DNA In Forensic Science

Forensic science in general is meant to help the law with solving varying types of cases. DNA samples and collections have become imperative to solving cases and helping to set up databases for research. Forensic specialist can use blood, hair, semen, saliva, bone, and any other types of tissue from people to use for their DNA profiles. This enables crime scene investigators the opportunity to develop new skills to help with closing cold cases, determining the type of case they are currently dealing with, and setting up programs to help prepare for future events.

With technology advancing at a lightning fast pace, forensic science has had to become more advanced to keep up with the technology. A basic example would be collecting someone’s fingerprint.

Everyone has a distinct fingerprint with no chance of duplicates. However, identical twins share a DNA profile, making it harder to determine who it matches. Once the fingerprint is collected it can be set up in a database or matched with someone that has a previous DNA profile already in the system.

Another example would be a collection of blood or skin follicles to help determine the DNA profile and be used more in depth to assist with tracing someone’s mental or destructive predispositions that would have been inherited. This information can be used when determining family and possible locations of either the victim or potential suspect.

DNA testing can also be used for people serving time in prison for crimes that there wasn’t enough physical evidence to start with or if investigators collected evidence that now has testing available.

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This could be a matter of guilty or innocent and if it was a person wrongfully accused, I am sure they would want the testing completed! The last example would be collecting blood and the only white blood cells are able to be tested because red blood cells do not contain DNA due to their maturity. To collect this specimen properly, collectors must take their time and make sure their documentation is very detailed and preserve the specimen carefully.

Population evolution and microbial life: Individuals do not evolve over time since they carry the same genes through their entire life. With that being said, I am planning to switch gears with this portion of the paper! I live on a ranch and have close to 75 head of cattle and I have tried to relate to living on the ranch with this course. I understand that genetic variations come in the form of mutations, natural selection, genetic drift, genetic hitchhiking, and gene flow. “With cows, they have a minimum of 22,000 genes, but only 14,345 genes are a core set in seven different species. Having this information at hand, people are able to develop ways to evolve cattle genetics for greater milk and meat production.”

It is believed that domestication of cattle has caused the original ancestral population to decrease. Some of this is due to mutations in breeding programs over the years, others would say that natural selection has had its hand in this process. An example of this is the Hereford cattle can handle the cold and adapt to the north much easier than Simmental cattle who are bred to be raised more often in the south. Hereford cattle actually only have a moderate milk production and moderate frame size to help them retain more weight and longer hair for the northern temperatures. Simmental cattle are larger boned and have high milk productions because they can be leaner and can feed a calf longer due to the warmer temperatures in the south. I know there are the five types of microbes: bacteria, fungi, algae, protozoa, and viruses. In the research I started doing in relation to cows, made the microbial life become more apparent in particular the portion about the genetic changes the microbe changes with the adaptations of the host’s immune responses.

A lot of people get really technical when it comes to eating organic, but I am sorry if I offend you by my next statement. If a cow is sick, I want it to be vaccinated against its illness. If you want antibiotics to cure your illness, why would you not want to eat a healthy animal, compared to one that is sick? Anyway, I started researching the microbial life and whether there was a correlation to Mad Cow Disease. Mad Cow Disease is actually smaller than bacteria or viruses and are infectious particles known as prions. “I did learn that three of the five microbes: bacteria, protozoa, and fungi, all exist in cattle’s rumen (four stomachs), and bacteria does over half of the digestive work.” An example is the streptococcus bacteria needed in cattle’s rumen when they have large amounts of starch or sugars causing their pH to be low.

This bacteria doubles every 13 minutes when the conditions are prime causing acidosis and is most present in feedlot cattle. Another example, which I feel can help me to understand this more is, protozoa being in the cattle’s rumen. It accounts for up to 50% of the microbial mass and is actually fights the bacteria found in the rumen. “It takes protozoa 15-24 hours to multiply in the rumen, therefore, they are normally in the fiber mat which helps them to have time to multiply before being passed through the rumen.” Cattle that do not eat or have access to a lot of roughage (hay) have a lower number of protozoa. The last example I will discuss is the fungi found in the rumen. “The fungi attach to feed particles and help to split the fibrous material for the bacteria to have better access.”