Abstract
In the Twenty-first Century, there have been great strides regarding technology in various spheres of human life. One of the fields that have recorded tremendous growth in such endeavors is biotechnology. The American Chemical Society describes it as the use of biological systems, organisms, or process by different industries in the learning of the science of life and the upgrade of materials and organisms, including livestock and crops. Biotechnology includes various procedures that are used in the modification of living organisms to suit human needs. Biotechnology has grown over time where it involved domestication of animals, growing plants, and improving on them via breeding strategies that use artificial selection and hybridization. Presently, some of the applications of biotechnology include cell and tissues culture technologies and genetic engineering. In this essay, the focus would be on DNA profiling, which is also called DNA typing, DNA fingerprinting, or genetic fingerprinting. The essay would describe how it is performed, its relationship with biotechnology, and its uses. Moreover, the essay would discuss one advantage, one disadvantage, and one risk of DNA profiling. Lastly, the essay would discuss one ethical concern that may emanate from the use of DNA profiling.
DNA Profiling
DNA profiling meets the definition of biotechnology since it is a biological process, which uses DNA profiles for practical benefits. In DNA fingerprinting, a DNA profile is obtained from an individual, and then it is matched with an already existing DNA profile database if the process was meant to identify an individual as it may be the case in Forensic DNA profiling. The database is kept using technology and the DNA profiles are a result of biological processes ( Harteveld, Lindenbergh, & Sijen, 2013). As a result, DNA typing perfectly fits the definition of biotechnology.
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Similarly, the process of DNA profiling is performed in a specific way. First, the process starts by finding a source of the DNA sample. The sample may be blood, hair, urine, semen, saliva, or any other bodily product ( Harteveld, Lindenbergh, & Sijen, 2013). Secondly, one has to extract the sample from that particular source, which was identified in the first step. This process involves breaking down the cell membrane to allow the DNA get to the external environment. To attain this objective, experts use detergents. The detergents help break the cell membranes by creating micelles in protein and lipid parts of the membrane. Third, after extracting the DNA the experts subject it to digestion by restriction endonucleases, which are enzymes that break a DNA at certain points that it recognizes ( Harteveld, Lindenbergh, & Sijen, 2013). This means that every restriction enzyme recognizes a given DNA sequence that it cuts at specific points.
Fourth, the DNA fragments are separated due to their difference in length using gel electrophoresis technique. The process involves moving the DNA fragments on a gel-based matrix using an electric current The set-up has a positive charge, which attracts the negatively charged DNA molecule. Consequently, one would get DNA pieces that are sorted based on their length. Fifth, the gel with the DNA fragments is immersed in an alkaline solution. This helps to denature the DNA strands into a one stranded DNA. Lastly, the expert carries out the Southern blotting technique. It involves various measures: blotting the DNA gel on an appropriate membrane, membrane pre-hybridization, hybridization, fluorescent dye tagging, autoradiography, Polymerase Chain Reaction, and Single Sequence Repeats ( Frampton, Fichtenholtz, Otto, Wang, Downing, He, & Sun, 2013).
Furthermore, DNA profiling has various applications. As noted earlier, it is used in forensic investigations. During a crime, samples are obtained from the crime scene and used to find out who was involved. Similarly, it is used in paternity testing. In instances where there is disagreements regarding the paternity of a child, experts may use this method to find out the real parent of a child ( Frampton, Fichtenholtz, Otto, Wang, Downing, He, & Sun, 2013). Lastly, DNA fingerprinting is used to identify victims of disasters. In cases where victims are hurt such that they cannot be physically identified, DNA profiling helps identify them.
One advantage of DNA fingerprinting is that it assists to reduce and reverse wrongful convictions. This method is used alongside other tools to ensure that people who are convicted are the ones who were actually involved in a crime. Research shows that a quarter of sexual assault suspects have been found not guilty by the use of DNA profiling, since 1989 ( Frampton, Fichtenholtz, Otto, Wang, Downing, He, & Sun, 2013). This has ensured that miscarriages of justice are dealt with. On the other hand, DNA profiling may implicate an innocent person. In the past, there have been incidences where DNA evidence has been maliciously planted on the crime scene to fix an innocent individual. Considering that many people in the judicial system and the public believe that DNA is concrete evidence, opponents believe that it may lead to arrests and imprisonment of innocent people while the guilty ones walk scot-free. Moreover, DNA fingerprinting has the risk of violating people’s privacy. Nowadays, there are DNA banks, which many opponents view as a violation of people’s civil liberties and privacy. There are also cases where individuals who have been arrested, but were not found guilty had their DNA stored in the DNA banks ( Frampton, Fichtenholtz, Otto, Wang, Downing, He, & Sun, 2013). Therefore, the process avails people’s information to others, violating their privacy.
One of the ethical concerns that have been debated for a long time regarding DNA profiling is individual privacy. As noted above, people are worried about their privacy due to the DNA databases that are held by governments ( Frampton, Fichtenholtz, Otto, Wang, Downing, He, & Sun, 2013). Some believe that such information may be used for other purposes, and that may be a violation of the rights of the people whose DNA is used. For instance, in the United States, many people have complained that the DNA databases are prone to be used by third parties for other negative motives. People believe that such information may even be used by insurance companies to discriminate patients who have pre-existing conditions. When insurance companies are aware that one has conditions that may be costly to them, they are likely to ignore insuring them. Similarly, it is believed that DNA profiling may be used to discriminate some individuals in employment ( Frampton, Fichtenholtz, Otto, Wang, Downing, He, & Sun, 2013). If an employer has information that he or she thinks would be detrimental to the organization, they may not hire an individual.
Consequently, genetic profiling has its goods and evils. The manner in which it is used determines whether its application is positive or negative. The public needs to be assured that the DNA information held by the government agencies would be used in a good ways to alleviate their fears that it may be used for other purposes. However, the various benefits of DNA profiling should be at the core of this discussion since they outweigh the limitations and concerns that people hold.
References
Harteveld, J., Lindenbergh, A., & Sijen, T. (2013). RNA cell typing and DNA profiling of mixed samples: can cell types and donors be associated? Science and Justice , 53 (3), 261-269.
Frampton, G. M., Fichtenholtz, A., Otto, G. A., Wang, K., Downing, S. R., He, J., & Sun, J. (2013). Development and validation of a clinical cancer genomic profiling test based on massively parallel DNA sequencing. Nature biotechnology , 31 (11), 1023.
