Genetics The Case Of The Hooded Murderer: Biology Unit 3

Four suspects. Each has a motive. But only one left behind a complete set of DNA evidence — including a single hair follicle on the victim’s sleeve and a drop of blood at the garden gate.

Here’s an engaging, story-driven write-up for , using a fictional crime scenario to teach DNA profiling, inheritance, and gel electrophoresis. The Case of the Hooded Murderer A Genetic Whodunit Crime Scene: Rainwood Manor, 11:47 PM. Victim: Lord Edmund Cross, founder of a controversial genetic engineering corporation. Weapon: A letter opener with traces of blood and skin under the victim’s fingernails. Witnesses: None — only a figure in a hooded cloak seen fleeing through the garden.

Your task: Use to identify the killer. Background: The Biology Behind the Case DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting) relies on Short Tandem Repeats (STRs) — non-coding regions of DNA where sequences of 2–6 base pairs repeat 5–50 times. STRs vary greatly between individuals (except identical twins).