DNA is unique to each of us, unless, of course, we are talking about identical twins (their DNA is identical). In the same way as fingerprints can be used to identify a person, "DNA fingerprints" can also be used as a means of identification, and not only for people but for animals, and plants, and many other organisms.
DNA fingerprint
Fingerprint
In the technique of DNA fingerprinting, scientists make a profile of a small portion of an individual's DNA. That profile can be compared to those of other people and is commonly used to identify somebody's parents or grandparents, specific varieties of crops, or the breed of an animal. It can also be used to solve crimes. Enough of that.
Today, we discussed all these ideas and we actually solved a crime! Because we don't have access to a full lab, we created a virtual fingerprint from our virtual evidence (a lollipop). This is the virtual lab we used:
This activity gave the girls an idea or two for their DNA video. I can only say that it involves ...
a diva,
a crook,
an undercover FBI agent,
and an expert in genetics.
Stay tuned!`