CSI

Overview

Students use DNA fingerprinting to work out which suspect committed a crime in a forensic biotechnology lesson. The lesson opens with two videos on DNA fingerprinting and forensic science, followed by guided questions on careers, gel electrophoresis, and the difference between real and television forensics. Students then complete a gel electrophoresis lab and explain the results using a worksheet. They extend the work by transcribing a given DNA section to mRNA and translating it to protein, then answer how the structure of DNA determines the structure of a protein.

Lesson Objectives

• Compare DNA fingerprints from gel electrophoresis to determine the suspect in a crime scene.