{"id":50389,"date":"2025-06-16T10:59:06","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T05:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=50389"},"modified":"2025-06-16T12:50:59","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T07:20:59","slug":"dna-analysis-in-air-india-crash-how-victims-are-identified","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/dna-analysis-in-air-india-crash-how-victims-are-identified\/","title":{"rendered":"DNA Analysis in Air India Crash: How Victims Are Identified"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>DNA Identification in Disaster Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following the Air India Boeing 787 crash in Ahmedabad, authorities are using DNA analysis to identify victims\u2019 remains.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Family members&#8217; DNA samples have been collected, and some matches have been made.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since each person\u2019s DNA is unique (except in identical twins), it serves as the most reliable method for identifying bodies, especially in mass fatality incidents where visual or physical identification is difficult.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>About DNA\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) is the hereditary material in almost all living organisms.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It carries the genetic instructions used in growth, development, functioning, and reproduction.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Structure<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DNA is composed of two long strands forming a double helix, made up of repeating units called nucleotides.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each nucleotide contains a sugar, a phosphate group, and one of four nitrogenous bases \u2014 Adenine (A), Thymine (T), Cytosine (C), or Guanine (G). The specific sequence of these bases encodes genetic information.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Location<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DNA is primarily located in the nucleus of cells (nuclear DNA), while a small amount is also found in mitochondria (mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nuclear DNA is unique to each individual (except identical twins), whereas mtDNA is inherited maternally and found in multiple copies per cell.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Function<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DNA controls cellular functions by coding for proteins, and it passes genetic traits from one generation to the next.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Role of DNA in Identifying Crash\/Disaster Victims<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In mass fatality events like plane crashes or natural disasters, physical features may be unrecognizable.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DNA becomes the most reliable method of identification in such cases.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Challenges<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Decomposition and Damage<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Disasters can severely damage or decompose remains, making DNA extraction and profiling challenging.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Contamination:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Contamination of samples from other sources can complicate the process.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Time and Resources<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The process can be time-consuming and require significant resources, especially for large-scale disasters.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>DNA Collection and Storage After a Plane Crash<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Ideal Storage Conditions<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DNA survives best in cold, dry environments.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Samples should be frozen at -20\u00b0C or stored in 95% ethanol (for soft tissues).<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Soft tissues degrade faster than hard tissues like bones and teeth, which are more resistant to decomposition.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Forensic teams prefer bones and teeth as DNA sources due to their protection from environmental damage and decomposition.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Timeline for Sample Collection<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Post-crash recovery and collection can take weeks.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example: It took 10 months to collect DNA from victims of the 9\/11 attacks due to the scale of destruction.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Importance of Reference Samples<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To match unidentified remains, DNA from biological relatives\u2014especially parents or children\u2014is collected, as they share 50% of their DNA with the victim.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 35px; font-style: inherit;\">DNA Analysis Methods in Identifying Human Remains<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once samples are collected, DNA is extracted. The quality and condition of the DNA determine which analysis method is used.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Short Tandem Repeat (STR) Analysis<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">STR analysis examines repeating DNA sequences that vary between individuals.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is highly accurate for identification and family matching when at least 15 STR regions are analyzed.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since STRs are found in nuclear DNA, this method requires <\/span><b>non-degraded<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> nuclear DNA for effective results.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Analysis<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Used when nuclear DNA is degraded, mtDNA is easier to recover as it exists in many copies per cell.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since it\u2019s passed unchanged from mother to all children, identification is done by matching remains with maternal relatives like the mother, siblings, maternal grandmother, or maternal uncles\/aunts.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Y Chromosome Analysis<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This method examines STRs on the Y chromosome, which is passed from father to son.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It helps identify male victims by matching their DNA with male relatives in the <\/span><b>paternal line<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014such as brothers, paternal uncles, or male cousins.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is especially useful when close relatives are unavailable for comparison.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) Analysis<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SNP analysis is used when DNA is highly degraded. It identifies variations at single base points (A, C, G, or T) in the DNA sequence.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Though less accurate than STR analysis, it can still aid identification using reference samples from personal items like toothbrushes or hairbrushes.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-sci-tech\/air-india-plane-crash-dna-identification-10067029\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IE |<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/air-india-crash-forensic-expert-explains-victims-dna-identification-10067754\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IE<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> |\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenewsminute.com\/news\/ahmedabad-plane-crash-how-bodies-are-identified-through-dna-profiling\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TNM<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how DNA analysis helps identify victims in disasters like the Ahmedabad Air India crash using STR, mtDNA, Y-STR, and SNP methods. Read more about DNA Analysis in Air India Crash: How Victims Are Identified<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":50406,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[861,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-50389","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-dna-identification-in-disaster","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}