concept

Separation of DNA fragments by electrophoresis through an agarose gel.

Shadow of a DNA double helix on sequencing output

Human eye with blue iris

Microbead 'lasers' engulfed by cells, artistic impression

DNA double helix and sequencing output

The first DNA fingerprint. The first three lanes contain DNA from a woman, her mother and her father respectively. Lanes 4 - 11 contain DNA from assorted other species including mouse, baboon, lemur, cow, grey seal and tobacco (last lane). The DNA probe used in this experiment detected tandomly repeated short stretches of DNA called minisatellites whose length varies between individuals.

Focus on genetics

An early DNA fingerprint showing DNA patterns from a mother (lanes 2 and 8) and her four children (adjacent lanes to the right). Lane 1 is an unrelated person. The two sets of lanes show the fingerprints reveled with two different probes that detect different types of repeated sequences.

Separation of DNA fragments by electrophoresis through an agarose gel. An electric current is passed through the gel and separates the DNA fragments according to size. The mixture of fragments is applied to a well at the top of the gel before the current is started. The smaller fragments travel further and reach the bottom of the gel while the larger ones remain towards the origin.

Henry Faulds, "Dermatographs" and "Variety of Patterns"

La photographie judiciaire : avec un appendice sur la classification et l'identification anthropométriques / par Alphonse Bertillon.

Human eye

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Shadow of a DNA double helix on sequencing output

Henry Faulds, "Dermatographs" and "Variety of Patterns"

Human eye with blue iris

La photographie judiciaire : avec un appendice sur la classification et l'identification anthropométriques / par Alphonse Bertillon.

Human eye