Question

Dna fingerprinting is based in part on recombinant dna technology and in part on those techniques originally used in medical genetics to detect slight variations in the genomes of different individuals. these techniques are used in forensic pathology to compare specimens from the suspect with those of the forensic specimen. what is being compared when dna fingerprinting is used in forensic pathology?

Answer 1

DNA markers between a suspect and a crime scene specimen are compared, including DNA minisatellites, short tandem repeats (STRs) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The total markers that can be compared can number in the thousands, and therefore the chances of DNA fingerprinting identifying the incorrect suspect are negligible.