scandi
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I watch Forensic files often, and last night learned they can test the DNA in eye pigmentation to learn one's ancestry. There is no need to go to such lengths in Lyle's case as I am sure it is very expensive and he is buried, but I post this just for learning's sake. I just happened to find this:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5055391
snipet
"But police officers are likely to be interested, too. Already, some officials are testing DNA left at crime scenes to get clues about what the culprit might look like. Tony Frudakis runs DNAPrint Genomics, a Florida-based company that uses gene markers associated with geographic ancestry to give police a general sense of whether someone might look more black or white. In one case, he says, such "DNAWitness" testing helped recently track down a serial killer in Louisiana.
"They had been targeting a Caucasian individual based on faulty eyewitness testimony," says Frudakis. "We showed that the samples found at the crime scene corresponded to someone who was of predominantly sub-Saharan African ancestry. So this sort of changed the profile of who they were looking for." He says his company has done this kind of testing for a wide variety of law-enforcement agencies, including those in places like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles."
The show last night was about this case, and although the 2 witnesses both said they saw a white man leaving the scene, the perp was determined to be a black man with partial Native American heritage. His DNA tested positive for the 5 women he was accused of raping and killing.
Scandi
ETA: To clarify, as I mis-stated a fact, in the strand of DNA that they find at a crime scene, like in sweat or semen, one little part of that strand is the eye color factor, and it is through analysis of this piece of the strand they can determine the ancestry. I think they can also do this from the skin color part of the strand, as a Dr doing research on cancer also determined this accidently when studying the color of fish.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5055391
snipet
"But police officers are likely to be interested, too. Already, some officials are testing DNA left at crime scenes to get clues about what the culprit might look like. Tony Frudakis runs DNAPrint Genomics, a Florida-based company that uses gene markers associated with geographic ancestry to give police a general sense of whether someone might look more black or white. In one case, he says, such "DNAWitness" testing helped recently track down a serial killer in Louisiana.
"They had been targeting a Caucasian individual based on faulty eyewitness testimony," says Frudakis. "We showed that the samples found at the crime scene corresponded to someone who was of predominantly sub-Saharan African ancestry. So this sort of changed the profile of who they were looking for." He says his company has done this kind of testing for a wide variety of law-enforcement agencies, including those in places like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles."
The show last night was about this case, and although the 2 witnesses both said they saw a white man leaving the scene, the perp was determined to be a black man with partial Native American heritage. His DNA tested positive for the 5 women he was accused of raping and killing.
Scandi
ETA: To clarify, as I mis-stated a fact, in the strand of DNA that they find at a crime scene, like in sweat or semen, one little part of that strand is the eye color factor, and it is through analysis of this piece of the strand they can determine the ancestry. I think they can also do this from the skin color part of the strand, as a Dr doing research on cancer also determined this accidently when studying the color of fish.
YaYa, although I have 5 precious agate arrowheads I found on the beach at Little Whale Cove on the Oregon Coast.