1 DNA Profiling and Forensic Science Literature Review Bruce C. Kelsey Valencia College BSC 1005 Professor Fabiano Mayrink Isenhour 3/7/2022 2 DNA Profiling and Forensic Science Literature Review Abstract DNA profiling is a method within forensic science which allows detectives to relate ones DNA to another at a crime scene in order to catch a criminal. Forensic Science allows for better veracity during forensic investigations (Bukyya 2021, 2). This procedure allows officials to compare any residue of saliva, blood, or fingerprints that might be found at a crime scene (Bukyy, 2021, 2). It has become a huge part of how detectives go about solving cases and has changed the way we look at DNA. DNA profiling has many ways of being uncovered and even goes as far as using teeth to pinpoint individuals during mass disasters where a body might not be identifiable. DNA, as a whole, was discovered in 1953 by James Watson and his partner Francis Crick after realizing a molecule that consists of genetic information throughout generations. They proposed it as what we now know it as today, a double-helix shaped ladder describing traits unique to every individual (Manjunath, 2011, 8). Many of these discoveries were widely accepted and not often questioned during its early days up during the 1990s when it was considered a fundamental concept for individual comparison in fingerprinting and forensic science. Over time, experts began noticing inconsistencies with investigators inabilities to qualify a testimony upon probability figures (Lynch, 2003, 1). Many of these investigations consisted of assuming that DNA would describe everything about an individual and never accounted for having a qualifying match of some other form of genetic information to compare it to. Fingerprinting Forensic Science first began taking off around the mid 1980s when it was formally known as “fingerprinting” (Lynch, 2003, 1). It made decisions in court a lot more easier when they were 3 able to actually match someones DNA to that at a crime scene. It was a big discovery at the time and revolutionized the way we investigate crimes, however, it began hitting a little bit of a controversial slope. Experts became to challenge traditional methods of DNA profiling after doubts in the connections between DNA swapped and the DNA of a criminal. Would these matches always lineup successfully every time? Skepticism raised beginning the early 2000s as new studies came out showing a lack of reliability in diversified DNA (Lynch, 2003, 1). The genetic makeup and an everyday innocent citizen might closely align with that of a criminal and some scenarios, however, a court would still make the determination based on the DNA evidence provided. 4 References Hamilton, G., & Jones, B. (2013). The body farm. In Encyclopedia of American Popular Fiction, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File. Retrieved March 1, 2022, from online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=95568&itemid=WE54&articleId=30394. Lynch, M. (2003, May 15). God's signature: DNA profiling, the new gold standard in forensic science. Endeavour. Retrieved March 1, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160932703000681 Bukyya, J. L., Tejasvi, M. L. A., Avinash, A., P, C. H., Talwade, P., Afroz, M. M., Pokala, A., Neela, P. K., Shyamilee, T. K., & Srisha, V. (2021, May 31). DNA profiling in forensic science: A Review. Global medical genetics. Retrieved March 1, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8635824/ Manjunath, B. C., Chandrashekar, B. R., Mahesh, M., & Rani, R. M. V. (2011, March 23). DNA profiling and forensic dentistry – a review of the recent concepts and Trends. Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X11000448
