ANTH 413Molecular Forensic Anthropology

3 credits · Anthropology · Penn State

An introduction to the field of the application of DNA methods to estimating forensically useful phenotypes. ANTH 413 Molecular Forensic Anthropology (3) This course is a survey of forensic anthropology focusing on human genetic methods. Emphasis is placed on laboratory methods for analyzing DNA variation, the genomic and geographical distributions of genetic variation, estimating genetic ancestry, sex, pigmentation, facial features, and other traits. Lectures are accompanied by class discussions and complemented by practical lab sections closely tied to lecture materials. There will be three exams and students are responsible for preparing a poster and presenting a semester-long research project. This course is related to existing ANTH 411 , Skeletal Forensic Anthropology. It fulfills a 400-level requirement for the anthropology major or minor, as well as the university's new Forensic Science major.