspects to biological evidence-blood or semen stains, hair or items of clothing- found at the scene of a crime, and since 1987 hundreds of cases have been decided with the assistance of DNA fingerprint evidence.
Another Important use of DNA fingerprints in the court system is to establish paternity in custody and child support litigation. In these applications, DNA finge...