ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Combined DNA Index System

The combined DNA index system, or CODIS for short, is like a big puzzle game that helps police officers solve crimes. It works by collecting tiny pieces of DNA, which is a special code our bodies have that tells us how to grow and look.

Police officers take this DNA and put it into a big computer system called CODIS. When a crime is committed, detectives can use this computer system to compare the DNA found at the crime scene to the DNA collected from lots of different people. This helps them figure out who might have been at the crime scene and who might have done the crime.

CODIS is really good at comparing DNA because it puts all the DNA from different people in the same order. Kind of like if we lined up all our toy cars from smallest to biggest. Then when detectives find DNA at a crime scene, they can match it up to the right spot in the big order of DNA.

This way, police officers can find the person who did the crime and bring them to justice. So even though it might seem like a big puzzle game, CODIS is really important for keeping us all safe by catching bad guys!