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Abstract
BIOMETRICS is the measurement of biological data. The term biometrics is commonly used today to refer to the authentication of a person by analyzing physical characteristics, such as fingerprints, or behavioral characteristics, such as signatures. Since many physical and behavioral characteristics are unique to an individual, biometrics provides a more reliable system of authentication than ID cards, keys, passwords, or other traditional systems. The word biometrics comes
from two Greek words and means life measure.

Any characteristic can be used as a biometric identifier if (1) every person possesses the characteristic, (2) it varies from person to person, (3) its properties do not change considerably over time, and (4) it can be measured manually or automatically. Physical characteristics commonly used in biometric authentication include face, fingerprints, handprints, eyes, and voice. Biometric authentication can be used to control the security of computer networks, electronic commerce and banking transactions, and restricted areas in office buildings and factories. It can help prevent fraud by verifying identities of voters and holders of driver's license or visas.

In authentication, a sensor captures a digital image of the characteristic being used to verify the user's identity. A computer program extracts a pattern of distinguishing features from the digital image. Another program compares this pattern with the one representing the user that was recorded earlier and stored in the system database. If the patterns match well enough, the biometric system will conclude that the person is who he or she claims to be.



1. Introduction
Human Genome Project, international scientific collaboration that seeks to understand the entire genetic blueprint of a human being . This genetic information is found in each cell of the body, encoded in the chemical deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Through a process known as sequencing, the Human Genome Project has so far identified nearly all of the estimated 31,000 genes (the basic units of heredity) in the nucleus of a human cell. The project has also mapped the location of these genes on the 23 pairs of human chromosomes, the structures containing the genes in the cell’s nucleus.

The data derived from mapping and sequencing the human genome will help scientists’ associate specific human traits and inherited diseases with particular genes at precise locations on the chromosomes. This advance will help provide an unparalleled understanding of the fundamental organization of human genes and chromosomes. Many scientists believe that the Human Genome Project has the potential to revolutionize both therapeutic and preventive medicine by providing insights into the basic biochemical processes that underlie many human diseases.

The idea of undertaking a coordinated study of the human genome arose from a series of scientific conferences held between 1985 and 1987. The Human Genome Many nations have official human genome research programs as part of this collaboration, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan. In a separate project intended to speed up the sequencing process and commercialize the results, Celera Genomics, a privately funded biotechnology company, used a different method to assemble the sequence of the human genome. Both the public consortium and Celera Genomics completed the first phase of the project, and they each published a draft of the human genome simultaneously, although in separate journals, in February 2001.

2. Deoxyribonucleic Acid

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA), genetic material of all cellular organisms and most viruses. DNA carries the information needed to direct protein synthesis and replication. Protein synthesis is the production of the proteins needed by the cell or virus for its activities and development. Replication is the process by which DNA copies itself for each descendant cell or virus, passing on the information needed for protein synthesis. In most cellular organisms, DNA is organized on chromosomes located in the nucleus of the cell.
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2.1 Structure of Deoxyribonucleic Acid

A molecule of DNA consists of two chains, strands composed of a large number of chemical compounds, called nucleotides, linked together to form a chain. These chains are arranged like a ladder that has been twisted into the shape of a winding staircase, called a double helix. Each nucleotide consists of three units: a sugar molecule called deoxyribose, a phosphate group, and one of four different nitrogen-containing compounds called bases. The four bases are adenine (A), guanine (G), thymine (T), and cytosine ©. The deoxyribose molecule occupies the center position in the nucleotide, flanked by a phosphate group on one side and a base on the other. The phosphate group of each nucleotide is also linked to the deoxyribose of the adjacent nucleotide in the chain. These linked deoxyribose-phosphate subunits form the parallel side rails of the ladder. The bases face inward toward each other, forming the rungs of the ladder.

The nucleotides in one DNA strand have a specific association with the corresponding nucleotides in the other DNA strand. Because of the chemical affinity of the bases, nucleotides containing adenine are always paired with nucleotides containing thymine, and nucleotides containing cytosine are always paired with nucleotides containing guanine. The complementary bases are joined to each other by weak chemical bonds called hydrogen bonds.

In 1953 American biochemist James D. Watson and British biophysicist Francis Crick published the first description of the structure of DNA. Their model proved to be so important for the understanding of protein synthesis, DNA replication, and mutation that they were awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine for their work.

