Recovering+the+Romanovs+KC

Kaitlin Cassity CSI Crime Scene: Period 5 “Recovering the Romanovs” Activity; p 382-384 October 19, 2008 1. His mother was Empress Maria. 2. Alexandria was born in Germany. 3. The Tsar Nicholas II's family had five children and one son, specifically, Prince Alexei. The two youngest children were Anastasia and Alexei. 4. Prince Alexei suffered from a blood disorder. This was known as hemophilia, as he had inherited the genetic disorder from Tsarina Alexandra's nephews, Henry and Waldemar. 5. Other members of Alexandra's family include: Alice, Irene, Frederick, Waldemar, and Henry. 6. On March 2, 1917, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated his thrown. 8.a)b) During World War I, the leadership of Russia changed, as Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks took full control of the revolution and sought to govern the land. 9.The "Impatiev House" was the House of Special Purpose to imprison the Tsar and his family. In 1918, Bolshevik soldiers were ordered to execute the Tsar and his family without proper trial. 10. Along with the Tsar and his family, a nurse, doctor and two servants were executed. The bullets ricocheted off the women's chests’ due to the family jewels that had been sewn upon their corsets. Thus, some of the bullets did not initially enter their bodies. Part 2) 1. In 1991, scientists were allowed to uncover the burial site in Yekaterinburg, Siberia where Tsar and his family were claimed to be buried. 2. a) The American team was asked to help identify the bodies. They wanted American scientist to determine whether or not the remains belonged to the Romanov family, as there was much discord and debate by Russian scientists. Specifically, the Russian government and the United States government asked Americans to go and study the remains. b) What types of information can be gained by a study of the following 1. Ridges and thick muscular insertions: whether the skeleton was male and female 2. Orbits of the eye and mandible and maxilla of the jaw: the race of skeleton 3. Pelvic girdle measurements: By measuring the opening in the pelvis, one can determine if the remains are male and female. 4. Ridges in the pubic bone: The ridges of the pubic bone can indicate the age of the individual as well as whether or not the individual is female and how many times that female delivered a child. 5. Leg and arm bones: An indication of age of skeleton by observing cellular developments under the microscope. Also, by measuring the thigh and arm bones, one can determine the height of the individual. 3. Nine skeletons were recovered from the burial site. b) 11 victims were claimed to be killed in the massacre. 4. Wisdom teeth can be used to analyze human skeletons, as a fully formed set of wisdom teeth suggest that the skeleton belonged to a person the age of 22 years or older. The absence of wisdom teeth suggests the person to be 21 of younger. Thus, wisdom teeth can help determine the age of the skeleton uncovered. b. Vertebrae: Rings between the vertebrae, if fused to the vertebrae, belong to a person at least 18 years of age. If the rings have not fused, the skeleton belongs to a person 17 years of age or younger. c. Pelvic region: The pelvis of a female and male are distinctive. The female pelvis has a larger opening that allows the skull of a baby to pass through during childbirth. Males have a much smaller opening. 6. Because no skeleton under the age of 18 was recovered, Prince Alexei and Princess Anastasia are both missing from the grave. Upon observing the skeletons no skeleton had features of 18 years of age or younger. 7. DNA could be extracted from bones, which had been frozen and thawed for almost 75 years. The DNA uncovered for the bones and skull bones match with the Tsar, Tsarina, and three princesses. 9. B) Mitochondrial DNA exists as a circular loop of double stranded DNA rather than the linear form found in nuclear DNA. Mitochondrial DNA is inherited solely from the mother. Thus, mtDNA sequences of nucleotides generally remain constant over many generations, as mitochondria come from the mother's eggs versus the father's sperm. a) Both forms of DNA are made up of the same nucleotides. 10. We inherit mitochondrial mtDNA solely from the mother. 11. The Romanov children received their mitochondrial DNA from Tsarina Alexandra. b) Tsarina Alexandra received the mtDNA from her mother, who inherited it from her mother. 3. No. Tsar Nicholas II inherited his mtDNA from his mother. He did not ass his mtDNA on to his children. Because men cannot pass the mtDNA gene, Tsar's children would not possess the same mtDNA. 4. If to compare mtDNA taken from the skeletal remains to the mtDNA of an existing maternal relative, one could identify the skeletal remains as belonging to the Romanov family. 12. All mtDNA of the Tsar's children can be traced back to Alice, wife of Ludwig of Hesse. According to the pedigree, she received the mtDNA from her mother, Queen Victoria. b) Prince Philip of England, Duke of Edinburgh, is a relative still alive today to have the same mDNA as the Romanov children. 14. The skeleton’s mtDNA does not match that of Prince Philip's. Thus, it would make sense to assume that the adult female was not part of the Romanov family. This could have belonged to the Royal Family's nurse, who was executed alongside the royals. 15. James, Duke of Fire, was selected to have his DNA examined. This is because he is a maternal relative alive that could be used for mtDNA comparison. 16. Male Skeleton Number 4 matched with the mDNA of James, Duke of Fire. The identity of Skeleton # 4 is most likely Tsar Nicholas II, based on the age. --Thus, because Prince Alexei and Princess Anastasia were missing from the grave, the royal doctor and two male adult servants killed at the execution site, were most likely skeletons 1 2, and 8. Anna Anderson's DNA from her hair and body tissue was preserved and later studied. If comparing Anna's DNA to Prince Philip, she would be Anastasia Romanov if her mtDNA was an exact match to the mtDNA of Prince Philip as well as the female skeletons (#9 not included) recovered. 19. Carl Maucher's mDNA was being examined in order to determine if Anna Anderson was in fact Anastasia Romanov, or missing factory worker, Franziska Schanzkowska. Anderson's mtDNA was a perfect match with that of Carl Maucher's. Thus, there is no match between Anderson and Prince Philip. 21. A) A microscopic slide was found in a hospital where intestinal tissue of Anderson had been preserved. Thus, persons were able to attain a sample of Anderson's cells and studied. With the use of advanced DNA technology, the cover slip was removed and DNA was extracted. b) Because DNA extractions from the tissue of Anderson did not match that of Anastasia, they were not the same person. Not one of the sequenced hair follicles matched Alexandra Romanov, the mother of Anastasia Romanov. Thus, Alexandra was not part of the royal Romanov family. c. The bodies of two youngest children were believed to be partially cremated immediately after they were shot. Soldiers then scattered their remains. This information is based on written accounts of Bolshevik soldiers present at the Romanov execution.