Discussion Questions: DNA on the Witness Stand
Are all physical differences caused by genetic differences? What "kind" of individuals offer the clearest proof of this? Why do DNA fingerprints only profile tiny bits of DNA, instead of the whole three-billion-base-pair sequence? Are all DNA profiles "good evidence" in court? Why or why not? If you wanted to get a DNA sample from someone that would be adequate for profiling, how difficult would it be? What is mitochondrial DNA? Is it inherited the same way nuclear DNA is inherited? What information about family trees can you get only from mitochondrial DNA? Name some uses of DNA profiling. Do you want your DNA in a databank? Why or why not?
