For this project, we had to solve a murder using different methods of forensic science. After deciding the verdict, we then had to present it to the class. Below are some of the concepts that we had to take into account to solve the mystery.
Concepts:
Pedigree: A pedigree chart displays a family tree, and shows the members of the family who are affected by a Genetic trait. They record ancestry of a person or family and shows diseases and how they were passed down. We used this to trace the family histories of the suspects, showing the diseases that each person had. Nancy Normal had Huntington's Disease.
Karyotype: A karyotype is an appearance of chromosomes that are numbered and paired by size and used to show genetic diseases. Using karyotypes we figured out what chromosomal disorder each person had at the crime scenes. Nancy Normal had Triple X Syndrome, which matched the chromosomal disorder at one of the crime scenes
Genetic disease: A genetic disorder is a genetic problem caused by one or more abnormalities in the genome, especially a condition that is present from birth (congenital). Most genetic disorders are quite rare and affect one person in every several thousands or millions. We used this because Marfan's Syndrome and Huntington's Disease were passed down throughout the families of the suspects, and Nancy Normal had Huntington's Disease.
Ink chromatography: separation of a mixture by passing it in solution or suspension through a medium in which the components move at different rates. We used it because it was involved in one of the experiments we did to find out who wrote the note found at the crime scene.
Punnett Squares: The punnett square is a square diagram that is used to predict an outcome of a particular cross or breeding experiment. The diagram is used by biologists to determine the probability of an offspring having a particular genotype. There are two different types of Punnett Squares. Monohybrid crosses are 2x2 grids while dihybrid crosses are 4x4 grids. We did not use these in the project.
Mutation: A mutation occurs when a DNA gene is damaged or changed in such a way as to alter the genetic message carried by that gene. We analyzed the mutations of the suspects to find out who killed Comet. There are six main types of mutations.
insertion- mutations in which extra base pairs are inserted into a new place in the DNA
deletion- mutations in which a section of DNA is lost, or deleted.
substitution- mutations that exchange one base for another.
frameshift- include insertions and deletions. Since protein-coding DNA is divided into codons three bases long, insertions and deletions can alter a gene so that its message is no longer correctly parsed.
point- include substitutions. They only change a small part of a gene
This was a pretty long and labor intensive project. It ended up being very educational, it taught us how murders are solved which was very interesting. Our group was not the most productive one. Our peak was starting off well and having an initial boost of productivity, but when we lost one of our core team members, our work production declined a little. We had to compensate for the lack of a member, and that was our downfall, but as time went on, we were able to do it and efficiently at that. Overall, I think our group came out of these two parts of the project with a newfound knowledge about these things that we wouldn't have otherwise had if we didn't do this project. Overall, this was a productive project that benefited all of us.