GATTACA and DNA Profiling for Criminal Cases
The movie Gattaca explores an era where genetic engineering of humans has become a norm. In this world, people who aren’t genetically engineered are discriminated and called in-valids. In every part of life, one’s DNA takes precedence over all other attributes of a person. Vincent, an in-valid who aspires to be an astronaut, takes on the identity of a genetically superior man called Jerome. All goes well until a mission director at Gattaca, an outer space company, is killed. Eyelashes found on the crime scene are used by police to identify the suspect as Vincent but since he had adorn the disguise of Jerome he was not immediately identified as being Vincent. The investigation ensues where Vincent continuously evades grasp of investigation until someone else confesses and was charged guilty. Now let’s look behind the science of how a single eyelash could be used to solve criminal cases.
What is DNA and where is it?
DNA can be viewed as the ‘source code’ behind us. Just like how in computer science, codes determine how an application looks, behaves and interacts, similarly our genetic makeup or DNA determines our attributes. This is why humans share 99.9% of their DNA with each other. (DNA Finger..) This portion of DNA determines how many fingers we have, the function of our organs et cetera. The remaining 0.1% is different for each individual which can be used for identification purposes.
But where exactly can we extract DNA from? DNA is found in the nucleus of most of our cells. Swab from inside of our mouth, skin cells, saliva, bodily fluids such as urine and blood, sweat or hair root, such as the Vincent’s eyelash in the movie can be used for DNA profiling.
Procedure for DNA Profiling
The procedure for DNA extraction and profiling is fairly simple, cheap and easy to perform. DNA profiling only looks at Short Tandom Repeats (STRs) which are genetic sequences in DNA which are different for everyone. The extracted DNA is cut using restriction endonuclease enzymes to make multiple copies. Then cells electrophoresis is performed.
Cell electrophoresis is a simple yet very useful technique. It is used to separate molecules based on size. The nucleoids in DNA have negative charge so net charge on DNA is negative. DNA is placed in a gel of aragose that allows it to travel through it. Complementary charges are induced at either side of the plate as show in the image below. Being negatively charged, the strands are attracted to the positively charged plate. Heavier the molecule, less slow it travels.
Cell Electrophoresis (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDZUAleWX78)
The pattern made on the gel is then viewed under ultraviolet light and the pattern is copied to sheets. These sheets can then be compared to identify individuals with their DNA samples.
How DNA profiling helps in criminal cases
While genetic engineering of designer babies shown in Gattaca is still some time away, the DNA profiling approach to identify Vincent using his eyebrow, as explained above, is not only available today but is also widely used. Wikipedia page lists dozens of cases where DNA profiling helped in identifying the culprit or proving innocence of a convicted suspect. DNA can be extracted from crime scene via strands of hair or blood left at the crime scene.
In September 2018, Roy Waller was charged with 10 rapes between 1991-2006 in Northern California. He was identified as the perpetrator when DNA evidence from crime scene was matched to one of his relatives on GEDmatch, an online DNA database. Then the police using family tree and in light of other evidences found Waller to be guilty.
GEDmatch has been excessively used by police in the US to solve ‘cold cases’. Cold cases are cases that remain open pending discovery of new evidence. While we do not have a database with DNA of all the citizens like they do in Gattaca, GEDmatch has more than 1.4 million samples in its data-sets and there are other data-sets that have much more samples such as AncestryDNA which reportedly has more than 20million samples.
The use of these data-sets is extremely helpful to the police especially in cold cases. People are constantly uploading samples to GEDmatch and a single match to a relative of a suspect could greatly help in identifying the real perpetrator.
Another example of a cold case being solved with the help of GEDtech was in November 2018. Georgia police tracked and arrested Jerry Lee in Alabama for murder of 28yo Lorrie Smith. The murderer was not identified for 21 years but with the help of DNA profiling, he was identified.
