The Case of the Missing Pathogens By: Oh SNAP! (Organization of Super Nosy Awesome People) Nicolette Laird, Jacob Jashinsky, Jason Miller and Megan Chu

The Crime Scene footprint (11.5 inches long) blood from cut on Donley’s hand blood on right side of Donley’s chest blood under Donley’s fingernails Donley hit on back of head

The Party Scene lip prints and fingerprints on glasses traces of cyanide in glass blood on plates and cutting board traces of cyanide in glass blood on plates and cutting board traces of cyanide in glass lip prints and fingerprints on glasses blood on plates and cutting board traces of cyanide in glass lip prints and fingerprints on glasses blood on plates and cutting board traces of cyanide in glass lip prints and fingerprints on glasses blood on plates and cutting board traces of cyanide in glass *vials of Mycobacterium leprae and HIV missing from Dr. Donley’s lab hair on chair in Dr. Donley’s lab

Suspects: 1. Dr. Lazarus Dangerkitty 2. Dr. Red Walrus 3. Dr. Kelvin High 4. Dr. Latricia Doctor 5. Dr. Sloopy Stretch #2 #1 #3 #4 #5

Hair Analysis There are three parts of a hair: the cuticle, the cortex and the medulla. The cuticle and medulla can help distinguish between hairs of different species, but the cortex distinguishes between individuals. The root must be present to test a hair sample for DNA.

Hair Evidence: The hair on the chair in Dr. Donley’s lab was found to be a mix of pet hair and the hair of Dr. Walrus.

Lip Prints: The lip prints from the glasses at the party scene were found to be those of Dr. Donley and Dr. High.

Blood Analysis Blood type depends on the proteins and antibodies in the blood. The three possible alleles for blood type are A, B and O. Then, depending on whether or not a certain protein is present in the blood, individuals are either Rh positive or Rh negative. This makes for eight different blood types: A+ A- B+ B- O+ O- AB+ AB-

Blood Analysis Blood samples can be used to place suspects at crime scenes, since they can be analyzed for blood type and DNA. Patterns and locations of blood droplets and spatters can also provide clues as to how a crime occurred.

Blood Samples: There was a mix of blood under Dr. Donley’s nails that included her own blood (type O+) as well as that of Dr. High (type B-). After Dr. Donley was attacked, there was blood on her right hand as well as the right side of her chest. There was blood at the party scene on the plates and the cutting board.

Fingerprinting Fingerprints are unique for each individual, which is why they can be used to identify or place suspects at crime scenes. There are three types of fingerprints (arches, loops and whorls) that are based on different ridge patterns on the fingertip surface. arch loop whorl

The fingerprints on the glasses at the party scene belonged to Doodles and Dr. High. The fingerprints on the insurance form belonged to Dr. Walrus. Suspect Fingerprints: #2 #3

DNA Fingerprinting There are 13 DNA regions, or loci, that vary from person to person. To find these regions, restriction enzymes cut the DNA into small pieces based on special nucleotide sequences that tell them where to cut. Short Tandem Repeats (STR) are short sequences of DNA that are repeated many times. These are highly variable between individuals, so they are good for identification.

DNA Fingerprinting Electrophoresis is a process by which molecules are separated by size by running a current through an argarose gel. After the DNA is cut by the restriction enzymes, it is sent through an electrophoresis gel. DNA runs from negative to positive since it is negatively charged. Shorter DNA fragments will travel farther than longer ones. This process can determine how many STRs there are and help identify the individual.

DNA Fingerprinting Electrophoresis Procedure: 1. Obtain DNA sample(s). 2. Set gel into electrophoresis tray. 3. Put samples into the wells with a marker sample. 4. Run a current through the gel to make the molecules move. 5. Stain gel to make DNA easier to see. 6. Analyze the resultant bands.

DNA Fingerprint Analysis After the DNA samples of the suspects as well as the DNA sample found at the crime scene went through electrophoresis, it was apparent that the bands of the crime scene DNA were the same size and distance from the wells as the bands for Suspect #3. Therefore, the DNA from the crime scene belonged to Dr. High.

Missing Pathogens - Mycobacterium leprae Mycobacterium leprae is a type of mycobacterium that causes leprosy. It is aerobic, rod-shaped, and has a waxy cell membrane. It has the longest doubling time of any known bacteria, partly because it lacks various genes that are necessary for survival. Its entire genome has been sequenced, revealing that less that half of it contains functional genes. Leprosy is characterized by skin lesions, and can cause damage to the skin, nerves, limbs, and eyes. It is prevalent in countries such as India and Brazil. The current recommended course of treatment involves multi-drug therapy, due to the fact that the bacteria have developed resistance to many previous treatments involving a single drug.

