Animation on partial profiles History of DNA Testing

0:00 When a DNA sample is particularly weak or  degraded, only some of its alleles yield  

0:05 visible peaks after amplification, but those that  do match alleles in the sample to which it is  

0:11 being compared. This is known as a partial profile  notice that it is not The same as non-matching  

0:18 profiles, although not all of the alleles in the  complete sample can be confirmed as matching,  

0:24 the partial sample likewise does not  display any alleles that do not match.  

0:29 The reason that the shorter DNA  fragments are the ones to appear  

0:33 is because the longer fragments are the  less prevalent in a degraded sample.  

0:37 Only small fragments have remained undamaged, like  the crumbs in the bottom of a potato chip bag.