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  DNA "Fingerprinting" & identification of Los desaparecidos

    DNA Fingerprinting has been used to associate parents with their offspring. Following a 1976 military coup in Argentina, thousands of persons including pregnant women were confined in detention centers without trial or news of there whereabouts to their families. Children born in detention were forcibly abducted from their parents ["Los desaparecidos" or "The disappeared ones"]. After the Falkland Islands War and restoration of civilian government in 1982, several international organizations used DNA fingerprinting methods to associate these children with their parents.

Homework: For each of the children A-F above, determine whether their parents could be (1) #1 only, (2) #2 only, (3) both #1 and #2, (4) neither #1 or #2. [ Check correct answers here ]


Figure and text material ©2024 by Steven M. Carr