- 01 Introduction
- 02 Biology of DNA
- 03 Practical Issues Specific to DNA Evidence
- 04 Introduction to the Forensic DNA Laboratory
- 05 Assuring Quality in DNA Testing
- 06 Understanding a Forensic DNA Lab Report
- 07 Statistics and Population Genetics
- 08 Mitochondrial DNA & Y-STR Analysis
- 09 Forensic DNA Databases
- 10 Collection of DNA Evidence from Suspects and Arrestees
- 11 Pretrial DNA Evidence Issues
- 12 Victim Issues
- 13 Trial Presentation
- 14 Postconviction DNA Cases
- 15 Emerging Trends
Principles of Forensic DNA
for Officers of the Court
for Officers of the Court
Module 4 :: Intro To the Lab
Topic 2 :: Laboratory Processes Used in Forensic DNA Analysis
Stochastic Effects in DNA Amplification
Sometimes forensic evidence samples contain quantities of DNA that are very small. When an analyst tries to copy the DNA using PCR, the result can be an unbalanced representation of the alleles present and in an extreme case can cause allelic dropout. This can make interpretation of the data difficult and may result in an improper reporting of the DNA profile.
