GENETIC FINGERPRINTING

noun (People and Society) (Science and Technology) The analysis of genetic information from a blood sample or other small piece of human material as an aid to the identification of a person. Etymology: Formed by combining genetic with fingerprinting in a figurative sense; the genetic fingerprint produced by this technique is as accurate in uniquely identifying a person as an actual fingerprint would be. History and Usage: Genetic fingerprinting was developed in the late seventies and early eighties and was first widely publicized in the mid eighties. The technique (also known as DNA fingerprinting) has a number of applications: it has revolutionized forensic science in the eighties, for example. A sample of blood, semen, etc. or a few flakes of skin left at the scene of a crime can be analysed for the unique pattern of repeated DNA sequences that it displays (its genetic fingerprint) and this can be matched with blood samples taken from suspects. The first murder case to be decided on the basis of genetic fingerprinting was heard in 1987, but in 1989 a number of cases cast doubt on the reliability of forensic evidence based entirely on this kind of DNA testing. Another quite separate application of genetic fingerprinting is in the matching of blood samples in paternity suits or cases of 'disappeared' children (see desaparecido), since the genetic fingerprint can be used to establish whether two people could be related to one another. A slightly more refined process, known as genetic profiling, provides a genetic profile, or list of all of a person's genetic characteristics. Forensic scientists can also use genetic traits found in blood and other tissues to identify bodies. Sometimes known as genetic fingerprints, these include about 70 inherited enzymes that can be used in a form of extraordinarily detailed blood typing. New York Times 8 July 1985, section A, p. 3 Genetic profiles are much more sensitive than genetic fingerprints because they give accurate answers based on much smaller samples. Observer 26 Feb. 1989, p. 8 Now the baby has been born and blood tests and 'genetic fingerprinting' have proved conclusively that Howitt was not the father. Private Eye 1 Sept. 1989, p. 6