The Uses of DNA Technology in Forensic Science Essay Example for Free

The Uses of DNA Technology in Forensic Science Essay Timothy Banas has a masters degree in biophysics and was a high school science teacher in Chicago for seven years. He has since been working as a trading systems analyst, standardized test item developer, and freelance writer. As a freelancer, he has written articles on everything from personal finances to computer technology. Forensic science involves the use of scientific procedures to gather evidence related to matters of the law. The cells of all organisms contain deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and the DNA of any one organism is unique. Forensic scientists have learned to collect and analyze DNA to help determine which organismshumans as well as other kindswere present at the scene of a crime or catastrophe. DNA can be used to accomplish a number of specific goals in forensic investigations. Identifying Individual Persons * Because each persons DNA sequence is unique, it can be matched to him like a fingerprint. According to the U.S. governments Oak Ridge National Laboratory, forensic scientists use DNA evidence to identify persons in criminal and paternity cases. DNA evidence does not always identify a suspect or a man as being the father of a child; sometimes the forensic evidence exonerates a suspect or determines that a man is not the father of a child. DNA evidence can also be used to identify victims of catastrophes, such as natural disasters or terrorist attacks. Identifying Species of Animals * There are laws governing the conservation and hunting of endangered species. If someone is suspected of illegally capturing and transporting an endangered species, forensic scientists can use DNA analysis to confirm or rule out whether the animal specimen in question in fact belongs to the protected species. A few hair or skin cells from the animal will suffice to yield accurate test results, so a suspected animal transporter or hunter does not need to be caught with the actual animal. Other Applications * DNA evidence can be used to identify a type of bacteria or parasite  that may have caused the death of a person. This information can be useful in cases of medical or parental negligence. The origins of expensive consumables like liquors and caviars can be verified using DNA analysis. Lastly, DNA samples can help medical professionals find good donor organ matches for people who require organ transplantations to survive. - Bioremediation The use of living organisms for the recovery/ cleaning up of a contaminated medium (soil, sediment, air, water). The process of bioremediation might involve introduction of new organisms to a site, or adjustment of environmental conditions to enhance degradation rates of indigenous fauna. Bioremediation can be applied to recover brownfields for development and for preparing contaminated industrial effluents prior to discharge into waterways. Bioremediation technologies are also applied to contaminated wastewater, ground or surface waters, soils, sediments and air where there has been either accidental or intentional release of pollutants or chemicals that pose a risk to human, animal or ecosystem health. Different approaches to bioremediation take advantage of the metabolic processes of different organisms for degradation, or sequestering and concentration, of different contaminants. For example, soil bioremediation might be performed under either aerobic or anaerobic conditions, and involve optimization of the metabolic pathways of bacteria or fungi for degradation of hydrocarbons, aromatic compounds or chlorinated pesticides. Phytoremediation is bioremediation using plants and is often proposed for bioaccumulation of metals, although there are many other different types of phytoremediation. Bioremediation using genetically engineered microorganisms (GEMs, or GMOs), carrying recombinant proteins, is still relatively uncommon due to regulatory constraints related to their release and control. Other methods of enzyme optimization that do not include gene cloning technqiues, might be  applied to indigenous microorganisms in order to enhance their pre-existing traits. Examples: Nutrients were added to the soil to enhance bacterial degradation of contaminants and increase the rate of bioremediation on the brownfield site.

Racism in To Kill A Mocking Bird :: essays research papers

Bullying And Discrimination Differences in the social status are observed considerably large in the society of Maycomb. Scout and Jem are two little children who are growing up, observing all the complicated incidents and trying to understand them. In the Maycomb County, incidents get more and more complicated as the dilemma of racism becomes bigger and bigger and as wise Atticus starts loosing faith in the good in people. Maycomb’s society is like a hierarchy. On the top there is Atticus Finch, he always tries to believe the good people. The ignorant farmers Cunningham’s are below the towns’ people, which are below Finches. The Ewell’s even lower on the society and the black society comes after them despite all of their honourable and respectable conditions. The place where black society stands on the social hierarchy enables Bob Ewell to cover his obscure presence by putting Tom Robinson down. Jem and Scout are growing in this society and Atticus keeps on trying to teach them to look at situations from another persons’ perspective to understand it better. This is like a moral lesson to the reader from Harper Lee. It is something that applies to everyone. The huge difference in social status is very destructive for the community and for Scout. For example, Scout doesn’t understand why Aunt Alexander doesn’t let her be friends with young Cunningham. Harp er Lee uses children’s naivety and simplicity to show the complexities of the adult world and prejudice in human interaction. Atticus grows his children to be fair and equal. He is a very wise man, who in many situations knows how to act and what to do. In a racist society like Maycomb, he is brave enough to defend a black man. This trial is very important because it gives an insight of the society people and how they react to Tom’s death. At the end of this trial Jem looses his trust in rationality of the people and sees the irrational evil in people through this ugly incident. When the ladies of the county get together in Finches house, we get to know more about the women of Maycomb. They talk about how their black maids complain and that Jesus never complained so no education will make a â€Å"Christian† out of them. They don’t consider blacks as Christians. After all they believe in the same God. Women discuss and talk but they never really talk about anything that matters. Racism in To Kill A Mocking Bird :: essays research papers Bullying And Discrimination Differences in the social status are observed considerably large in the society of Maycomb. Scout and Jem are two little children who are growing up, observing all the complicated incidents and trying to understand them. In the Maycomb County, incidents get more and more complicated as the dilemma of racism becomes bigger and bigger and as wise Atticus starts loosing faith in the good in people. Maycomb’s society is like a hierarchy. On the top there is Atticus Finch, he always tries to believe the good people. The ignorant farmers Cunningham’s are below the towns’ people, which are below Finches. The Ewell’s even lower on the society and the black society comes after them despite all of their honourable and respectable conditions. The place where black society stands on the social hierarchy enables Bob Ewell to cover his obscure presence by putting Tom Robinson down. Jem and Scout are growing in this society and Atticus keeps on trying to teach them to look at situations from another persons’ perspective to understand it better. This is like a moral lesson to the reader from Harper Lee. It is something that applies to everyone. The huge difference in social status is very destructive for the community and for Scout. For example, Scout doesn’t understand why Aunt Alexander doesn’t let her be friends with young Cunningham. Harp er Lee uses children’s naivety and simplicity to show the complexities of the adult world and prejudice in human interaction. Atticus grows his children to be fair and equal. He is a very wise man, who in many situations knows how to act and what to do. In a racist society like Maycomb, he is brave enough to defend a black man. This trial is very important because it gives an insight of the society people and how they react to Tom’s death. At the end of this trial Jem looses his trust in rationality of the people and sees the irrational evil in people through this ugly incident. When the ladies of the county get together in Finches house, we get to know more about the women of Maycomb. They talk about how their black maids complain and that Jesus never complained so no education will make a â€Å"Christian† out of them. They don’t consider blacks as Christians. After all they believe in the same God. Women discuss and talk but they never really talk about anything that matters.

