{"id":340565,"date":"2025-06-16T17:11:16","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T11:41:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=340565"},"modified":"2025-06-17T13:55:19","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T08:25:19","slug":"dna-identification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/dna-identification\/","title":{"rendered":"DNA Identification"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>News:<\/strong> Authorities are using DNA analysis to identify the remains of those killed in the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad. <strong>DNA Identification<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>About DNA Identification<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_340567\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-340567\" style=\"width: 512px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-340567\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Source-Genome-Project.png?resize=512%2C285&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"285\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Source-Genome-Project.png?resize=300%2C167&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Source-Genome-Project.png?resize=1024%2C568&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Source-Genome-Project.png?resize=768%2C426&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Source-Genome-Project.png?w=1117&amp;ssl=1 1117w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-340567\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source &#8211; Genome Project<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>DNA identification is a scientific method used <strong>to identify an individual based on their unique genetic makeup<\/strong> by comparing their DNA with DNA found in biological samples such as blood, hair, or tissue, to determine if they are the source of the sample.<\/li>\n<li>Every person has a <strong>unique DNA<\/strong> that is present in nearly every cell of their body, with the <strong>exception of identical twins<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use:<\/strong> DNA identification is the gold standard for <strong>identifying human remains<\/strong>, especially after mass fatality events in which bodies might not be easy to identify otherwise.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Collecting and Storing Samples<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>DNA <strong>survives<\/strong> much <strong>better in cold and dry conditions<\/strong>, than when it is hot and humid.<\/li>\n<li>This is why samples have to be <strong>collected as soon as possible<\/strong>, and once collected, should ideally be <strong>frozen at minus 20 degrees Celsius<\/strong>, or, in the case of <strong>soft tissues<\/strong> (skin, muscles, etc.), they may be stored in <strong>95% ethanol.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>DNA from <strong>soft tissues degrades much faster<\/strong> than that from hard tissues (bones and teeth).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>To identify who the collected DNA belongs to, <strong>reference samples<\/strong> are collected from <strong>biological relatives.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Parents and children of the victim are ideal candidates for providing these samples, given that they share 50% of each other\u2019s DNA.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Methods of Analysis<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Short tandem repeat (STR) analysis:<\/strong> The method evaluates short tandem repeats, which are essentially <strong>short repeating sequences of DNA<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li>STRs are used for DNA identification as they widely <strong>vary between individuals<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The STRs are typically found on nuclear DNA which is located within the <strong>nucleus of a cell<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis:<\/strong> This method is used when <strong>nuclear DNA is degraded<\/strong> or unavailable.\n<ul>\n<li>Mitochondrial DNA is <strong>found<\/strong> within the cell\u2019s energy-producing organelles known as<strong> mitochondria.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>As mtDNA is present in multiple copies within the cell, it is <strong>easier to recover<\/strong> from human remains that are not well preserved.<\/li>\n<li>This is used for identification because <strong>mtDNA is passed down by the mother, unchanged, to all her children.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Y chromosome analysis:<\/strong> Humans have <strong>two types of sex chromosomes<\/strong>, <strong>X and Y<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>Biological <strong>males<\/strong> typically have <strong>one X and one Y <\/strong>chromosome, and biological <strong>females<\/strong> typically have <strong>two X<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>In this method, a panel of <strong>STR on Y chromosomes<\/strong>, passed on from father to son, is examined to match the remains of the victim <strong>with their male relatives<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) analysis:<\/strong> The method is typically used when the DNA to be analysed is <strong>highly degraded<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li>A SNP is a <strong>variation in the DNA sequence<\/strong> where a single base \u2014 <strong>A, C, G, or T<\/strong> \u2014 at a specific location differs among people.<\/li>\n<li>Given that SNPs are <strong>unique to each person<\/strong>, they can be used for identification purposes with the <strong>help of reference samples<\/strong> taken from, e.g. victim\u2019s <strong>personal belongings<\/strong> such as a toothbrush and hairbrush.<\/li>\n<li>This method is <strong>not as effective as STR analysis<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News: Authorities are using DNA analysis to identify the remains of those killed in the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad. DNA Identification About DNA Identification DNA identification is a scientific method used to identify an individual based on their unique genetic makeup by comparing their DNA with DNA found in biological samples&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/dna-identification\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">DNA Identification<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10393,"featured_media":340567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566,1738,12039],"tags":[11872],"class_list":["post-340565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-factly-articles","category-science-and-technology-daily-factly-articles","category-knolls","tag-9pm-daily-factly","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Source-Genome-Project.png?fit=1117%2C620&ssl=1","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10393"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=340565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/340567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=340565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=340565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=340565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}