Tracking down the Culprit by Mark Benecke

Author:Mark Benecke [Benecke, Mark]
Language: deu
Format: epub
Publisher: Bastei Entertainment
Published: 2018-04-11T16:00:00+00:00

This fundamental technique is simple. The gateway for DNA profiling is the thread-formed genetic molecule DNA, which is quite stable (see fig. 72). A DNA strand comprises bases (nucleotides) strung together on a molecular backbone. The ordering, or sequence, of the bases forms the script, with which all the DNA’s information is written. In the case of blood traces, one obtains the DNA required for genetic fingerprints through the cells of white blood cells. If the investigated individual is still alive (often the case with paternity tests, for example), then it suffices to obtain a saliva sample (see fig. 72) in which enough cells from the mucous membranes are present. Corpses or fleeing perpetrators can be profiled through white blood cells, since even dry blood traces often contain enough DNA. In an emergency, bones, hair, tissue remains, dried sperm, or vaginal cells also suffice for a genetic fingerprint. Corpses burned in a fire can be identified this way, as in the case of an airline disaster or a dismemberment in which severed limbs have been returned to the body.

The genetic threads, inside of which are, among other things, the blueprints for our bodies, are made up primarily (roughly 96 percent) of information that remains not fully understood today. One does know, however, what these “noncoding” DNA areas are not: genes. This means that the noncoding DNA is not a direct blueprint for the body and how it appears. It reveals nothing about the psychology or intelligence of an individual. Since criminal biologists are not concerned with that kind of information, however, they have a free hand when it comes to noncoding DNA.

Figure 72: Swabbing for DNA extraction

The author carries a finger ring that contains his full STR DNA profile. No information about body or soul is contained within, just a unique combination of numbers for identification or ‘individualization.’

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