EVERYDAY SCIENCE - GENETIC INFORMATION

Question 1

Churros was recently invited by the police to aid in an investigation of a robbery. The robber had fled with a sack of bank notes. Churros combed through the bank to gather evidences in order to find out who the robber is. After a few hours, Churros found some blood samples and a few strands of hair at the crime scene.

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Answer 1

Fill in the blanks with the keywords provided below.
[same] • [fertilised egg] • [genetic information] • [white] • [not inherited] • [unique] • [nucleus] • [red]

a) How are the blood samples and hair strands useful in the investigation?

Answer:

They contain cells with (DNA) stored in the of each cell. As genetic information is in every individual (except in identical twins), the genetic information from the blood and hair strands will be useful in identifying the robber.


b) Which component in the blood contains DNA? The red blood cell or the white blood cell? Explain your answer.

Answer:

blood cells. blood cells do not have a nucleus, therefore they do not contain DNA.


c) The police officers managed to narrow down the suspects to two individuals who happen to be identical twins. Would the blood and hair still be useful in the investigation? Explain your answer.

Answer:

No. Since identical twins share the genetic makeup because they had developed from the same .


d) The security camera showed that the masked robber had tanned skin. This helped the police to identify the robber between the twins. This is because one of the twins had tanned skin but the other did not. Why do they have some different characteristics even though they are twins?

Answer:

Some characteristics are . These characteristics are determined by the environment a person is in. For example, tanned skin is caused by a person spending time under the sun.




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“Even though DNA is the often used for forensic investigation, fingerprint is a much better evidence in the case of distinguishing identical twins.”