A hush falls over the courtroom. A lawyer points dramatically at a man sitting behind a table and thunders, “DNA evidence proves that this man is the killer.”
Moments like that—both on TV and in real courtrooms—have made DNA the rock star of cell science, or cytology. Even many people who are not sure what a cell is have heard of DNA evidence and DNA testing. Police today routinely catch criminals by using DNA tests. Your DNA is as individual as your fingerprint pattern. Just a bit of hair, saliva, or blood can provide enough DNA to solve an otherwise unsolvable mystery.