Movie Analysis of Gender Stereotyping: Antz Essay

In the movie ‘Antz’, we encountered blatant examples of prejudice based on three societal classifications: race, class, and gender. This movie appeared to be completely unintentional in the portrayal of the stereotypes, yet it is the completely benign nature of their usage which is of interest. Did Dreamworks SKG draw up the plot and characters around these stereotypes to draw the audience closer and encourage acceptance, or are these characteristics so deeply ingrained that they appeared haphazardly? Likely, we will never know, but the appearance of this phenomena is cause for interest. The movie showed instances of gender stereotyping most strongly. Starting with the women characters, there is a laundry list of notable instances, but I will only name a few. We can start with Azteca, Z’s friend and fellow â€Å"worker†. While Z is a typical male who is competitive and wants to move up in the world, Azteca maintains a somewhat â€Å"typical† female response. Instead of encouraging him, she tells Z to just smile, and happily accept his place, even if it is an awful life where he is to literally digging ditches his whole life. This example simply highlight the stereotype that women can, in effect, be â€Å"yes men†, the phrase further illustrating the perception of weakness in females. Another time when this theme appeared was when the Queen was talking to her daughter, who was, in an old-school sort of way, betrothed to a man not of her choosing, the general. While the daughter complained, the Queen simply urged her to be complacent, and accept her fate, because it is â€Å"the best thing for everyone†. Another instance, and one which I found particularly hilarious, was the woman wasp(no coincidence there, of course). When Z and the princess were in trouble, she insisted to her husband that he help them, because it was the humanitarian thing to do. It was presented in such a way that harkened to the proverbial housewife image, whereby the female has nothing to do other than take care of the house and children, and as a pleasant little â€Å"hobby†, helps out humanitarian efforts to do some good for the world. With the men, the images were more plentiful, and more a-typical. The general  was a macho, power-hungry jerk, a seemingly perfect attitude for a man in this position. Z was, while more timid, an entrepreneur, striving to accomplish something in his life, and managed to become another male hero twice during the course of the film. In the bar, it was the men who started fighting, not women. Again, very typical. As a whole, Antz demonstrated how completely these stereotypes have permeated our culture, simply because, if we had not been watching this movie in an analytical way, the stereotypes would have floated past us, unnoticed.

The American Court System And Criminal Justice System

The System Each year, approximately ten-thousand people are convicted of crimes that they did not commit (Spring). Ten-thousand people that will never see their kids grow up, ten-thousand people that will miss out on life, ten-thousand people whose lives will never be the same. Men and women are on death row for decades, only to be exonerated after their execution. Where is the justice in that? Prisons are also overcrowded and according to political scientist David Hudson, America holds five percent of the world s population, but twenty-five percent of the world s prison population (Hudson). This is partially derived from the overwhelming amount of cases that the justice system takes on, but also because of the harsh sentences. About†¦show more content†¦are innocent† (â€Å"How many innocent people are there in prison†). According to the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, there have been 156 people who were sentenced to death that have been exonerated of the ir crimes between 1973 and October of 2015. That means one of every ten individuals on death row are innocent (â€Å"Innocence†). These people sit on death row for decades for crimes they never committed, the system is allowing innocent people to not only be convicted but almost executed. The most common reasons for these innocent convictions are false accusations, mistaken identity and official misconduct. Much like in Arthur Miller’s â€Å"The Crucible† people are intimidated to falsely confess to crimes they did not commit to lessen their punishment. The Salem witch trials portrayed in this play are an early example of innocent convictions. Another example, is The Central Park Jogger Case in 1989, where five minority teenage boys were pushed into confessing to the rape and beating of Trisha Meili. Thirteen years after the horrendous crime was committed the real rapist confessed to it. Both â€Å"The Crucible† and The Central Park Jogger Case are prime examples of false evidence, false confession, mistaken identity and official misconduct. If there are innocent people who were on death row but were later acquitted, then it is possible that there have been innocent people who were executed. There needs to be special precautions taken in order to sentence