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Credit: © X n' Y hate Z / Fotolia Increasingly important to criminal investigations, DNA analysis once required substantial samples of blood or other bodily fluids, but advances in the field now make it possible to produce a complete genetic profile of a suspect from just a few cells left behind -- so-called "touch DNA." There is a plot here.  Person A shakes hands with person B, then person A commits murder.  Whose DNA is found on the weapon?  According to this study, it can easily be the DNA of the completely innocent person B who now faces arrest and conviction for a crime they absolutely did not commit. Person A may have deliberately shaken the hand of person B to shift blame to them, framing them with what law enforcement, the courts, and most people feel is ultimate evidence of guilt. How does someone accused of such a crime overcome such evidence? Here's the story with a link to the full story in the attribution.  And let u...

Credit: Busby et al./Current Biology 2015 Gene flow within West Eurasia is shown by lines linking the best-matching  donor group to the sources of admixture with recipient clusters (arrowhead).  Line colors represent the regional identity of the donor group, and line thick- ness represents the proportion of DNA coming from the donor group. Ranges of the dates (point estimates) for events involving sources most similar to  selected donor groups are shown. It's often said that the history we know was written by the winners with the losers lost to history and memory. Until the age of DNA analysis, that is. DNA retains a record of historic events, and the collective DNA of a population can be used to trace historic movements of entire populations or invasions by outside groups. Using DNA allows us to trace historic movements of peoples in pre-history, such as recent research that shows that an unknown somewhat mysterious population invented agricultu...

www.scienceknowledge.org Better DNA hair analysis for catching criminals A simple, lower-cost new method for DNA profiling of human hairs developed by the University of Adelaide should improve opportunities to link criminals to serious crimes. The researchers have modified existing laboratory methods and been able to produce accurate DNA profiles from trace amounts at a much higher success rate. Forensic DNA Evidence on Trial: Science and Uncertainty in the Courtroom by Victoria Grace Order new and used from Powell's Books "Technological advancements over the last 10 years have allowed police and forensic scientists to profile crime-scene DNA from ever smaller and more challenging samples collected from fingerprints, skin cells, saliva and hairs," says Associate Professor Jeremy Austin, Deputy Director with the University's Australian Centre for Ancient DNA. "DNA profiling of human hairs is critical to solving many serious crimes but most hair...