A DNA profile should be taken from each newborn baby.
“DNA profiling (also called DNA testing, DNA typing, or genetic fingerprinting) is a technique employed by forensic scientists to assist in the identification of individuals on the basis of their respective DNA profiles.” Within a clinical context DNA profiling has many potential human uses; immigration applications, determining adopted siblings, paternity testing and of course criminal justice. Limitations of the procedure include; it can only give statistical probable data, it is ethically wrong according to some experts, this then reliable source will be easy to plant in crime scenes and of course minorities may abuse DNA manipulation. DNA profiling at its current state is a tool used to gather circumstantial evidence, within the forensic and healthcare fields. Without scientific thought this process is a revelation but many ethical issues including human rights have been foreshadowed. Should a DNA profile be taken from each newborn baby?
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the cornerstone for human genic makeup, which serves as an instruction manual and blueprint for everything in your body. The process of electrophoresis is used to gather ‘non coding DNA’ (areas of short tandem repeats, STRs) using restricting enzymes. There are two common methods of separation and detection, capillary electrophoresis and gel electrophoresis Almost 99.8% of our DNA is identical; accordingly this process focuses on that .2% that is different.
Crime scenes and paternity tests alike can be an influential factor in determining if someone was involved or is a relation respectively. Within the controlled paternity environment sufficient DNA can be obtained but under the contamination and pressures of a crime scene the process becomes increasingly difficult. Noncoding DNA is vital with this process; one drop of blood can produce the evidence needed to convict someone. Through the DNA that is collected restriction enzymes cut the DNA, producing STRs. These STRs which are then collected, copies are made through a process called Polymerase chain reaction (PCR).PCR has revolutionised the justice system; as evidence as small as a fingernail scraping can be the overriding factor in criminal cases. Although capillary electrophoresis is now more common, gel electrophoresis is the basic basis of creating a DNA profile. Electrophoresis then separates the DNA into different sized segments. The negatively charged DNA moves through the gel towards the positive charged electrode; smaller segments travelling further than larger ones. Radioactive probes are then added to the gel, producing an X-ray film with a distinct pattern representing the STR’s in a ‘profile’. Conversely the now ‘modern’ capillary electrophoresis produces the same information in a graph format. With this tool criminal convictions through sufficient matches can be made. Substantiations into parent children relationships are possible because half of each person's 23 pairs of chromosomes come from their mother, and half from their father.
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Overall this essay is quite confused. The understanding of the technical aspects is lacking, and the technical parts are mixed in with the moral parts without there being any clear structure. 3 stars.