2.2 THE STRUCTURE OF DNA

The most important component of a chromosome is the single continuous molecule of DNA. This double-stranded molecule, shaped like a twisted ladder, is composed of linked chemical compounds known as nucleotides. Each nucleotide consists of three parts: a sugar known as deoxyribose, a phosphate compound, and any one of four bases—adenine, thymine, guanine, or cytosine. These parts are linked together so that the sugar and the phosphate form the two parallel sides of the DNA ladder. The bases from each side join in pairs to form the rungs of the ladder—specifically, adenine always pairs with thymine, and guanine always pairs with cytosine.



The genetic code is specified by the order of adenines, thymines, guanines, and cytosines in the DNA ladder. A particular section of the DNA ladder usually has a unique sequence of base pairs. Because a gene is merely one of these sections of the DNA ladder, it too possesses a unique sequence of base pairs, and this sequence can be used to distinguish the gene from other genes and to map its location on the chromosome.

3. HISTORY of Biometrics
People have long recognized that some personal traits are distinct to each individual and have long identified the basis of their physical characteristics. Such recognition is not limited to faces. For example, friends or relatives talking on the telephone recognize one another’s voices. Scientists know from a number of archaeological artifacts that ancient civilizations, such as those of Babylonia and China, recognized the individuality of fingerprint impressions. Even today, in countries such as India, where a large segment of the population is illiterate and cannot sign their names, thumbprint impression is considered a legal signature.
In 1882 Alphonse Bertillon, chief of the criminal identification division of the police department in Paris, France, developed a detailed method of identification based on certain bodily measurements, physical descriptions, and photographs. The Bertillon System of Anthropometric Identification gained wide acceptance before fingerprint identification superseded it.
Biometric characteristics such as signatures, fingerprints, and DNA samples have legal status throughout the world. In most countries these characteristics can be used as evidence in a court of law to establish proof of identity. Researchers have developed elaborate systems of rules, based on indexing of characteristics, for the appropriate use of these biometrics in establishing identity. These rules are used to help decide whether a pair of biometric measurements belongs to the same person and for determining whether a particular person is already included in a biometric database.
Cost of implementation is the single most important factor in the widespread adoption of biometrics. Some biometric sensors, such as microphones for speech input, are already inexpensive. Other types of sensors, such as digital cameras for facial imaging, are becoming more common. Still others, such as fingerprint sensors, remain extremely expensive. The cost of storing biometric templates and of the computing power required to process and match biometric measurements continues to decrease with advances in technology. Another factor that could affect the adoption of biometrics is the negative perception of biometrics as related to privacy. If that negative perception diminishes sufficiently, the public may accept biometrics as an effective means of privacy protection and as a means of protection from fraud.


3.1 INTRODUCTION OF BIOMATRICS
Biometrics, automatic methods for identifying a person on the basis of some biological or behavioral characteristic of the person. Many biological characteristics, such as fingerprints, and behavioral characteristics, such as voice patterns, are distinctive to each person. Therefore, biometrics is more reliable and more capable in distinguishing between a specific individual and an impostor than any technique based on an identification (ID) document or a password. The word biometrics comes from the Greek bios (life) and metrikos (measure).
In computer technology, biometrics relates to identity-confirmation and security techniques that rely on measurable, individual biological characteristics. For example, fingerprints, handprints, or voice patterns might be used to enable access to a computer, to a room, or to an electronic commerce account. In general, there are three levels of computer security schemes. Level 1 relies on something a person carries, such as an ID badge with a photograph or a computer cardkey. Level 2 relies on something a person knows, such as a password or a code number. Level 3, the highest level, relies on something that is a part of a person’s biological makeup or behavior, such as a fingerprint, a facial image, or a signature.
There are a number of simple, widely available means of personal identification, including photo ID cards and secret passwords. While these simple means of identification work most of the time, they may be compromised easily. For example, ID cards may be lost, stolen, or copied. Similarly, passwords or personal identification numbers (PINs) may be forgotten or guessed by others. However, biometric systems provide automatic personal identification on the basis of a physical or behavioral feature that is distinctive to each individual.
The concept of biometrics probably began with the human use of facial features to identify other people. Modern biometrics, however, started in the 1880s when Alphonse Bertillon, chief of the criminal identification division of the police department in Paris, France, developed a method of identification based on a number of bodily measurements (see Bertillon System). One of the most well-known biometric characteristics is the fingerprint. British scientist Sir Francis Galton proposed the use of fingerprints for identification purposes in the late 19th century. He wrote a detailed study of fingerprints in which he presented a new classification system using prints of all ten fingers, which is the basis of identification systems still in use. British police official Sir Richard Edward Henry introduced fingerprinting in the 1890s as a means of identifying criminals (see Crime Detection). Automatic fingerprint-based identification systems have been commercially available since the early 1960s. Until the 1990s these systems were used primarily by the police and in certain security applications.

