Understand how science can help solve crimes.
We often see crime scenes on the news and experts trying to collect all possible clues to solve a mystery. Did you know that science can help?
Several times, when people commit an offense, they leave traces. As they say: There is no perfect crime!
Where robberies or deaths have occurred, it is common to find traces of the criminal. From a hair, for example, we can find out who the thief or murderer is. This is due to the fact that, in hair, we can find DNA, a molecule that contains all the information about a certain person.
Each person has a different DNA, for example, you who read this text have a DNA totally different from mine! So, if any material that contains your DNA is found in a certain location, we can say that you were there.
DNA is found in every cell in the body, so if a drop of blood is found, saliva or the hair itself, a DNA test can be performed to eliminate some suspects.
DNA testing is also used to identify paternity. Did you know that your DNA consists of a portion coming from your father and another portion coming from your mother? That’s why we can know who a person’s parents are, because their DNA is a combination of the DNA of their parents.
Sometimes it is not just the offender’s material found. We can find pollen from plants and even some microorganisms that are unique and exclusive to a certain region. For example, a murder took place in a place where a certain type of plant exists. When analyzing the suspect’s clothes, we found pollen from that plant. This clearly indicates that the person went to that location. We cannot say that he is to blame, but he will have to clarify to the police.
Fingerprints could be the missing piece to identify a criminal
We cannot forget to mention papiloscopy, one of the oldest ways to identify a person. Through this technique, the protrusions of the feet, hands and fingers, called fingerprints, are analyzed.
Have you noticed that when you take a glass, our brand is often printed on it? Without realizing it, we left our prints in several places. Each individual has a different fingerprint, even the twin brothers. That is why it is also used to solve crimes.
Is that you? Wouldn’t you also like to unravel some mysteries?