Missing Pathogens - HIV Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that attacks cells in the immune system. This causes the body to become more susceptible to other infections and diseases, and most people infected with HIV will eventually develop AIDS. HIV is spherical, and contains its RNA as well as various viral proteins inside a capsid. It is incredibly efficient at integrating its genetic information into a host cell, and has a relatively fast replication cycle. The region in which the greatest portion of the population suffers from this virus is sub-Saharan Africa. Although there are many drug treatments for HIV, there is no cure.

Suspect Interviews What do you have against Dr. Donley? Walrus: I hate her. High: Nothing, but she’s wrong and takes all the grant money. Dangerkitty: Meow… Did you attend her party the night she was attacked? Walrus: Nope. Dangerkitty: …meow… Are you a fan of evil organizations? Walrus: They aren’t evil- I like Al Qaeda! High: No, but I like Chaos.

Suspect Interviews Do you like cats? Walrus: I Hate cats  clearly a lie! Dangerkitty: MEOW!!! Would you like to take over the world someday? Walrus: I own Monarch- the rest is next. High: OF COURSE! What is your shoe size? High: 7.5 in Nike, 8 in Reebok. Can you explain why your blood was at the scene of Dr. Donley’s attack? High: Someone is trying to frame me. They could have gotten the blood from my lab where I work very hard. They could have taken the blood from there and put it in Dr. Donley’s lab. I didn’t attack her.

What really happened that night… Once upon a time, Dr. Kelvin High cared very deeply for Dr. Doodles Donley. However, Dr. Donley spurned his affections, so his loyalties were soon placed elsewhere. He joined with Dr. Walrus and Dr. Dangerkitty to form a secret organization called MEOW (Malicious Evil Overlords of the World). Their goal was to wipe out the entire human race and repopulate the world with mutant hybrid kitties. After further investigation, Dr. Dangerkitty was actually proved to be one of these mutant hybrid kitties. He was created by Dr. Walrus.

What really happened that night… Dr. Donley had developed vaccines against HIV and leprosy. MEOW’s evil plan involved using these pathogens to take over the world. First, they planned to infect everyone with HIV and then, once their immune systems were susceptible, they would finish them off with leprosy. For this plan to succeed, Dr. Walrus and Dr. High needed to vaccinate themselves so they would remain alive to take over the world. So they decided to break into Dr. Donley’s lab…

What really happened that night… The second part of Operation MEOW was the repopulation of the earth with mutant hybrid kitties. Dr. Walrus’s method of creating these mutants involved the transplant of a human brain. And for their purposes, Dr. Walrus and Dr. High wanted the brain of none other than Dr. Donley. This is why Dr. Walrus’s fingerprint was found on the insurance policy protecting Dr. Donley’s brain; he was trying to destroy it.

What really happened that night… During the party, it was Dr. High’s job to poison Dr. Donley while Dr. Walrus and Dr. Dangerkitty snuck into the lab to steal the pathogens. This is why Dr. High’s fingerprints and lip prints were on the glass from the party scene; he had been pretending to socialize while really slipping cyanide into Dr. Donley’s glass. Unfortunately for him, however, Dr. Donley became suspicious that somebody was trying to poison her and kicked everybody out.

What really happened that night… After his failed attempt at murder, Dr. High returned to the lab to meet up with Dr. Walrus and Dr. Dangerkitty. However, Dr. Donley returned unexpectedly, and although she did not see Dr. High, she was becoming even more suspicious of all the strange occurrences. So Dr. High had no choice but to resort to violence, so that his chance to take over the world would not disappear. He hit Dr. Donley on the back of the head, and she lashed out blindly, capturing his blood under her fingernails.

What really happened that night… Dr. High was so shaken up by his brutal assault on the former object of his affections that he fled the scene, forgetting to collect Dr. Donley’s brain and leaving a shoeprint in the process. The shoeprint was a size eleven, and although Dr. High claimed to wear a size seven and a half, it is believed that he enjoys wearing shoes that are too big while he fantasizes about being taller.

What really happened that night… In the end, Dr. Donley healed and received an award for her bravery throughout the whole ordeal. The pathogens were recovered and contained. Dr. Walrus was sent to the mental hospital and put in a straitjacket. His creation, Dr. Dangerkitty, was sent to the pound to await adoption by some unfortunate family. And as for Dr. High, he was imprisoned in a cell in which everything was placed just out of his reach. Also, his size eleven shoes were confiscated.

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