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Can DNA profiling identify the source of a sample with absolute certainty? Because any two human genomes differ at about 3 million sites, no two persons (except identical twins) have the same DNA sequence. Unique identification with DNA profiling is therefore possible if enough sites of variation are examined. However, the systems used today examine only a few sites of variation. Nonetheless, even with today’s technology, which uses three to five loci, a match between two DNA patterns can be considered strong evidence that the two samples came from the same source.
DNA profiling in criminal cases has been a useful tool in establishing both guilt and innocence. Originally, DNA databases contained only the profiles of convicted felons. Over time, however, law enforcement agencies have expanded the collection and use of DNA profiles, and these new policies are causing controversies, once again illustrating how the availability and use of genetic technology is often ahead of consensus on how and when this technology should be used. One of these new policies is postarrest DNA collection.
At this writing, 18 U.S. states as well as the federal government allow the collection of DNA samples after an arrest but before conviction. These profiles become part of the state’s DNA database, which is often searched for evidence in cold cases. Courts across the country have ruled for and against the use of such samples.
In 2012, the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that the collection of DNA samples from someone who has been arrested but not convicted is unconstitutional and violates an individual’s right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. The case began when a DNA sample was taken from Alonzo Jay King, Jr., who was arrested in 2009 for assault. In a database search, the DNA profile matched that taken from a 2003 unsolved rape. Based on the results of the database search, the man was sentenced to life in prison. The rape conviction was reversed, and the case was sent back to a lower court. As a result, some 16,000 DNA profiles collected postarrest but preconviction since 2009 cannot be used pending appeal of this decision. Before the court decision, postarrest DNA profiles were used in 65 arrests that resulted in 34 convictions, with an additional 12 cases pending.
Supporters of postarrest DNA profiling claim that taking a DNA sample by a cheek swab is noninvasive and no different from taking someone’s fingerprints. Opponents claim that because DNA samples can be used to determine much more than a DNA profile, they are a threat to privacy, and that because minorities are more likely to be arrested, the practice is discriminatory.
What if you learned that law enforcement officials were saving the DNA sample for use in tests that might be developed in the future?
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Chapter 14 Solutions
Human Heredity: Principles and Issues
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- Endospore stain: Consider tube 2 of the 7-day bacillus culture. After is was heated, it was incubated for 24 hours then refrigerated. Do you think the cloudiness in this tube is due mostly to vegetative cells or to endospores? Explain your reasoningarrow_forwardReactunts C6H12O6 (Glucose) + 2NAD+ + 2ADP 2 Pyruvic acid + 2NADH + 2ATP a. Which of the above are the reactants? b. Which of the above are the products? c. Which reactant is the electron donor? GHz 06 (glucose) d. Which reactant is the electron acceptor? NAD e. Which of the products have been reduced? NADH f. Which of the products have been oxidized? g. Which process was used to produce the ATP? h. Where was the energy initially in this chemical reaction and where is it now that it is finished? i. Where was the carbon initially in this chemical reaction and where is it now that it is finished? j. Where were the electrons initially in this chemical reaction and where is it now that it is finished? 3arrow_forwardThere is ________ the concept of global warming. Very strong evidence to support Some strong evidence to support Evidence both supporting and against Evidence againstarrow_forward
- How many types of reactions can an enzyme perform?arrow_forwardYour goal is to produce black seeds resistant to mold. So you make the same cross again (between a homozygous black seeded, mold susceptible parent and a homozygous white seeded and mold resistant parent), and, again, advance progeny by SSD to create 100 F10 generation plants. Based on the information you obtained from your first crossing experiment (Question #4), how many F10 plants would you expect to have black seeds and be resistant to mold? Assume that a toxin produced by the mold fungus has been isolated. Only mold resistant seeds will germinate in the presence of the toxin. Could you use this toxin screening procedure to have segregation distortion work in your favor in the F2 generation? Explain your answer. Info from Question 4 a. P Locus (Seed Color): Hypothesis: The null hypothesis (H₀) is that seed color is controlled by alleles at a single locus. Observed Data: Total white seeds: 45 (resistant plants) + 6 (susceptible plants) = 51 Total black seeds: 7 (resistant…arrow_forward10. Consider the following enzyme and its substrate where the "+" and "-" indicate cations and anions, respectively. Explain which of the following inhibitors could inhibit this enzyme? Which type of inhibitor would it be and why? (Video 5-2) Substrate Enzyme Potential inhibitorsarrow_forward
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