DNA

 Author's Note: This is my essay I wrote for science class on DNA.

Could something as small as a piece of hair put you behind bars? Yes, even a tiny hair at a crime scene could if not put you behind bars, it could send you to court as a suspect.  After many years of researching DNA scientists have proved that every single person can be identified by just their DNA. DNA is like your bar-code, whatever traces you leave can come back to you.  (Harris)

Every single person has their own unique DNA pattern. No one on the Earth has the same DNA as you, unless you are an identical twin. DNA, also known as Deoxyribonucleic acid is like your body's computer. Your DNA is found in your cells, specifically in your nucleus. It is arranged in spirals called a Double Helix. Each strand of DNA is filled with millions of bases. There are four main bases; cytosine, guanine, adenine, and thymine. Since DNA strands are very long the base pairs can be arranged in millions of different ways. The order of which your DNA is in, makes you, you! Each strand of DNA determines a different trait you have such as hair color, eye color or how tall you are.  (What is DNA?)

Whether you have a piece of DNA or a finger print, you may be able to figure the person it belongs to.  They have DNA databases where there is people's DNA stored from other investigations so that they are able to find and locate the person who committed a certain crime (Harris).  One small piece of DNA can prove someone's guilt or innocence. (Smolenyak) Even when they think no one will ever find out about the crime they committed, a small piece of DNA can be found and turn them guilty.  (Lieberman)

Your DNA makes up who you are and all your traits. No one’s DNA is exactly like yours. There is no one on this earth that is an exact match with someone else.

Bibliography

Harris, William. "How DNA Evidence Works." How it works. 23 may 2012 <http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/genetic/dna-evidence.htm>.

Lieberman, Kate Brinton and Kim-An. "DNA Finger Printing." May 1994. Protist Biology. 16 April 2012 <http://protist.biology.washington.edu/fingerprint/dnaintro.html>.

Smolenyak, Megan. "Five things you didn't know about DNA." 30 January 2012. Book Page. 25 April 2012 <http://www.bookpage.com/the-book-case/2012/01/30/five-things-you-didnt-know-about-your-dna/>.

"What is DNA?" 24 April 2012. Genetics Home Research. 26 April 2012 <http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/basics/dna>.