The Dawn of DNA Fingerprinting In 1984 Alec Jeffreys a British geneticist discovered a method to identify individuals based on their unique DNA patterns This breakthrough led to the development of DNA fingerprinting a technique that would revolutionize forensic science and beyond The Science Behind DNA Fingerprinting DNA fingerprinting relies on the analysis of short tandem repeats STRs which are short sequences of DNA that repeat at specific locations on the genome These repeats are highly variable between individuals making them ideal for identification purposes Imagine a DNA molecule as a long twisted ladder The rungs of the ladder are made up of four different nucleotide bases adenine A guanine G cytosine C and thymine T STRs are short sequences of these nucleotides that repeat at specific locations on the genome Step by Step Calculation Let s consider a simple example to illustrate how DNA fingerprinting works Suppose we have two individuals John and Jane We want to determine if a DNA sample found at a crime scene belongs to either of them 1 DNA Extraction We extract DNA from the crime scene sample John s DNA and Jane s DNA 2 PCR Amplification We use polymerase chain reaction PCR to amplify the STR regions of the DNA molecules 3 Gel Electrophoresis We separate the amplified DNA fragments using gel electrophoresis which sorts the fragments by size 4 Visualization We visualize the separated fragments using a fluorescent dye creating a unique pattern of bands for each individual Comparing DNA Profiles By comparing the DNA profiles of the crime scene sample to John s and Jane s profiles we can determine if there s a match Locus Crime Scene John Jane D18S51 12 15 12 18 15 20 TH01 6 9 6 10 9 12 FGA 20 24 20 26 24 28 In this example the crime scene sample matches John s DNA profile at all three loci We can conclude that the DNA sample found at the crime scene belongs to John The Human Genome Project The Human Genome Project HGP was an international research effort that aimed to sequence the entire human genome Completed in 2003 the HGP has enabled us to better understand the genetic basis of human disease and develop targeted treatments Alec Jeffreys Quote The biggest surprise was the sheer complexity of the human genome We had no idea it was going to be so complicated Alec Jeffreys inventor of DNA fingerprinting Hand Drawn Plot Imagine a graph showing the exponential growth of genomic data over the past few decades The x axis represents the years and the y axis represents the amount of genomic data generated In the 1980s the amount of genomic data was relatively small but with the advent of DNA sequencing technologies the amount of data has grown exponentially Today we have access to vast amounts of genomic data enabling us to make new discoveries and develop innovative treatments The Future of Genomics As we continue to explore the human genome we are likely to uncover new secrets about human biology and disease The integration of genomics artificial intelligence and machine learning will enable us to analyze large datasets and make predictions about human health The dawn of DNA fingerprinting marked the beginning of a new era in forensic science and beyond As we move forward we can expect genomics to play an increasingly important role in shaping our understanding of human biology and improving human health