Below is an article showing how DNA profiling has benefited the society. By Sang Mi Park

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) is the fundamental building block of all living matter. Functioning as the "blue print" for living structures, DNA is present in all cells and most virii. DNA carries all the information that is needed for protein synthesis and replication of cells. In living organisms, DNA is organized in chromosomes, and it is located in the nucleus of each cell. One of the cases in which DNA helped to solve a crime was the Linda Mann case.

In 1983, Linda Mann, 15, was found murdered. The killer had left a small sample of his semen, which was tested. Four years later, Dawn Ashcroft was found raped and strangled to death. The police believed that the same man had committed both crimes. A dishwasher was a suspect in the crime, and later confessed to it.

Later on in the investigation, the police utilized a new method (DNA fingerprinting). The technique was developed by an English geneticist by the name of Alec Jeffreys. It allowed the investigators to compare the suspect's DNA with the DNA from the semen found at the crime scene. After the results came in, the police were surprised to see that the DNA testing proved that the dishwasher was innocent of both murders.

Later on, a young woman who managed a local bakery said that she had overheard a man telling another man that he had paid someone to go in his place to give blood in his name (Colin Pitchfork). He had a record and had been arrested several times for indecent exposure. The police confronted Colin Pitchfork with the murder accusations, and being convinced that the DNA identification would convict him, Pitchfork admitted to the murders. DNA fingerprinting, a relatively new procedure, had helped to solve a crime.

http://www.bxscience.edu/publications/forensics/articles/dna/h-dna08.htm http://library.thinkquest.org/17049 Coleman, Howard. DNA in the Courtroom: A Trial Watcher's Guide New York: Scholastic, 1999 DNA technology is constantly evolving. New techniques, new loci and the ability to anaylse smaller samples with increased automation promise faster and more discriminating results for the presentaton of forensic evidence incourt.

http://nzic.org.nz/ChemProcesses/biotech/12D.pdf