Forensic Lab- Carleton Comet
By Gabriella Vasquez, Tyler Leighton, and Sophia Moreno
In this forensic lab, we were given a police report, small background information on each suspect, and evidence at the crime scene; a fingerprint, two blood samples, and a note. We were then asked to analyze the information and create a case against one of the suspects to present in front of mock trial students. Given the supplies for dusting fingerprints, testing blood samples, family history information, and testing ink, we were able to make a case against Nancy Normal
Information in the Case: Fingerprint- One fingerprint was found on the handle of the murder weapon. The fingerprint matched Nancy Normal's left pointed loop. DNA Fingerprinting- With the one fingerprint found, we were able to take the DNA from it and compare to the DNA of the suspects. To further prove that it was Nancy Normal's fingerprint on the murder weapon, it also matched her DNA fingerprint. Blood Samples- Nancy Normal's and Theresa Terra's blood type matched the sample found on the screen. With Karyotypes, we were able to show that Nancy Normal's chromosomal disorder matched the blood sample while Theresa Terra's did not. Pedigrees- With information of all the suspects family history and how/which diseases ran in the families, we were able to see how Nancy Normal is affected by Huntington's disease and how it makes her more susceptible to crime. Ink Chromatography- There was a death threat in note form found at the crime scene. Using ink chromatography, we could find that the pen used to write the note belonged to Nancy Normal. After doing all the experiments and stacking up evidence against Nancy Normal, our next step was to form a case. We created the slide show above which gives background knowledge of the case, all the evidence we have, and what we believe is true; that Nancy Normal committed First Degree Murder by killing Carleton Comet on February 14, 2019. Reflection
The forensic lab was definitely one of the more fun labs we have done in STEM, and we were given the freedom to create the case to our liking. One thing that I have been working on for awhile is leadership. I took the leaders role and took control over each lab and how the presentation was set up. Another thing I did well was staying on task. We got the majority of our work done quickly and with plenty of time to overview what we did. With an assignment that had so many different factors, staying on task and keeping control really helped us get the assignment done well. But on the note of me taking the leadership role, I became sort of a control freak. I set up each lab and recorded all the data, and when it came time to create the case and presentation, I found myself instructing my teammates on what to do and ultimately doing most of the work. What I need to work on is taking a step back and letting the project be a group effort. Another aspect that I need to work on is communication. Throughout the project I found myself doing te work without informing my group what was going on, which then led to confusion when it came time to write up our findings. For the next project, I want to remain in a leader position since it took me so long to work up the skills since freshman year, but I also need to work on taking a step back and allowing equal contribution. The below links are to my teammates websites.
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Content
forensics- scientific tests or techniques used in connection with the detection of crime. genetic disease- condition that is caused by an abnormality in an individual's DNA ink chromatography- the process of separating pigments in ink DNA fingerprint- the analysis of DNA from samples of body tissues or fluids chromosomes- a structure of nucleic acids and protein carrying genetic information in the form of genes. karyotype- the number and visual appearance of the chromosomes in the cell pedigree- the recorded ancestry punnet square- a square diagram that is used to predict the genotypes Huntington's- a progressive brain disorder that causes uncontrolled movements, emotional problems, and loss of thinking ability Triple X syndrome- a genetic syndrome in which there is a presence of an extra X chromosome in each cell of a female XYY Syndrome- a genetic condition in which a male has an extra Y chromosome First Degree Murder- any intentional murder that is willful and premeditated with malice aforethought DNA Structure- DNA is made up of molecules called nucleotides. Each nucleotide contains a phosphate group, a sugar group and a nitrogen base formed in a double helix. DNA Replication- process by which DNA makes a copy of itself during cell division fingerprint loop- One or more of the ridges enters on either side of the impression, re-curves, and then touches or crosses the line running from the delta to the core whorl- some of the ridges make a turn through at least one circuit arch- The ridges run from one side to the other of the pattern, making no backward turn. Blood type A- presence of A antigens in blood cells B- presence of B antigens in blood cells AB- presence of A and B antigens in blood cells O- absence of A or B antigens in blood cells Genetics alleles- a variant form of a gene dominant- relating to or denoting heritable characteristics which are controlled by genes that are expressed in offspring when inherited by one or both parents recessive- relating to or denoting heritable characteristics controlled by genes that are expressed in offspring only when inherited from both parents co-dominant- a form of dominance wherein the alleles of a gene pair in a heterozygote are fully expressed. incomplete dominant- a form of intermediate inheritance in which one allele for a specific trait is not completely expressed over its paired allele. genotype- the genetic constitution of an individual organism phenotype- the set of observable characteristics of an individual DNA Mutations Insertion-the addition of one or more nucleotide base pairs into a DNA sequence Deletion- a part of a chromosome or a sequence of DNA is lost in a DNA sequence Frame shift- a deletion or insertion in a DNA sequence that shifts the way the sequence is read Substitution- exchanges one base for another Nonsense- a point mutation in a sequence of DNA that results in a premature stop codon Missense- a point mutation in which a single nucleotide change results in a codon that codes for a different amino acid Repeat Expansion- slippage during DNA replication that causes base pairs to appear in the incorrect places Duplication- a portion of a genetic material or a chromosome is duplicated or replicated |