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(PCR)
Paul G Hamm
What is DNA? Why analyze DNA?
DNA is a long polymer made up from monomers called
nucleotides. The four types of nucleotides are Adenine
(A), Guanine (G), Thymine (T), and Cytosine (C). These
bases make up the genetic alphabet and the order of
bases determines the structure of a protein.
The human genome contains around 3 billion base pairs
and close to 25,000 genes.
99.9% of human DNA is identical! This means the 0.1%
difference is what makes each human unique and this is
what forensic scientists can analyze in order to compare
DNA samples.
STR Analysis
CODIS / Multiplexing
Using PCR and gel electrophoresis, forensic analysts can
compare multiple STR sites at the same time.
In the US, 13 STR sites are commonly used for DNA
profiling. The number of repeats at each site and their
relative frequency in the population has been studied and
the information is all gathered in the Combined DNA
Index System (CODIS).