Forensics Unit IV
Terms
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- Motility
- Important information about a sexual attack can be obtained from the knowledge that sperm generally survive for up to four to six hours in the vaginal cavity of a living female.
- agglutination
- The clumping of cells or particles due to an antigen-antibody interaction.
- haploid
- Any cell having a single copy of each chromosome.
- 46
- The number of chromosomes in each diploid human somatic cell.
- mutation
- A random change in the DNA sequence.
- lower case letter
- Signify the recessive allele in a pair.
- type of surface
- This affects the amount of resulting spatter, including the size and appearance of the blood drops.
- RC Punnett
- The individual who developed the punnett square method of predicting genetic inheritance.
- antibody
- Biologically active proteins that aid in fighting infection.
- elongated
- Blood that strikes a surface at an angle less than 90 degrees will be this tear drop shape.
- Karl Landsteiner
- The individual who discovered the ABO blood groups.
- egg
- The haploid sex cell of a female.
- acid phosphatase
- An enzyme found in high concentration in semen.
- serology
- The branch of forensic science that deals with antigen-antibody reactions.
- paternity testing
- DNA-testing procedures that can conclusively determine who the father is in a disputed case.
- leucocytes
- White blood cells.
- dominant
- The allele that is expressed in an organism heterozygous for a particular trait.
- bloodstain patterns
- The location, distribution and appearance of bloodstains and spatters that are useful for interpreting and reconstructing the events that occurred at a crime scene.
- gametes
- Haploid sex cells.
- aspermia
- The absence of sperm.
- precipitin
- An antibody that reacts with its corresponding antigen and brings the antigen-antibody complex out of solution.
- electrophoresis
- The motion of charged particles in a colloid under the influence of an electric field; particles with a positive charge go to the cathode and negative to the anode.
- autosomes
- The first 22 pair of human chromosomes.
- protein
- A polymer of amino acids connected in a specific order to produce a 3-D structure that allow its function.
- monoclonal
- Identical antibodies capable of binding to a single site on a particular antigen produced by hybridoma cells for use in analytical testing.
- locus
- The specific site of a particular gene on its chromosome.
- plasma
- The liquid component of the blood.
- Sex in humans
- A characteristic determined by the presence or absence of the Y chromosome.
- luminol
- The most sensitive chemical test that reacts with bloodstains by emitting light that can be seen in a darkened area.
- homologous
- Chromosomes that are not identical, but carry genes that code for the same traits.
- antigen
- Any substance that can initiate an immune response.
- polyclonal
- A series of antibodies produced in response to a variety of different sites on a single antigen.
- semen
- A viscous whitish fluid of the male reproductive tract consisting of spermatozoa suspended in secretions of accessory glands.
- Capital letter
- Signify the dominant allele in a pair.
- DNA transfer
- The deposition of just a few microscopic cells from a perpetrator onto a victim or an item at the crime scene can be enough to allow for the development of a DNA profile.
- hemoglobin
- The protein within erythrocytes made up of four polypeptides that transports oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood.
- zygote
- The diploid cell formed by the union of the egg and sperm.
- enzyme-multiplied immunoassay
- A very sensitive technique based on a competition for available antibody binding sites which quantitatively identifies the presence of a drug in a suspect sample.
- Acid Phosphatase Test
- A procedure used to detect a common protein found in high concentrations in seminal stains. Once the MUP reagent has been added to a suspect stain, if it fluoresces under UV light the test is positive for semen.
- diploid
- Any cell have two copies of each chromosome.
- serum
- Blood plasma minus the clotting factors.
- bloodstain shape
- This characteristic is used to determine the direction of travel of blood striking an object. The pointed end of a bloodstain always faces its direction of travel.
- DNA profiling
- The act or process of extrapolating identifying information about a person based on DNA levels in the range of one-billionth of a gram.
- gene
- A segment of DNA that codes for a single polypeptide.
- prostate
- A firm partly muscular chestnut sized gland in males at the neck of the urethra; produces a viscid secretion that is the fluid part of semen.
- hybridoma
- A single cell resulting from the fusion of an antibody producing B lymphocyte and a cancer cell designed to produce monoclonal antibodies.
- oligospermia
- An abnormally low sperm count.
- gel diffusion
- A process resulting in the spontaneous migration of substances through agar from regions where their concentration is high to regions where their concentration is low.
- polypeptide
- A series of amino acids in a specific order to produce a protein with a particular 3-D shape.
- erythrocytes
- Red blood cells
- The four major observations important for bloodstain analysis
- Surface texture; the direction of travel of blood striking an object;the impact angle; and the origin of spatter in a two-dimensional configuration.
- enzymes
- Biologically active proteins that speed up chemical reactions in a cell.
- heterozygous
- When an individual has two different alleles for a given trait.
- X
- A human sex chromosome present in both males and females.
- lymphocytes
- White blood cells responsible for the specific immune response.
- allele
- The alternate form of a gene.
- Sickle Cell
- A mutation in DNA in which one amino acid in hemoglobin is out of place, causing the red blood cells to look like a sickle.
- radioimmunoassay
- Uses molecules labeled with radioactive tags to induce immune responses and produce antibodies, or identify the presence of molecules within a mixture.
- blood typing
- Determining the A, B, O and Rh group using an individual's erythrocytes.
- punnett square
- A method used to determine genotypic and phenotypic ratios in offspring of a mating between two individuals.
- sperm
- The haploid sex cell of a male.
- homozygous
- When an individual has two identical alleles for a given trait.
- PSA
- A protein produced by the cells of the prostate gland that is present in small quantities in the serum of normal men, and is often elevated in the presence of prostate cancer and in other prostate disorders.
- circular
- The shape of a bloodstain when a droplet of blood strikes a surface perpendicular (90 degrees) to the target surface.
- antiserum
- An animal or human blood serum containing one or more ready-made antibodies that can provide immunity against a disease, counteract a venom, or can be used to identify an antigen in a laboratory test.
- genotype
- All the alleles present in the chromosomes of a cell.
- Rhesus Monkey
- The animal in which the fourth blood group antigen was discovered.
- Y
- The human chromosome only present in males.
- recessive
- The allele that is not expressed in an organism heterozygous for a particular trait.
- trait
- The physical manifestation of an individual's genes.
- chromosome
- A threadlike structure made up of DNA and protein, along which genes are located.
- somatic
- Body cells.
- immunoassay
- Any laboratory method for detecting a substance by using an antibody reactive with it.
- fluorescence
- To absorb light at one wavelength then emit visible light of a shorter wavelength.
- phenotype
- The physical appearance of the of an organism with regard for a trait, such as eye color or blood type.
- deoxyribonucleic acid
- A nucleic acid found in the nucleus of a cell and consisting of a polymer formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix; associated with the transmission of genetic information.