Trace Biological Evidence

Question 1

Touch/Trace DNA is…

Answer 1

Biological material left by touching or handling a substrate

Question 2

Transfer DNA…

Answer 2

Biological material DEPOSITED by an individual (may not have originated from their hands)

Example: a handshake or touching a doorknob

Question 3

Wearer DNA

Answer 3

Inside collar or cuffs from close skin to substrate contact

Question 4

What are the 3 layers of skin?

Answer 4

1. Epidermis (outermost layer)
2. Dermis (middle layer)
3. Subcutaneous (deepest layer)

Question 5

What is minitaping used for?

Answer 5

A sterile adhesive tape that picks up touch DNA from surface
-Used on soft porous surfaces (clothing, fabric, furniture, etc.)

Question 6

Hair is…

Answer 6

An appendage of the skin that grows out of an organ known as the hair follicle

Question 7

What are the 3 layers of the hair shaft?

Answer 7

1. Cuticle (crown-like pattern)
2. Cortex (main body of shaft)
3. Medulla (cellular column that runs through the center of the hair)

Question 8

What are the 3 phases of hair growth?

Answer 8

1. Anagen
   (active growth phase)
2. Catagen
   (the hair stops growing from the follicles)
3. Telogen
   (the resting phase; hair is ready to fall out)

Question 9

What are the 2 categories of hair examinations?

Answer 9

1. Microscopic Analysis (do they look similar/have similar features?)
2. DNA analysis (to confirm)

Question 10

What must be present (in a hair) in order to obtain to DNA information?

Answer 10

The follicular tag!
Otherwise, there is no nuclear DNA present