"How about THAT, Mr. Fung?"
Posted on 05/03/2011 4:28:49 PM PDT by neverdem
Osama bin Laden’s identity was confirmed through a variety of techniques, including visual identification by Navy SEALs and by his youngest wife at the compound where he was killed in Pakistan, as well as photo analysis and genetic testing, according to a senior defense official who briefed reporters at the Pentagon yesterday.
The photo analysis, which relied on a computer technology that matched specific facial features, provided 95 percent certainty of a match. Yesterday morning, a test that compared the dead man’s DNA with samples collected from relatives, confirmed that the Al Qaeda leader had been killed, the official said on condition that he not be identified.
Genetic material taken from siblings and other close relatives can be used to confirm a person’s identity because people who are related share genetic material. Siblings, for example, share on average half of their genes.
Michael Rogers, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, confirmed that DNA testing had taken place but refused to give details during a briefing at the US Capitol.
“I won’t give all the details of it . . . it wasn’t single-sourced, he’s got lots of places that his DNA could have been captured, through relatives or other means,’’ Rogers said. “One of the things that was important was to make sure that it was absolutely him. I think through the DNA testing and other things, it is clear beyond a...’’
--snip--
To do the testing, researchers extract DNA from a sample, then use a process called polymerase chain reaction to make many copies of specific sections of interest. Dyes are then added to allow comparisons of DNA fragments. Such work can be carried out rapidly — “in a hurry, overnight, in less than 24 hours,’’ Bieber said, in laboratories that exist in most developed countries...
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Gotcha. The best thing Barack Obama ever did in his life.
Like St Thomas the Apostle, I wanna see PROOF.
Show me the nail holes in the hands and feet, IOW Release the photos, Mr. President!
Just sayibg so won’t be good enough. We’ll see what happens.
Why did the public have to wait weeks and weeks for DNA testing in the Scott Peterson case and in the Lacy Peterson? I suppose the technology and techniques have improved?
Why did the public have to wait weeks and weeks for DNA testing in the Scott Peterson case and in the Lacy Peterson remains? I suppose the technology and techniques have improved? What lab performed the tests on the relative and the remains of Laden? I would think the FBI would be used but there may be a lab in Afghanistan set up for rapid ID? Does anyone know?
Body doubles and doctored photos are unacceptable. I want a chain of custody, methods & materials, and the actual results of the DNA analysis from the gov't and some independent labs. There are too damn many conspiracy theories. We have had enough already!
That’s because they used civilian criminal forensics labs in addition to obsolete DNA testing techniques. The contemporary DNA testing techniques can be accomplished by any 3rd year biology undergrad student in an afternoon (provided they have unfettered access to the necessary lab equipment).
My suspicion is that they had ‘hot’ lab facilities in standby for necessary comprehensive testing. The SEAL team probably had DNA-lab-on-chip kit with them and preliminary results were established by the time they RTB’d. This probably resulted in the 99.9% certainty, i.e., 1:1000 profile. Then they implemented more sophisticated in-lab testing - at minimul mitochondrial DNA to establish familial relationship - which resulted in whatever probabilities were deemed sufficient, i.e., 1:100000, 1:1000000, 1:10000000, etc. Badda-boom, Bing! Bing! Bing! We have a winner, and he became clam-food.
The final confirmation probably took no longer than 4 hrs after Team 6 RTB’d. Reports are that he was sleeping with the fish w/in 8 hours of the operation.
The Bin Laden family learned the same valuable lesson he did......pick up the dry cleaning tab
Slight correction, being as Obama really had nothing to do with this: "The best thing Barack Obama ever had dropped in his lap in his life".
In military lingo, all he did was "concur".
This is why I wish that they wouldn’t have buried him at sea so quickly. DNA confirms that the guy we killed last Sunday was Osama bin Laden *or one of his brothers*. If we had the body, it could be inspected, we could examine dental records, we could take additional DNA samples (so nobody could claim that the sampel that we tested did not come from the person we killed last Sunday), etc.
There is no doubt in my mind that we killed Osama bin Laden last Sunday, but there are a lot of people out there who will claim that we killed a double, or one of Osama’s brothers, and that Osama is still alive and well, or else will claim that we killed Osama over 10 years ago (before September 11) and stored his frozen body.
"How about THAT, Mr. Fung?"
My thoughts exactly. But with the speed of which Osama's may have been tested vs the sample, do they have a test that falls into the "don't ask what I do for a living" catagory? That is the million dollar question. Given JSOC may get the latest and greatest toys that we will not see for years if ever, it falls into the catagory of "things that make you go hum"..... Ditto that the helicopters being "unseen" by radar or other means ( if you will ) on the way in....
Don’t you think they would recognize him? I mean, if he was laid out in front of them? The DNA is just a verification.
ping
If they have multiple relatives giving DNA, the probability is more certain with each matching.
That kind of belies the spin that the DNA was a 100% match. It is still hearsay.
Where's the map?
It's not just technology and techniques have probably improved, basic biological and genetic knowledge are still being learned. There is some value in those gov't grants.
I don't follow murder cases very closely once it's obvious the suspect appears to be a creep. The Wikipedia entry for the Peterson case had nothing about DNA.
I know nothing about your last three questions.
How long does it take to run a match on DNA samples?
A bit more than 3 hours if the facility is configured ‘hot’ in push-mode; no spin-up time whatsoever for any phase / task of the process / procedure. All comparative profiles are already processed, cataloged and in the DB.
As soon as SEAL team member hands off the biological sample, and the putative DNA-lab-on-a-chip, to the forensic technician the clock’s running. If one of the tech’s knocks over a Grahm double-coiled, doubled-jacketed Davies condenser w/fractionating Co-Vigreux column with a high 5 digit price tag, there’s three or four more prepped and ready to take over in a heartbeat and a multitude of other identical profiles simultaneously in progreess. Moreover, they’re probably running multiple differential loci-profiles simultaneously.
Net result: after about 4 hours they have 1:1000000000 match probability across all measurable loci that can be tested for.
Those 4 hours would only set the taxpayer back a few $million or so (not including the $1/4 to 1/2million ea’s for all the DNA-lab-on-a-chip utilized for prelim results).
DNA samples from Adam and Eve would of proved the same thang!
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