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Feb 25, 2011 Science
Can This DNA Sleuth Help Catch Criminals?

Martin Enserink

The murder was heinous, there were no witnesses, and the police had few clues—except for some skin found under the fingernails of the victim that might belong to the killer. And that was all it took. From a few nanograms of DNA in the skin cells, a police lab determined that the murderer was a man of European origin with brown eyes and straight, dark-brown hair, approximately 45 years old and balding, and likely 1.90 meters in height. Within a few more hours, a police computer spewed out a sketch of the man's face seen from three different angles, which was all over the evening news. Soon, calls started pouring in from people who recognized the suspect.

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Cases OverviewCases Overview

It is not known how often law enforcement agencies have turned to FDP as part of an attempt to identify an unknown suspect or victim; some reports claim that the method has been used in several hundre ... 


Laws Overview

Is forensic DNA phenotyping regulated?
Few jurisdictions have regulations that specifically address the forensic use of DNA for phenotype prediction. The method is still too new and too infrequently  ... 


Research Overview

We are collecting references for papers, reports, conference presentations, or abstracts that report findings relevant to FDP. Our intent is to periodically publish an annotated bibliography that trac ... 


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