Daily Archives: December 15, 2021

A highly regarded scientific journal has retracted a paper based on DNA samples from nearly 38,000 men in China, including Tibetans and Uyghurs who almost certainly did not give proper consent.

The rare retraction by the journal, Human Genetics, follows a two-yearcrusade by a Belgian scientist to push publishers to investigate research that he and others say is complicit in human rights violations.

The papers authors used DNA samples from across China to assess genetic variation among and within ethnic groups. The journals editors retracted the paper because of doubts about the informed consent process. According to a retraction notice published December 11, three authors, including the two lead authors, agreed to withdraw the paper.Human Genetics is published by Springer Nature, which retracted two other papers for similar reasons in August and September.

The scientist who spearheaded the retraction campaign, Yves Moreau, said he was thankful that Springer Nature had investigated but that there was more work to be done, noting that the papers findingshad been used in over two dozen other papers. This is not only a matter of informed consent, but also a matter of retracting and not publishing research clearly linked to serious harm, said Moreau, who is a bioinformatician at the University of Leuven in Belgium. It raises the question of what will happen to those almost 40,000 DNA profiles. The anonymized profiles remain in an online database in Germany that can be freely queried by anyone.

At least nine of the papers 30 co-authors are affiliated with Chinese police departments or police academies, and several others are affiliated with forensic science departments at Chinese universities. Researchers are often given co-author slots in exchange for collecting samples and data, said Moreau, making it likely that at least some of the Chinese samples were collected by police. Chinas Ministry of Public Security, which oversees police across China, has been building out a national DNA database, overthe objections of human rights activists.

One of thelead authors on the retracted paper, Lutz Roewer, oversees the German database, which is housed atthe Charit research hospitalin Berlin. Called the Y-Chromosome Haplotype Reference Database, or YHRD, it is often used by police around the world who are seeking more information about specific DNA samples. It has recently come under scrutiny for including DNA from the persecuted Roma ethnic group as well as Uyghur and Chinese DNA that ethicists presume was collected without informed consent.

Roewer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A facility believed to be a reeducation camp where mostly Muslim ethnic minorities are detained is seen in Artux, north of Kashgar in Chinas western Xinjiang region, on June 2, 2019.

Photo: Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images

An explosion in accessible DNA technologies has also sparked police misuse in the United States. In China, said Emile Dirks, adoctoral candidate at the University of Toronto who studies Y-STR data collection, you have a nationwide, multiyear campaign to target individuals for genealogical or genomic collection, none of whom are targets in an investigation, nor are they known to be or suspected of being related to someone who is a target of a criminal investigation.

YHRD, the German database, is the largest collection of Y-STR samples in the world, containing 300,000 profiles. The profiles do not have names attached, but police often use them to zero in on a likely geographic origin for a suspect, then use that marker to make assumptions about the suspects ethnicity.

If our community is perceived to be condoning or even tolerating human rights abuses, public trust in genetics will rapidly crumble.

Moreau first raised concerns about the paper with Springer Nature editors in June 2020. This past July, he wrote to the journals editorial board to ask for help, appealing to the Hippocratic oath that many took when they became doctors. Public trust in human genetics depends on our communitys ability to transparently abide by its moral duties, he wrote. If our community is perceived to be condoning or even tolerating human rights abuses, public trust in genetics will rapidly crumble.

In a later email to the editorial board, he worried that his inquiries were being stonewalled because of strategic and business considerations by publishers, who are afraid of poking a mighty bear, referring to the financial interests of journals operating in China.

Springer Nature did not immediately respond to The Intercepts requests for comment.

Moreaus email to the editorial board sparked a heated discussion. One scientist responded to his comment about business interests, observing that science was slipping from the hands of actual practicing scientists and not just in human and medical genetics.

The work included DNA probes of sources that did not respect ethical obligations, thereby violating contemporary ethical norms and regulations, Gudrun Rappold, a geneticist at the University of Heidelberg and a member of the editorial board, wrote to The Intercept. She said that she had previously used Y chromosome data in her own work but that she saw the retraction as a warning sign for the future.

