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There is a strong movement towards building up a national DNA bank to catch criminals.

A human DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the amino acid string that is knitted into the X or Y shaped chromosomes inside the nucleus of a cell.

The DNA string is built like a ladder. Each rung of the ladder is made up of only four amino acids - either the Adenine (A)-Cytosine (C) pair, or the Thymine (T)-Guanine (G) pair.

13 regions of the DNA molecule contain “genetic markers” that can be translated by the scientists into a 52-digit number unique for every human being, unless they are identical and same-gender (monozygotic) twins.

Police officials in the United States have matched such unique DNA markers to the samples collected at the crime scenes to solve 30,000 “cold cases.” Currently there are 3 million DNA markers in such databanks and the number of those DNA samples are growing by 80,000 per month.

The civil liberty watchers cry out aloud that the practice violates the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

The critics insist that the automatic scanning of all DNA markers in a genetic databank against the crime evidence, drags an innocent person into a crime investigation even when there is no clear evidence or reason to suspect the individual’s involvement.

They claim that the time-honored principle of “innocent until proven guilty” is turned inside out. With automatic DNA scanning everyone becomes “guilty until proven innocent by the DNA test.”

The defenders of DNA scanning admit that everyone would be treated as if they are guilty however, if all U.S. citizens do have DNA samples in the database, then no one would be treated differently and everyone would have exactly the same chance of being found guilty.

One big concern that DNA matching brings up is the spreading practice of “familial searches.” This happens when the police finds DNA material at the scene of a crime that matches the DNA of a known criminal. Then the police starts investigating his or her family members on the grounds that only those within the same family could have such a similar DNA marker.

Civil liberties critics argue that this new version of “guilt by association” violates individual rights as well.

Five states including Virginia already allow the DNA scanning of people arrested. Even when such people are not indicted, there is a tendency to keep their DNA samples even long after such suspects are exonerated and released. California will also start DNA scans at every arrest by the year 2009.

I think we will hear a lot more about this issue in the years ahead that both promises a strong tool to fight crime in general and raises some serious constitutional issues about the protection of our civil liberties.

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Ugur Akinci, Ph.D. is a Creative Copywriter, Editor, an experienced and award-winning Technical Communicator specializing in fundraising packages, direct sales copy, web content, press releases, movie reviews and hi-tech documentation.

He has worked as a Technical Writer for Fortune 100 companies for the last 7 years.

In addition to being an Ezine Articles Expert Author, he is also a Senior Member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), and a Member of American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI).

You can reach him at writer111@gmail.com for a FREE consultation on all your copywriting needs.

You are most welcomed to visit his official web site http://www.writer111.com for more information on his multidisciplinary background, writing career, and client testimonials.

While at it, you might also want to check the latest book he has edited:http://www.lulu.com/content/263630

Tags: America, civil liberties, copywriter, DNA, editor, Fourth Amendment, society, technical writer, ugur akinciAmerica, civil liberties, copywriter, DNA, editor, Fourth Amendment, society, technical writer, ugur akinci

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The Washington Post has published a very important survey on “Being a Black Man.” This is fascinating, detailed and thoughtful enough an article to pass as a Master’s Thesis in many sociology departments around the nation.

Here are some basic contradictions underscored by the Post survey conducted on a random sample of 2.864 adults nationwide:

1) 56% of black men believe the SYSTEM is to blame for their economic difficulties. However 59% also acknowledge that there were things they have failed to do that would have made a difference in the outcome.

2) 79% of the black men surveyed were OPTIMISTIC about their own personal future. Yet 34% said, as a GROUP, black men were facing a worse future and 36% said the future would be the same. Only 29% said a better future was awaiting black men as a group.

3) 60% of the black men said “it’s a good time to be a black man in America…” However, only 10% said the black men were doing “very well.” 66% thought it’s the white man who is doing “very well.”

Here are the top 5 reasons the respondents gave for why more young black males ended up in jail than any other group:

71% — “Police are more likely to target black men than whites.”

69% — “More black men grow up in poverty.”

67% — “Courts are more likely to convict black men than whites.”

60% — “Black men have fewer job opportunities.”

58% — “Many black parents aren’t teaching their children right from wrong.”

Ugur Akinci, Ph.D. is a Creative Copywriter, Editor, an experienced and award-winning Technical Communicator specializing in fundraising packages, direct sales copy, web content, press releases, movie reviews and hi-tech documentation. He has worked as a Technical Writer for Fortune 100 companies for the last 7 years. In addition to being an Ezine Articles Expert Author, he is also a Senior Member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), and a Member of American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI).

You can reach him at writer111@gmail.com for a FREE consultation on all your copywriting needs.

You are most welcomed to visit his official web site http://www.writer111.com for more information on his multidisciplinary background, writing career, and client testimonials.

While at it, you might also want to check the latest book he has edited: http://www.lulu.com/content/263630

Tags: African Americans, America, black men, copywriter, editor, society, sociology, technical writer, ugur akinciAfrican Americans, America, black men, copywriter, editor, society, sociology, technical writer, ugur akinci

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Heroin users in Chicago are warned against the dangers of mixing in Fentanyl - a painkiller first synthesized in Belgium in 1950 and is 80 times stronger than heroin, according to DEA.

Fentanyl overdose is suspected responsible for hundreds of recent deaths around the United States, 130 deaths alone since January 2005 in and around Detroit.

Mixing a pinch of fentanyl with heroin has lately become the new fad to get an extra high among the heroin addicts, according to news reports.

According to The Chicago Recovery Alliance, you can tell the fentanyl-laced heroin from pure heroin by their color - the former has a minty green color whereas the regular heroin looks “yellowish or dusty brown.”

Anesthetics and analgesic drugs containing fentanyl is marketed under different brand names including Sublimaze, Alfenta, Sufenta, Duragesic, and Actiq.

An especially dangerous form of fentanyl, about 10,000 times more potent than morphine, is marketed under the trade name Wildnil which is used to immobilize large and dangerous animals.

However chemical analysis of the fentanyl captured as evidence in the heroin-related deaths showed that it has nothing to do with the kind of fentanyl found in its prescription form.

Authorities have confirmed that this variant of fentanyl is manufactured in underground labs but they are still searching for the exact source.

Some reports point a finger at Mexico as the main source of fentanyl entering the United States.

Ugur Akinci, Ph.D. is a Creative Copywriter, Editor, an experienced and award-winning Technical Communicator specializing in fundraising packages, direct sales copy, web content, press releases, movie reviews and hi-tech documentation. He has worked as a Technical Writer for Fortune 100 companies for the last 7 years. In addition to being an Ezine Articles Expert Author, he is also a Senior Member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), and a Member of American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI).

You can reach him at writer111@gmail.com for a FREE consultation on all your copywriting needs.

You are most welcomed to visit his official web site http://www.writer111.com for more information on his multidisciplinary background, writing career, and client testimonials.

While at it, you might also want to check the latest book he has edited: http://www.lulu.com/content/263630

Tags: addiction, copywriter, death, drugs, editor, fentanyl, heroin, society, technical writer, ugur akinciaddiction, copywriter, death, drugs, editor, fentanyl, heroin, society, technical writer, ugur akinci

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