The Importance Of DNA Recognition Technology

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In 1964, a young woman moved to Boston to begin a new life. A few days after her arrival, she was found dead. Almost forty years went by until the suspect was convicted of the murder along with 10 other murders. In 1981, a mentally ill woman was found dead in her bed after being claimed missing a few days prior. Twenty years later, her killer was found and convicted. Many wonder how these criminals were able to go so many years without being caught when there was so much DNA evidence at the scene. The answer is simple, DNA recognition technology did not exist. With the help of technological developments in the 21st century, law enforcement agencies have been able to re-open cold cases and solve numerous murders and disappearances, being able to prove an individual’s innocence, and finding missing persons by using DNA recognition.
Deoxyribonucleic acid is what carries the hereditary and genetic code of humans. Each human has chromosomes that carry their DNA, 23 received from the mother and 23 from the father totaling 46. Most DNA is not different from other individuals, only 0.10% of each person’s DNA is unique. Law enforcement is able to track down suspected criminals by analyzing this small percentage. As stated in DNA biometrics, “The chance of two individuals sharing the same DNA profile is less than one in a hundred billion” (DNA Biometrics). With this being said, once law enforcement has obtained an individual’s DNA at a crime scene, they are able to run it through their labs and databases to find out which individual they are looking for. Many different items from your body can be used to obtain your DNA such as blood, hair, saliva, tissue, and semen (DNA Biometrics).
When DNA Recognition was first introduced, it was not wi...

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... with all new forms of technology and science constantly evolving, issues of morality and ethics come into play which will only prolong what authorities have discovered and hope to implement in order to improve the future of DNA recognition and testing.
Law enforcement and other agencies have been able to re-open cold cases, help find missing persons, and prove the innocence of individuals with the technological discovery and use of DNA recognition and testing in the 21st century. They have been able to give closure to families who have lost family members and have been able to prevent criminals from ever committing another offense against another human being. Although there are still numerous problems and obstacles with DNA recognition and forensic scientists are still working out the kinks, the amount of help DNA recognition has been able to give is phenomenal.

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