DNA Fingerprinting The New Sherlock Holmes
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چکیده
O a clear night, anyone with a good telescope can see that the sky is strewn with thousands of satellites— some are manmade satellites, launched into orbit for communications and defense, and some are natural ones, such as our beloved Moon. However, there is another type of satellite that is much closer to home: the human genome is also littered with “satellites.” Genetic satellites are entirely different from the ones overhead. A DNA satellite is a region that consists of a short sequence of DNA repeated over and over again—like an extended genetic stutter, hundreds to thousands of nucleotides long (1). Satellite regions in DNA are apparently functionless and have long been dismissed as “junk” DNA. Although nature has no readily apparent purpose for satellite DNA, humans have been happy to put these regions to good use: variation between individuals in the lengths of their DNA satellites is the basis for one of the most revolutionary techniques in molecular biology: DNA fingerprinting. Astoundingly, despite its ubiquity in today’s courts and on shows like Law and Order and CSI, DNA fingerprinting was only developed two decades ago (2). In the short time since its invention, this technology has not only transformed criminal forensics and judicial systems around the world, but has also revolutionized fields of biology ranging from evolutionary studies to cancer detection and treatment. DNA fingerprinting has provided “DNA fingerprinting has not only transformed criminal forensics and judicial systems around the world, but has also revolutionized fields of biology ranging from evolutionary studies to cancer detection and treatment.” critical evidence in thousands of criminal cases and exonerations (3). In a more familiar example, it was also used to identify another killer, the lethal tainted spinach in the recent E. coli outbreaks, and helped trace the outbreak back to its source in California (4). Amazingly enough, DNA fingerprinting technology will soon enable doctors to detect as few as 10 cancerous cells in an entire lymph node (5), and will allow
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