Cons of DNA Profiling
There have been controversies with law enforcement departments misinterpreting DNA fingerprinting results. William Thompson, a criminology professor at UC Irvine, claimed that by looking at data of Houston Police Department Crime Lab, he noticed that they were routinely misinterpretating even the most basic samples of DNA fingerprinting. There have been other reports of misinterpretation of DNA fingerprinting but it is the problem of the interpreter and not that of the DNA fingerprinting technique.
Another issue that could arise via DNA fingerprinting is unnecessary doubt on people. In Gattaca, the investigators found Vincent’s hair on the murder scene (someone’s office) which raised suspicion on him. Now since Vincent’s DNA was found to be that of someone who didn't work there, suspicions arose more. But, it is normal to drop strands of hair when you visit someplace that could just lead to unnecessary doubt for police and may lead to wastage of time in a time crucial case.
Another issue is of ‘DNA privacy’. Companies like GEDmatch require you to upload your own samples to use their site. In May 2019, they tightened their rules on privacy by requiring users to “opt in” to sharing data with law enforcement. Your uploaded DNA on GEDmatch is visible to other users on the site.
Conclusion
We can agree than the advantages of DNA fingerprinting far overweigh the alleged disadvantages that we have discussed. This is evident from the sheer number of cases solved, including case where innocence of people who had been previously convicted and found guilty was proven via DNA fingerprinting.
References
DNA Fingerprinting. (2012). Retrieved 23 November 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbR9xMXuK7c
DNA Fingerprinting | Genetics | Biology | FuseSchool. (2019). Retrieved 23 November 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7onjVBsQwQ8
Gaille, L. (2021). 10 Pivotal Pros and Cons of DNA Fingerprinting. Retrieved 23 November 2021, from https://vittana.org/10-pivotal-pros-and-cons-of-dna-fingerprinting
GEDmatch - Wikipedia. (2021). Retrieved 23 November 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEDmatch
Gel Electrophoresis. (2017). Retrieved 23 November 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDZUAleWX78
List of suspected perpetrators of crimes identified with GEDmatch - Wikipedia. (2021). Retrieved 23 November 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suspected_perpetrators_of_crimes_identified_with_GEDmatch
Niccol, A. (1997). Gattaca [DVD]. United States: Sony Pictures Releasing.
Shaer, M. (2021). The False Promise of DNA Testing. Retrieved 23 November 2021, from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/a-reasonable-doubt/480747/
Who Has The Largest DNA Database? (2021) – Data Mining DNA. (2021). Retrieved 23 November 2021, from https://www.dataminingdna.com/who-has-the-largest-dna-database/
What is DNA and where is it?
DNA can be viewed as the ‘source code’ behind us. Just like how in computer science, codes determine how an application looks, behaves and interacts, similarly our genetic makeup or DNA determines our attributes. This is why humans share 99.9% of their DNA with each other. (DNA Finger..) This portion of DNA determines how many fingers we have, the function of our organs et cetera. The remaining 0.1% is different for each individual which can be used for identification purposes.
But where exactly can we extract DNA from? DNA is found in the nucleus of most of our cells. Swab from inside of our mouth, skin cells, saliva, bodily fluids such as urine and blood, sweat or hair root, such as the Vincent’s eyelash in the movie can be used for DNA profiling.
Procedure for DNA Profiling
The procedure for DNA extraction and profiling is fairly simple, cheap and easy to perform. DNA profiling only looks at Short Tandom Repeats (STRs) which are genetic sequences in DNA which are different for everyone. The extracted DNA is cut using restriction endonuclease enzymes to make multiple copies. Then cells electrophoresis is performed.
Cell electrophoresis is a simple yet very useful technique. It is used to separate molecules based on size. The nucleoids in DNA have negative charge so net charge on DNA is negative. DNA is placed in a gel of aragose that allows it to travel through it. Complementary charges are induced at either side of the plate as show in the image below. Being negatively charged, the strands are attracted to the positively charged plate. Heavier the molecule, less slow it travels.
The pattern made on the gel is then viewed under ultraviolet light and the pattern is copied to sheets. These sheets can then be compared to identify individuals with their DNA samples.
