Category Archives: DNA

Head of D.C. crime lab defends analysis of DNA data

Posted: Published on March 13th, 2015

In the wake of criticism from federal prosecutors, the head of the Districts new crime lab stood behind his labs analysis of DNA data Thursday but told a key D.C. Council member that his lab is understaffed. The method we use is the most common method used by many labs around the country, including the FBI, Max M. Houck, director of the lab, said during testimony at the councils Judiciary Committee oversight hearing. The D.C. lab, which is in a $220million facility in Southwest Washington that opened in 2012, has come under scrutiny after prosecutors said they found critical errors in the DNA work at the lab. The U.S. Attorneys Office has stopped using the lab to evaluate evidence, instead opting to use outside labs. It also has hired independent DNA experts to review 116 cases previously examined by the city-run lab. Both the U.S. Attorneys Office and D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) have initiated separate audits of the lab and its work. Houck said that his lab has been audited five times in the past two years and that he welcomed the reviews. The dispute between federal prosecutors and the citys Department of Forensic Sciences was first reported … Continue reading →

Posted in DNA | Comments Off

Scientists Reconstruct DNA Of Fascist Warrior From Semen Stains In Genetic Breakthrough Procedure

Posted: Published on March 13th, 2015

Italian scientists said on Thursday that they had reconstructed the DNA of a fascist war hero and poet by analyzing semen left on a handkerchief he gave to a lover 100 years ago. Researchers reportedly said the breakthrough procedure could be used to solve cold cases. The DNA ofproto-fascist warmongerGabriele D'Annunzio was reconstructed by forensic experts, after police in Cagliari, Sardinia, analyzed a handkerchief he gave his lover, Countess Olga Levi Brunner, in 1916. Police also looked at a letter the countess had written to DAnnunzio and an ivory toothbrush, Agence France-Pressereported. Using a crimescope light, they identified splotches of semen that were invisible to the naked eye and compared the DNA results to those of Federico D'Annunzio, Gabrieles grandson.Giordano Bruno Guerri, head of the Vittoriale degli Italiani foundation which held the items, joked that the experiment may lead to the cloning of historical figures whose remains were not available. Nobody wants to clone DAnnunzio, but nobody knows what changes will take place in science and society. Its good the DNA has been collected, he reportedly said. Gabriele DAnnunzio took the city of Fiume, in modern-day Croatia, in 1919, trying to set up an independent state, which would later be … Continue reading →

Posted in DNA | Comments Off

WikiLeaks’ Assange Faces DNA Test at Embassy Hideaway

Posted: Published on March 13th, 2015

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange could be questioned in London and have a DNA sample taken over longstanding sex assault and rape allegations, Swedish prosecutors said Friday. The Australian has been holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden. Assange denies the sex claims, which date back almost five years, and fears that if he is sent to Sweden he could be further extradited to the U.S. over one of the largest information leaks in history. Prosecutors in Stockholm had previously refused to travel to London to question him, but said Friday they are willing to compromise because some of his alleged crimes reach their statute of limitations in August. "My view has always been that to perform an interview with him at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London would lower the quality of the interview, and that he would need to be present in Sweden in any case should there be a trial in the future," Sweden's Director of Public Prosecutions Marianne Ny said in a statement. "This assessment remains unchanged. Now that time is of the essence, I have viewed it therefore necessary to accept such deficiencies to the investigation." If a visit … Continue reading →

Posted in DNA | Comments Off