In August, Moreaus emails to the editorial board of another journal that had published fraught research, Molecular Genetics & Genomic Medicine, prompted eight scientists to resign in protest.

China is the best and the clearest example that one can think of because we all agree that human rights violations in China are so severe, said Veronika Lipphardt, a science historian at the University of Freiburg in Germany who,along with Rappold,recently authored a comment article in Nature on abuses involving Roma DNA. But we should not forget to look elsewhere. A lot of data from marginalized populations around the world, in nondemocratic regimes as well as in democratic countries, has been collected in similar ways by police forces.

Correction: December 14, 2021Thisarticle has beenupdated to clarify that the database containing the anonymized DNA profiles on which the retracted Human Genetics paper was based does not require registration and can be queried by anyone with access to the internet.

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Journal Retracts Paper Based on Uyghur DNA - The Intercept

STONY BROOK, N.Y., December 15, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: APDN) (Applied DNA or the "Company"), a leader in Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-based DNA manufacturing and nucleic acid-based technologies, and Stratum Reservoir (Isotech), LLC ("Isotech"), a division of Stratum Reservoir and a leader in laboratory stable isotope analysis, a technique used for fingerprinting naturally occurring organic compounds such as cotton, today announced that they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Under the terms of the MoU, Applied DNA will deploy Isotechs isotopic analysis (IA) as a confirmatory assay for cotton genotyping, the process through which cotton DNA is utilized to determine cotton fiber and fabric origin forensically. The MoU is expected to be followed by a definitive agreement between the companies.

The signing of the MoU follows the joint presentation of initial data by the companies at an American Apparel and Footwear Association event that describes a methodology and findings for the successful determination of Egyptian cotton fiber, yarn and fabric origin using cotton genomics with affirmation by IA. The complementary use of IA to Applied DNAs CertainT platform for textile traceability yields a continuity of forensic data across the entirety of a natural fiber-based value chain from source to finished goods to ensure adherence to social (avoidance of products made with forced or slave labor) and environmental practices (sustainable, organic) aligned with regulatory and consumer expectations. Per the MoU, the companies will support business development opportunities for cotton traceability. They will also continue to build and compile a global database of cotton, yarn, and fabric samples from known sources to broaden the application and utility of IA.

MeiLin Wan, vice president of Textile Sales at Applied DNA, stated, "The use of IA complements our CertainT platform to deliver what we believe is a best-in-class, multi-layered approach to supply chain traceability and assurance across the entirety of natural fiber-based value chains. With CertainT, once origin is established, we deliver certainty that we believe is immutable and forensic from source-to-shelf. The power of DNA is now augmented with IA."

Story continues

"Stable isotope analysis is a powerful tool that we have historically used in the oil and gas industry," said Steven Pelphrey, Director of Stratum Reservoir (Isotech), LLC. "Through our collaboration with Applied DNA, we can now more broadly apply our proven technology and techniques to the textile industry. This both enhances Applied DNAs CertainT platform with an additional layer of geographic provenance and delivers an unmatched solution to the marketplace."

About Applied DNA Sciences

Applied DNA is commercializing LinearDNA, its proprietary, large-scale polymerase chain reaction ("PCR")-based manufacturing platform that allows for the large-scale production of specific DNA sequences.

The LinearDNA platform has utility in the nucleic acid-based in vitro diagnostics and preclinical nucleic acid-based drug development and manufacturing market. The platform is used to manufacture DNA for customers as components of in vitro diagnostic tests and for preclinical nucleic acid-based drug development in the fields of adoptive cell therapies (CAR T and TCR therapies), DNA vaccines (anti-viral and cancer), RNA therapies, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) based therapies, and gene therapies.

The LinearDNA platform also has non-biologic applications, such as supply chain security, anti-counterfeiting and anti-theft technology. Key end-markets include textiles, pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, and cannabis, among others.

