The Simple DNA Test
Libby Copeland, author of "Who was she? A DNA test only opened new mysteries," uses many different literary elements to inform the readers of The Washington Post of what taking a "simple" DNA test can do to you and your family. Copeland uses Alice Collins Plebuch and a few others’ stories and discoveries to secure the point clearly. Exposition, tone, and repetition are just a few those elements. Moreover, exposition is an element used to give the readers background information before actually going into the story, or the rest of the article. By explaining the history of DNA, Copeland uses the technique of exposition. “Over the past five years, as the price of DNA testing kits has dropped and their quality has improved,
…show more content…
Repetition is used numerous by Copeland throughout it. She uses it to assemble her main point that there are consequences to taking the DNA test. The results can affect your family. “Doing DNA testing for fun can carry consequences few of us might anticipate. It requires little investment at the outset, but it has the potential to utterly change our lives.” Copeland starts off with using Plebuch’s story. Plebuch wanted to just do a DNA test for fun, but the results contradicted what she was told as a kid. This lead Plebuch to become curious and take more and more tests. The tests weren’t just her DNA; plenty of other people got tested to help Plebuch uncover the “hidden secret.” The simple test for Plebuch became an investment and time consuming process that lasted over two years. Once the results where back, she realized there was no secret but a mistake. Plebush discovery didn’t cause any hatred or pity from either family. The finding actually brought the families closer together. Copeland once more reminds us “DNA testing can also yield to uncomfortable surprises.” This was the case for Laurie Pratt. She found out that her father wasn’t actually her father. When trying to explain the man, her biological father, he was ashamed and never answered
After the death of her brother, Werner, she becomes despondent and irrational. As she numbly follows her mother to the burial
In today's society no crime is a perfect crime, with the use of DNA testing and modern advancements in health and forensics even the smallest piece of someone's genome can be cultured and used to identify even the most devious of criminals. The use of DNA testing was able to help change the life of Gene Bibbins for the better and further proved how DNA testing is able to be used to help clarify who the culprit actually is. Gene Bibbins life was forever changed the night that he was unjustifiably arrested for aggravated rape which resulted in his being sentenced to life in prison, only for his case to eventually be reevaluated sixteen years after his conviction, leading to his exoneration.
As Rob’s Dad gets to hear everything that Rob was trying to hold in, from the loss of his Mom. His Dad understands and has the same problem holding back his emotions of the loss of his wife, and how it impacts Robs
She confronts him about the way he’s treated her.
she gets flashbacks of the past incidents that occurred all because of her uncle. This story overall,
The theory of DNA, simply stated, is that an individual’s genetic information is unique, with the exception of identical twins, and that it “definitively links biological evidence such as blood, semen, hair and tissue to a single individual” (Saferstein, 2013). This theory has been generally accepted since the mid-80s throughout the scientific community and hence, pursuant to the 1923 Frye ruling, also deemed admissible evidence throughout our justice system.
She rejects her father's mastery over her sexuality and refuses to allow her virginity to be her father's commodity.
forfill her dream. Three months after her mom died, her father got a letter in the mail. It was
In the film, two contrasting examples of genetic testing are shown. The first example is of the twins Noah and Alexis Beery, who are stricken with a rare disease that mimics cerebral palsy. Through genetic testing, doctors discovered that the twins could be treated with dopamine. By sequencing their entire genome, the twin’s lives were saved. The second example is Andrew S...
Before the 1980s, courts relied on testimony and eyewitness accounts as a main source of evidence. Notoriously unreliable, these techniques have since faded away to the stunning reliability of DNA forensics. In 1984, British geneticist Alec Jeffreys of the University of Leicester discovered an interesting new marker in the human genome. Most DNA information is the same in every human, but the junk code between genes is unique to every person. Junk DNA used for investigative purposes can be found in blood, saliva, perspiration, sexual fluid, skin tissue, bone marrow, dental pulp, and hair follicles (Butler, 2011). By analyzing this junk code, Jeffreys found certain sequences of 10 to 100 base pairs repeated multiple times. These tandem repeats are also the same for all people, but the number of repetitions is highly variable. Before this discovery, a drop of blood at a crime scene could only reveal a person’s blood type, plus a few proteins unique to certain people. Now DNA forensics can expose a person’s gender, race, susceptibility to diseases, and even propensity for high aggression or drug abuse (Butler, 2011). More importantly, the certainty of DNA evidence is extremely powerful in court. Astounded at this technology’s almost perfect accuracy, the FBI changed the name of its Serology Unit to the DNA Analysis Unit in 1988 when they began accepting requests for DNA comparisons (Using DNA to Solve Crimes, 2014).
The Human Genome Project is the largest scientific endeavor undertaken since the Manhattan Project, and, as with the Manhattan Project, the completion of the Human Genome Project has brought to surface many moral and ethical issues concerning the use of the knowledge gained from the project. Although genetic tests for certain diseases have been available for 15 years (Ridley, 1999), the completion of the Human Genome Project will certainly lead to an exponential increase in the number of genetic tests available. Therefore, before genetic testing becomes a routine part of a visit to a doctor's office, the two main questions at the heart of the controversy surrounding genetic testing must be addressed: When should genetic testing be used? And who should have access to the results of genetic tests? As I intend to show, genetic tests should only be used for treatable diseases, and individuals should have the freedom to decide who has access to their test results.
To support her financially was here. parents, who played a dominant role in her life, and it was hard to see how the bond was broken. However, whilst she had her parents A man named Randall came along where he became infatuated with her and offered her, almost a fresh beginning where she could be relieved of. being dependent on her parents. The way that he could have given her... ...
Creative Writing Topic: Fred and Frank are identical twins who live in a rural village in England. A rape has occurred, and the police are asking for voluntary DNA samples to help narrow the search for the rapist. Fred is ready to volunteer for the DNA testing, when Frank asks him not to…
In today’s world, people are learning a great deal in the rapidly growing and developing fields of science and technology. Almost each day, an individual can see or hear about new discoveries and advances in these fields of study. One science that is rapidly progressing is genetic testing; a valuable science that promotes prevention efforts for genetically susceptible people and provides new strategies for disease management. Unnaturally, and morally wrong, genetic testing is a controversial science that manipulates human ethics. Although genetic testing has enormous advantages, the uncertainties of genetic testing will depreciate our quality of life, and thereby result in psychological burden, discrimination, and abortion.
The father is the town’s doctor, his name is Doctor Lester Cochran. He sees to the ill and dying, as well as pregnant woman to help with bringing new life into this world. He is seen as a cold hearted man to his daughter who hardly knows him. He is quite and emotionless with a bunch of hidden secrets (English).