How DNA profiling helps in criminal cases
While genetic engineering of designer babies shown in Gattaca is still some time away, the DNA profiling approach to identify Vincent using his eyebrow, as explained above, is not only available today but is also widely used. Wikipedia page lists dozens of cases where DNA profiling helped in identifying the culprit or proving innocence of a convicted suspect. DNA can be extracted from crime scene via strands of hair or blood left at the crime scene.
In September 2018, Roy Waller was charged with 10 rapes between 1991-2006 in Northern California. He was identified as the perpetrator when DNA evidence from crime scene was matched to one of his relatives on GEDmatch, an online DNA database. Then the police using family tree and in light of other evidences found Waller to be guilty.
GEDmatch has been excessively used by police in the US to solve ‘cold cases’. Cold cases are cases that remain open pending discovery of new evidence. While we do not have a database with DNA of all the citizens like they do in Gattaca, GEDmatch has more than 1.4 million samples in its data-sets and there are other data-sets that have much more samples such as AncestryDNA which reportedly has more than 20million samples.
The use of these data-sets is extremely helpful to the police especially in cold cases. People are constantly uploading samples to GEDmatch and a single match to a relative of a suspect could greatly help in identifying the real perpetrator.
Another example of a cold case being solved with the help of GEDtech was in November 2018. Georgia police tracked and arrested Jerry Lee in Alabama for murder of 28yo Lorrie Smith. The murderer was not identified for 21 years but with the help of DNA profiling, he was identified.
Cons of DNA Profiling
There have been controversies with law enforcement departments misinterpreting DNA fingerprinting results. William Thompson, a criminology professor at UC Irvine, claimed that by looking at data of Houston Police Department Crime Lab, he noticed that they were routinely misinterpretating even the most basic samples of DNA fingerprinting. There have been other reports of misinterpretation of DNA fingerprinting but it is the problem of the interpreter and not that of the DNA fingerprinting technique.
Another issue that could arise via DNA fingerprinting is unnecessary doubt on people. In Gattaca, the investigators found Vincent’s hair on the murder scene (someone’s office) which raised suspicion on him. Now since Vincent’s DNA was found to be that of someone who didn't work there, suspicions arose more. But, it is normal to drop strands of hair when you visit someplace that could just lead to unnecessary doubt for police and may lead to wastage of time in a time crucial case.
Another issue is of ‘DNA privacy’. Companies like GEDmatch require you to upload your own samples to use their site. In May 2019, they tightened their rules on privacy by requiring users to “opt in” to sharing data with law enforcement. Your uploaded DNA on GEDmatch is visible to other users on the site.
Conclusion
We can agree than the advantages of DNA fingerprinting far overweigh the alleged disadvantages that we have discussed. This is evident from the sheer number of cases solved, including case where innocence of people who had been previously convicted and found guilty was proven via DNA fingerprinting.
References
DNA Fingerprinting. (2012). Retrieved 23 November 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbR9xMXuK7c
DNA Fingerprinting | Genetics | Biology | FuseSchool. (2019). Retrieved 23 November 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7onjVBsQwQ8
Gaille, L. (2021). 10 Pivotal Pros and Cons of DNA Fingerprinting. Retrieved 23 November 2021, from https://vittana.org/10-pivotal-pros-and-cons-of-dna-fingerprinting
GEDmatch - Wikipedia. (2021). Retrieved 23 November 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEDmatch
Gel Electrophoresis. (2017). Retrieved 23 November 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDZUAleWX78
List of suspected perpetrators of crimes identified with GEDmatch - Wikipedia. (2021). Retrieved 23 November 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suspected_perpetrators_of_crimes_identified_with_GEDmatch
Niccol, A. (1997). Gattaca [DVD]. United States: Sony Pictures Releasing.
Shaer, M. (2021). The False Promise of DNA Testing. Retrieved 23 November 2021, from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/a-reasonable-doubt/480747/
Who Has The Largest DNA Database? (2021) – Data Mining DNA. (2021). Retrieved 23 November 2021, from https://www.dataminingdna.com/who-has-the-largest-dna-database/
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