Free Republic

DNA extractable from fingerprints NEW YORK, July 31 (UPI) -- Even if the only evidence forensic analysts can pull from a crime scene is a fingerprint smudged beyond recognition, a new technique developed by Canadian scientists soon could harvest enough DNA from the print to produce a genetic identity. The novel system can extract DNA in only 15 minutes, even if a print has been stored for a year. Scientists expect the invention to help crime-fighters solve mysteries, and already are in talks with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In addition, researchers predict the technology could be at least twice...

In what appears to be the first use of DNA to extract details of a criminal suspect's appearance, investigators in the case of the Louisiana serial killer shifted their focus away from white suspects after an analysis of tissue from one of the crime scenes determined that the killer was probably black, the developer of the genetic test says. DNA evidence has come into widespread use to identify individuals, but the identifying pieces of DNA are not part of the genes and have no influence on a person's physical makeup. Experts have long recognized that as knowledge of the human...