Our first project of 2017 was a murder mystery. To start it off, we were given a crime report of Carelton Comet's death. We then performed a lab on the DNA of a strawberry and salmon sperm, to introduce ourselves to the basics of DNA analysis. We learned about gel electrophoresis and how to compare different samples of DNA. This helped us when we took the DNA of the different suspects and the samples from the two different crime scenes. In addition to analyzing their blood samples, we also took the suspects' fingerprints and compared them to the fingerprint on the steak knife. We also analyzed a human hair, a sheep hair, and a dog hair to see if the murderer had a dog or a sheep coat. Additionally, we created a giant pedigree of the suspects' family history to identify the possible motives of the murderer. As well, we used karyotyping to distinguish the different genetic diseases. All this evidence led us to believe that Nancy Normal killed Carelton Comet. At the end of three weeks, we presented our case to a jury, so we would be granted a warrant for further investigation. Concepts we used in our Murder Mystery Gel Electrophoresis - The laboratory method used when separating mixtures of DNA, RNA, or proteins by their molecular size. The molecules that are separated are pushed by an electrical field through an agarose gel with wells to initially hold the DNA. Gene - A unit of heredity transferred from parent to offspring Genotype/Phenotype - Genetic makeup/Physical characteristics ofan organism Dominant/Recessive - Dominant traits take over recessive ones Karyotype - The test used to check the size, shape, and number of chromosomes in a sample of body cells Ink Chromatography - The process Pedigree - A chart of the background history for genetic diseases Polygenic - Trait controlled by two or more genes
Pits and Peaks of the Murder Mystery My first pit is the amount of evidence we were required to analyze. We had to create pedigrees based on their backstories, run blood tests, dust for fingerprints, and much more. Doing this all and being able to put it together into a cohesive presentation was difficult. In addition to going over all of the evidence we also looked into a motive for the killer and which degree of murder this situation was. My first peak is our time management. Even with everything our class was required to do for this case, we were able to split up the work to effectively complete the presentation. My second pit is how clueless we were. Most people in our class have only seen crime shows on T.V., but we didn't really know how forensic scientists analyzed evidence. This left us unknown of anything coming our way. It took us awhile to understand the gel electrophoresis, but we were eventually able to comprehend the material. My second peak is how much we learned. Before, we barely knew anything about forensic scientists, but after this unit we learned a lot more about evidence in crime scenes.