Question

Give one significant contribution of each of the following scientists:
Alec Jeffery

Answer 1

Alec Jeffery’s full name is Sir Alec John Jeffreys. He is a British geneticist. He is a professor of genetics at the University of Leicester and became an honorary freeman of the City of Leicester on 26 November 1992. He is awarded the Copley Medal, believed to be the world's oldest scientific prize. He has the greatest contribution to forensic sciences especially toward DNA Fingerprinting.

Complete answer:
Alec John Jeffreys designed/created a process called DNA fingerprinting in the UK during the twentieth century. For DNA fingerprinting, technicians spot a person as the source/root of a biological sample by comparing the genetic information contained in the person's DNA to the DNA contained in the sample. Alec Jeffreys developed used satellite DNAs also called VNTRs (Variable Number of Tandem Repeats) as a probe because it showed the high level of polymorphism in this technique. In forensic science, DNA fingerprinting helps police to identify suspects of crimes based on their genetic materials.

The steps involved in DNA fingerprinting:

Note: Satellite DNA regions are stretches of repetitive DNA that do not code for any specific protein. These non-coding sequences make a major chunk/lump of the DNA profile of humans. They represent a high level of polymorphism and are the basis of DNA fingerprinting. These genes show a high level of polymorphism in all kinds of tissues as a result of which they prove to be very useful in forensic studies.