OVER the years, advancements in genetic testing have helped authorities close cold cases.
The science behind DNA is always changing and could look different in the next 100 years.
DNA is made of two linked strands[/caption]
How does DNA testing work?
Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, has been an important part of medicine and the criminal justice system.
Essentially, a sample, such as blood or saliva, is sent to a laboratory where technicians look for changes in chromosomes, DNA, or proteins.
In terms of the criminal justice system, DNA tests can either confirm or rule out a suspect.
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For medicine, DNA tests can help determine a person’s chance of developing or passing on a genetic disorder, according to Medline Plus.
How many genetic tests are there?
In medicine, there are three types of DNA tests that help detect genetic conditions.
However, despite medical advancements, there is no single genetic test that can detect all genetic conditions, according to the CDC.
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Those tests include:
Single gene testing
Single gene testing is commonly used in the medical field to help determine if someone has a specific condition or syndrome.
The test looks for changes in one gene and can help diagnose disorders including cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs, and sickle cell anemia.
Panel testing
Panel testing is a little more advanced than single gene testing because it looks for changes in many genes in one test.
It can help diagnose the development of certain kinds of cancer.
Large-scale genetic testing
Large-scale genetic testing, also known as genomic testing, includes exome sequencing and genome sequencing.
These are typically ordered by doctors for patients who have complicated medical histories to give them a better idea of what a patient might have.
They are also used in research.
Who discovered DNA?
DNA was first discovered back in the 1860s by Swiss biologist Johann Friedrich Miescher.
At the time, he was working with white blood cells but was able to isolate “nuclein,” DNA with associated proteins, from cell nuclei, by collecting bandages from a nearby clinic and washing off the pus, which contains a lot of white blood cells.
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DNA – or Deoxyribonucleic acid – got its name more than 15 years later, in 1885, by German biochemist Albrecht Kossel.
The double-helix structure of DNA that we all know today, was then discovered by English chemist Rosalind Franklin and described by molecular biologists James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953.