3.2 DESIGN OF A BIOMETRIC SYSTEM
Automatic personal identification is the process by which a biometric system associates a particular person with a specific identity. Identification may be in the form of verification or recognition. In verification the system authenticates a claimed identity. In other words, the system verifies a claim that a person is who he or she says he or she is. In recognition the system determines the identity of a given person from a database of persons known to it. In other words, the system determines who the person is without that person specifying a name.
It is easier to design a biometric system for verification than for recognition. A verification system authenticates a person’s claimed identity by comparing the particular biometric characteristic being used for identification against biometric measurements of the claimed identity that have been previously stored in the system. For example, a thumbprint from a person claiming to be a particular individual is compared against a stored thumbprint from that particular individual. In a recognition system, the biometric characteristic being used is compared against the corresponding biometric measurements of all identities stored in the system. For example, a thumbprint from a person who wishes to enter a secured room is compared against the thumbprints of all persons who are authorized to enter the room.
A biometric system is essentially a pattern-recognition system that makes personal identification possible. It does so by establishing the authenticity of a specific biological or behavioral characteristic of the user, that is, the person who is being identified. Logically, a biometric system may be divided into two distinct units, or modules: an enrollment module and an identification module.
The enrollment module equips the system to identify a given person. During enrollment, a biometric sensor scans a characteristic of the user to acquire a digital representation of the characteristic, such as a digital image of the person’s face. A computer program known as a feature extractor then processes the digital representation to generate a more compact representation called a template. With a facial image, for example, the template of features may include the size and relative positions of the eyes, nose, and mouth. The template for each user is stored in the system’s database or recorded on a smart card, which is a small plastic card containing a microchip that can store personal data. If the template is recorded on a smart card, the card is issued to the user. To be identified as the true user, the cardholder must match the characteristic recorded on the card.
The identification module recognizes the person. During identification, the biometric sensor scans the characteristic of the person to be identified and converts it into the same digital format as the template. The sensor also inputs the resulting representation into a feature matcher, another computer program. The feature matcher compares the representation against the template. A verification system will conclude that the person is correctly identified when the scanned characteristic and the stored template for the claimed identity are the same. Otherwise it will reject the person. A recognition system will assign the user the identity associated with the correctly matched template when the scanned characteristic and a characteristic on a stored template are the same. However, if the scanned characteristic does not match any stored template, the system will reject the person.
A biometric system may not always make an accurate identification. Errors occur because variations are present in any biometric characteristic. For example, a facial image may change with a different hairstyle, the presence or absence of eyeglasses, or some cosmetic change. A biometric system can establish an identity only to a certain level of accuracy.
As an example, assume that a person is a user of a verification system and that the person claims to be “Alice,” who is already enrolled in the system. The system either will accept that the person is Alice or will reject the person as an impostor. In either case, the system may be correct or it may be incorrect. That is to say, for each type of identification, there are two possible outcomes: true or false. Therefore, the verification process has four possible outcomes: true accept, where a genuine individual is accepted; true reject, where an impostor is rejected; false accept, where an impostor is accepted; or false reject, where a genuine individual is rejected. Outcomes of true accept and true reject are correct, whereas outcomes of false accept and false reject are incorrect.
The performance of a biometric system may be characterized by assessing how frequently the system commits errors of false acceptance and false rejection. For this purpose system designers and assessors use two numbers: false acceptance rate (FAR) and false rejection rate (FRR). The FAR is the probability that the system accepts an impostor as a genuine individual. The FRR is the probability that the system rejects a genuine individual as an impostor. Ideally, a biometric system should have extremely low values for both FAR and FRR. In practice, however, a smaller FRR usually means a larger FAR, while a smaller FAR usually means a larger FRR. Biometric systems designed for high-security access applications, where concerns about break-in are great, operate at a small FAR. As a result, the number of people who are falsely rejected is greater in these systems. Biometric systems designed for police applications operate at a high FAR. In these applications, the desire to catch a criminal outweighs the inconvenience of investigating a large number of falsely identified individuals.