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Ch. 20 - Recombinant DNA Technology
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All textbooksKlug 12th EditionCh. 20 - Recombinant DNA TechnologyProblem 21

Chapter 19, Problem 21

Following the tragic shooting of 20 children at a school in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, Connecticut's state medical examiner requested a full genetic analysis of the killer's genome. What do you think investigators might be looking for? What might they expect to find? Might this analysis lead to oversimplified analysis of the cause of the tragedy?

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Hello, everyone. Welcome back. Let's look at our next question. Which of the following uses of genetic testing is appropriate for identifying crime suspects, determining the biological relationship between two people and other legal applications. When we think about genetic testing that would identify people and identify genetic relationships. Um You wanna think about testing for D N A sequences that we know vary between individuals that helps you would distinguish um one individual from another in D N A samples from a crime scene. But because these DNA sequences are inherited from parents, um they will have similarities and related people. So they can be used to characterize the genetic relationship between two people. And the term for that sort of genetic testing is choice d forensic testing. Let's just look at our other answer choices to understand why they're not correct. Choice. A preimplantation, preimplantation testing would be genetic testing of embryos prior to implantation to screen for genetic diseases. But now we're what we're looking for here. Choice be diagnostic testing would be testing DNA sequences for diagnosis of a genetic disease. So looking for a specific DNA sequence that we know contains a mutation um or other error that would lead to a specific genetic disease. And then choice c carrier testing would be genetic testing to let people know if they carry a single copy of a gene for a recessive genetic disorder. So they don't have the genetic disease, but do they carry a copy of that, that might be passed on to any Children? But that's also not a correct answer. So you notice the commonality there between our three incorrect answers is that all our methods of using testing D N A for the presence of various genetic disorders or diseases. Whereas forensic testing is testing DNA sequences for identity, whether the identity of an individual or genetic relationship, genetic relationship, identity between individuals. So again, which of the following uses of genetic testing is appropriate for identifying crime suspects, determining the biological relationship between two people and other legal applications. And that would be choice d forensic testing. See you in the next video.
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We usually think of enzymes as being most active at around 37°C, yet in PCR the DNA polymerase is subjected to multiple exposures of relatively high temperatures and seems to function appropriately at 65–75°C. What is special about the DNA polymerase typically used in PCR?

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Private companies are offering personal DNA sequencing along with interpretation. What services do they offer? Do you think that these services should be regulated, and if so, in what way? Investigate one such company, 23andMe, at http://www.23andMe.com, before answering these questions.

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Textbook Question
Microsatellites are currently exploited as markers for paternity testing. A sample paternity test is shown in the following table in which ten microsatellite markers were used to test samples from a mother, her child, and an alleged father. The name of the microsatellite locus is given in the left-hand column, and the genotype of each individual is recorded as the number of repeats he or she carries at that locus. For example, at locus D9S302, the mother carries 30 repeats on one of her chromosomes and 31 on the other. In cases where an individual carries the same number of repeats on both chromosomes, only a single number is recorded. (Some of the numbers are followed by a decimal point, for example, 20.2, to indicate a partial repeat in addition to the complete repeats.) Assuming that these markers are inherited in a simple Mendelian fashion, can the alleged father be excluded as the source of the sperm that produced the child? Why or why not? Explain.
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