Talk:Genetic fingerprinting
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[edit] 2003
I don't understand how a 1 in 5 million chance translates into 30 people who would match the profile from a population of 60 million people. Wouldn't that be 12 people (and not 12 other people, 12 people in total)?
Marisano
Agreed. I changed 30 to 12.
Zashaw 02:06, 18 Aug 2003 (UTC)
This page seems redundant with DNA testing -- the articles should probably be merged, or, if there's a distinction between the articles, it should be made explicit.
Zashaw 04:24, 18 Oct 2003 (UTC)
So what are the advantages of this system
The second paragraph mentions PCR, the section on the DNA fingerprinting process doesn't. Which one is correct? Furthermore, what kinds of restriction enzymes/PCR primers are being used? AxelBoldt 16:21, 29 Jul 2004 (UTC)
[edit] Identifying a deceased person
Can someone explain in the article how a deceased person can be identified by genetic fingerprinting?
I presume DNA is taken from a sample of a body part. Is it compared with a sample known to come from the putative person, before they died? Or is a comparison made against samples from blood relatives? If the latter, what are the principles involved? Is the situation the same as in a paternity test? Thincat 14:53, 24 Jan 2005 (UTC)
It usually is compared against their parents / dental records / hospital samples and things like that. The procedure isn't fixed: the onus is on the law enforcement officers to use the sample to prove it in a number of ways. -- Natalinasmpf 02:10, 31 Mar 2005 (UTC)
I UNDERSTAND COMPLETELY.
[edit] Identifying ancient, deceased individuals
I have heard of extracting DNA from the fingerprints of the Ancient Egyptian laborers responsible for building the tombs. This is because fats and oils (such as sebum), along with salts and sweat, are exuded from the fingers and hands, and deposited on those objects they happened to touch. This happened thousands of years ago, back when the great pyramids were first built. The fingerprints were sealed up, and left untouched for thousands of years.
Does anybody have more information on this?
- The fats and oils usually deposited in fingerprints are naturally subject to degradation with time, and because DNA is a protein, usually wanting in the oils exuded by the skin, that rules out DNA fingerprinting. But since the Ancient Egyptian laborers had to manage large blocks of stone by cutting, sliding, and rolling, some of those fingerprints may have been bloody, and that was where the researchers managed to get their DNA.
[edit] Extracting DNA from fingerprints
When it comes to DNA left at crime scenes, is it routine to extract copies of DNA directly from the fats and oils of fingerprints, especially for the purpose of comparing them to blood samples found there, to determine how many individuals may have been at the scene of a crime?
- The fingerprints have to be bloody in order to extract DNA from them. The fats, oils, and salts associated with fingerprints usually lack DNA, a protein.
[edit] Fetal DNA sampling
Is anyone able to contribute information regarding the methods of sampling fetal DNA, whether invasive or non-invasively? I wasn't able to find anything particularly definitive after an hour of online searching.
It would also be useful to add information about the legality of such procedures (including whether they can be the subject of a warrant) and any risks to the fetus that may be involved.
- Fetal DNA can be extracted from maternal blood after the 12th week of pregnancy (non-invasive), before week 12 an invasive proceedure like Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) and/or Amniocentesis has to be used. I can't comment on the application of law to force either type of proceedure. --nixie 05:08, 11 July 2005 (UTC)
What is Dr. Schneeberger's first name and where in Canada did the 1992 case of fake DNA evidence take place? Please provide a source. Thank you. Dphen 19:56, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
[edit] DNA Databanks
With the recent additions by 88.106.31.222, it seems like this article has started to cover more than the scope of just genetic typing. Most of the information about the FSS's databank could be moved to another article just about DNA databanks. Sekiyu 18:25, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] First Case
This website lists Tommie Lee Andrews' conviction as 6 Nov 1987 (a quick google search seems to confirm it). This is the year before Colin Pitchfork's conviction is listed by BBC. Can anyone find some source to unmix this? Ted 06:03, 28 April 2006 (UTC)
- Good question! According to the Gene Technology page you linked, the line "Andrews became the first person in the United States to be convicted of a crime based on DNA evidence" is key. The Pitchfork case was in the UK, and he while was indeed sentenced in 1988, the investigation itself occurred in early 1987 (he was arrested on Sep 19, 1987 and plead guilty to the rapes and murders). An interesting side note is that the first time that genetic fingerprinting was used for law enforcement, it was actually in the exoneration of an innocent man: George Howard in 1986. Sekiyu 20:30, 28 April 2006 (UTC)
- If he plead guilty, then he was not the first conviction due to DNA fingerprinting. Maybe a better wording would be "first criminal caught using DNA fingerprinting." The Date would then be 1987 (when he was arrested), which would match with the conviction of Andrews. It might be useful if someone with a law background could verify the "exoneration" (which has a more strict legal definition than popular defintion). I have made a few changes to that section to clean up the language a little bit. Ted 00:22, 1 May 2006 (UTC)
Hey what about the first person to exonerated from death row. His name is Bloodsworth, Kurt (i think). You can find him on the innocence project's website and someone's wrote a book about him??
[edit] DNA mass surveillance
Is there an article giving examples for DNA mass screening ? -- Simplicius 15:05, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Considerations when evaluating DNA evidence
The sentence "Because of this, arbitrary ceilings were put on match probabilities used in RFLP analysis than the theoretically computed ones." needs to be cleaned up. "Than" calls for an adjective in the comparative degree - higher ceilings or lower ceilings or stricter limits or whatever. [link title]
