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Baking out DNA

Forensic Scientists Improve DNA Analysis with Mummy-Inspired Bone-Baking

February 1, 2008

Forensic scientists analyzing bones found in the Gobi desert discovered that the DNA within them could be surprisingly easily extracted. In an experiment designed to mimic the conditions that affected those bones, baking a particularly difficult sample made the DNA much more easily extracted, probably because it makes it easier to break open more cells and expose more of the DNA molecules.

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Science Insider

What is DNA ? DNA is the blueprint that encodes all the data for building a human body, along with instructions on how it should operate. Every cell in a person's body contains a copy of this DNA.

DNA typing is based on an unusual feature found in the human genome. There are multiple copies of certain short sequences, 3 to 30 base pairs long, that are repeated one after another as many as 100 times. These groups of repeat sequences are widely scattered through the genome. Everyone has these repeat units, but the number varies from person to person. Only identical twins will have the same numbers and patterns of these sequences. These genetic data aren't instructions to make anything; scientists think they might exist to get mixed up in the regular genes and provide some variety for evolution.

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Julie Winkel, Director of Media Relations
University of New Haven
(203) 932-7246
jwinkel@newhaven.edu


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