[503] in Privacy_Forum
[ PRIVACY Forum ] DNA Evidence Can Be Fabricated, Scientists Show
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (privacy@vortex.com)
Wed Aug 19 00:37:42 2009
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:20:28 -0700
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----- Forwarded message from Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> -----
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:10:08 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: DNA Evidence Can Be Fabricated, Scientists Show
To: undisclosed-recipient: ;
DNA Evidence Can Be Fabricated, Scientists Show
By ANDREW POLLACK
August 18, 2009
Scientists in Israel have demonstrated that it is possible to
fabricate DNA evidence, undermining the credibility of what has been
considered the gold standard of proof in criminal cases.
The scientists fabricated blood and saliva samples containing DNA
from a person other than the donor of the blood and saliva. They also
showed that if they had access to a DNA profile in a database, they
could construct a sample of DNA to match that profile without
obtaining any tissue from that person.
"You can just engineer a crime scene," said Dan Frumkin, lead author
of the paper, which has been published online by the journal Forensic
Science International: Genetics. "Any biology undergraduate could
perform this."
Dr. Frumkin is a founder of Nucleix, a company based in Tel Aviv that
has developed a test to distinguish real DNA samples from fake ones
that it hopes to sell to forensics laboratories.
The planting of fabricated DNA evidence at a crime scene is only one
implication of the findings. A potential invasion of personal privacy
is another.
Using some of the same techniques, it may be possible to scavenge
anyone's DNA from a discarded drinking cup or cigarette butt and turn
it into a saliva sample that could be submitted to a genetic testing
company that measures ancestry or the risk of getting various
diseases. Celebrities might have to fear "genetic paparazzi," said
Gail H. Javitt of the Genetics and Public Policy Center at Johns
Hopkins University.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/science/18dna.html
----- End forwarded message -----
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