Crime Scene Discovery: Scientist Separates the DNA of Identical Twins.

 

“Crime Scene Discovery: Scientist Separates the DNA of Identical Twins.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 23 Apr. 2015, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150423125745.htm .

For my current event, I read the Science Daily article regarding the scientific breakthrough on separating the DNA profile of identical twins. The article talks about the work of Dr. Graham Williams at the University of Huddersfield and how his technique named HRMA (High-Resolution Melt curve Analysis) can differentiate identical twins' DNA when needed for legal purposes. In the past, the article stated that when DNA was found of an identical twin, the case was dropped in the risk of prosecution for the wrong twin, but this is no longer a concern. HRMA works by melting the hydrogen bonds in the DNA to find the differences in the melting temperatures due to a different amount of methylation (the molecular mechanism that turns genes on and off over time).

           

Beforehand the only possible way to confirm the DNA as one of the identical twins would be if there was a mutation, but HRMA, which is much more cost-effective and accurate, is now implemented in the scientific community with massive implications in both current and past cases regarding identical twins. Now, law enforcement can actively look into these cases, which have sat cold in what could be decades since DNA profiling was first used in criminal cases.

One thing that I had wished that the article did was to explain what is referred to as a high sample quantity needed for HRMA testing, as this could be a wide variety of possible values depending on those that are or are not in forensic science. In addition, I wished that the article described the case or cases in which identical twin's DNA was found, leading to a case being dropped rather than just talking about the fact that there was no prosecution. However , I liked the article as it was well written and to the point, while still being able to praise Dr.Williams's work and allow his quotations to help the reader understand the concept of HRMA further.I thought that this was a fascinating concept given both the DNA profiling and the cost-effective breakthroughs, given how many other breakthroughs in science require a lot of new financial resources. 

 

For B. Pearlman