Despite the high power of discrimination that characterizes the well identified 16 to 24 autosomal short tandem repeat markers, monozygotic twins differentiation is generally limited. Arising from a single fertilized egg, monozygotic twins share the same genotype therefore the same DNA profile. This situation imposes a challenge in forensics especially considering that lineage markers are in general less informative than autosomal ones. Although in some cases Y haplotype is considered a powerful investigative tool, it cannot distinguish males belonging to the same paternal lineage.  The use of rapidly mutating Y-STRs with mutation rate above 1x10-2 that were recently included in forensic casework is presumed helpful. Since science is always dynamic and each population has its own characteristics, we aim in this study to distinguish between Lebanese monozygotic male twins using rapidly mutating Y-STRs. For this purpose, fourteen unrelated pairs of male monozygotic twins were recruited. Participants filled in a well-designed questionnaire and signed an informed consent. DNA was extracted using PureLink Genomic DNA Mini kit, genotyped using the Identifiler Plus kit, and separated on 3500 Genetic Analyzer to confirm the monozygosity status. DNA samples underwent a second amplification using the Y Filer Plus kit. According to our results, all the Y Filer Plus DNA profiles showed complete match for each twin pair. By consequence, the use of rapidly mutating Y-STRs in this study did not improve discrimination.

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Lebanon is an eastern Mediterranean country with a small population of only 4 million (Abbas et al. 2020). It is characterized for its distinct human genetic, cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity (Haber et al. 2011). The average live twinning births rate in Lebanon is 18.9/1000 (Romanos & Borjac, 2018). Twins can be either monozygotic (MZ) or dizygotic (DZ). The difference between them is how they are formed during embryogenesis (Hoekstra et al. 2008). When a single sperm fertilizes a single egg, it splits then in two genetically identical twins (Xu et al. 2015). However, in fraternal twins case, separate eggs are fertilized by separate sperm to yield genetically different twins (Martino et al. 2013).

The relative association between the forensic science and the law is increasingly under spot. Since forensics is the application of science in order to serve the law, many forensic evidence types are widely used in the criminal justice system such as DNA, toxicology, GSR, fingerprint, firearm. To assure a better implementation of forensic investigation procedures, the attorneys awareness of forensic science is crucially required. Moreover, an increased concern about the attorneys knowledge and perception regarding forensic based investigations should be addressed. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the level of awareness among Lebanese attorney community by assessing their views and needs regarding forensics. A cross sectional study was conducted over 60 Lebanese lawyers from both genders residing in the five Lebanese governorates. The survey based questionnaire was well designed and carried on from May 2022 to October 2022 with 83% as responsive rate. The participants characteristics were under study as well as their views and needs statements in the purpose of investigating their relative association through the independent t-test. According to the results, this study revealed that the majority of the participants were unaware of the forensic science notions. As for the participants features, the results showed that there is a significant difference of technology advances awareness among participants that underwent past trainings and those who did not. Nevertheless, there is no significant difference in the participants intention to participate in future trainings among participants that underwent past trainings and those who did not. This research findings illustrated that 85% of the volunteers were willing to participate in future trainings. In addition, this study showed that the DNA evidence was picked as the preferred topic to be covered in upcoming trainings. This is due mainly to its high reliability and accuracy. Although this survey identified that the Lebanese lawyers that accomplished past trainings were more aware of some forensics concepts, yet a larger sample size is needed. Thus, it is very early to decisively predict the level of forensics awareness among the Lebanese attorney community. By conclusion, trainings aimed to increase the attorneys awareness regarding the importance of forensics are necessary to reduce the gaps in their personal views and fulfill their needs in future trainings. Keywords:  Attorneys awareness, Forensics, Lebanon, Needs, Views.

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