Pros And Cons Of Dna Profiling

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DNA profiling was first established in 1985, and has seen extensive use in the field of forensic science and genomics. DNA profiling was developed in 1984 by Alec Jeffreys, after he noticed that certain sequences of highly variable DNA, which were non-coding, were repeated within genes (McKie, 2009). He recognised that each individual has a unique pattern of non-coding DNA sequences therefore allowing them to be profiled. The process has helped the police in solving crime cases over the years, as every individual’s DNA is unique to their characteristics, forensic scientists can use the DNA at a crime scene to identify the victims, reduce the number of wrongful arrests, increase the reliability of evidence, and provide information at crime scenes where there are no witnesses. The purpose of the investigation is to analyse whether newborn infants should have their DNA profiled and stored in a database at birth. …show more content…

Even though there may be benefits, there would also be limitations, most notably the costs of creating and maintaining a database. The pros and cons will be discussed in the following document, as well as relevant biological background information.

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