INTRODUCTION TO FORENSIC GENETICS

Catalog description

Forensic genetics is a field in which the properties of proteins and nucleic acids (genes) are utilized to identify the person that produced them; for example, whose DNA is on a gun trigger? This is the first in a two-course series. This course provides a foundation in basic genetic principles and methods relevant to criminal investigation and victim identification. Topics include introduction and history of molecular forensics, crime scene evidence, serology (blood, semen, saliva), blood spatter, chromosome structure, principles of inheritance, linkage and crossing over, microsatellites (STRs), DNA extraction methods, standard PCR, capillary electrophoresis, mitochondrial DNA, sex chromosomes, basic population genetics, and CODIS database.