Leveraging its deep expertise in nucleic acid-based technologies, the Company has also established safeCircle, a high-throughput turnkey solution for population-scale COVID-19 testing. safeCircle is designed to look for infection within defined populations or communities utilizing high throughput testing methodologies that increase testing efficiencies and provide for rapid turn-around-times. The Company has also submitted a request for an EUA-authorization for its LineaTM SARS-CoV-2 Mutation Panel, an assay-based panel for the detection of certain SARS-CoV-2 genetic mutations.

Visit adnas.com for more information. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. Join our mailing list.

The Companys common stock is listed on NASDAQ under ticker symbol APDN, and its publicly traded warrants are listed on OTC under ticker symbol APPDW.

Applied DNA is a member of the Russell Microcap Index.

About Stratum Reservoir (Isotech), LLC

Isotech is a leading provider of laboratory services and equipment designed to deliver scientific insights for customers around the world, including specializing in high-precision carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur-isotope analysis for a variety of industries. Isotech is a member of the Stratum Reservoir group of companies, which operates rock and fluids analysis laboratories to enable the discovery and sustainable development of energy resources through applied geosciences.

For more information, visit http://www.stratumreservoir.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements made by Applied DNA in this press release may be "forward-looking" in nature within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements describe Applied DNA's future plans, projections, strategies, and expectations, and are based on assumptions and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of Applied DNA. Actual results could differ materially from those projected due to its history of net losses, limited financial resources, limited market acceptance, including Applied DNA's ability to successfully enter into commercial contracts for the implementation of its CertainT platform, the unknown ability to identify and commercialize large numbers of cotton geographic biomarkers, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, and various other factors detailed from time to time in Applied DNA's SEC reports and filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on December 9, 2021, and other reports we file with the SEC, which are available at http://www.sec.gov. Applied DNA undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, unless otherwise required by law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211215005459/en/

Contacts

For Applied DNA: Investors: Sanjay M. Hurry, 917-733-5573, sanjay.hurry@adnas.com Program Manager: MeiLin Wan, 631-240-8849, meilin.wan@adnas.com Web: http://www.adnas.com Twitter: @APDN

For Isotech: Media Inquiries: Jason Buchman, (832) 375-6800, jason.buchman@stratumreservoir.com Program Manager: Steve Pelphrey, (217) 398-3490, steven.pelphrey@stratumreservoir.com

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Applied DNA and Stratum Reservoir (Isotech) Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Leverage Isotopic Analysis for Enhanced DNA-Based Cotton Authenticity...

Rookie quarterback Davis Mills kicked off his NFL career as the official "he's our starting quarterback'' last week with a disappointing 33-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, but the Stanford producthad himself a decent game.

And in fact, while the overall reviews surrounding Mills' performance have been generally positive, one former player has gone as far as to compare him to NFL royalty.

"I like him, I think he's far better than the third-round draft pick, and I said this some time ago guys, and I'm not exaggerating and it's always going to sound foolish to people when you have the ability to project the future, but this is the same type of DNA that Tom Brady showed," former Houston Oilers running back Spencer Tillman said.

"He didn't have great skills per se, but his intellect was off the charts and you saw the potential that was there and at that position, there's no more virtue or value that you need to have in your arsenal of talent, your skillset, that the ability to process information."

Comparing Mills to Brady seems ... a little bit of a reach at this stage in his career. Mills has completed 179 of his 272 attempted passes for 1,737 yards, eight touchdowns, and eight interceptions through his nine games (seven starts) so far.

Compared to his fellow rookies, which seems a little more appropriate comp than one with the GOAT, Mills ranks fourth in yardage, third in TDs, fourth in interceptions, and second in quarterback rating (81.1). Mills also has the most 300-yard games to his name with three.

All this, despite having fewer starts than all but one of the rookies (the Niners' Trey Lance).

And something Tillman also pointed out which he also believes to be a positive sign is Mills' choice to play without a crib sheet.

"The fact that he immediately is willing to step up and confront the things that terrify most young quarterbacks; that is listen to what's being articulated in his head," Tillman said. "There's nothing more intimidating than having the fortunes of your entire team in your hands in that moment with no crib sheet. Just the content that came into your helmet, you take that and you go to try to make something happen.

"That's an intimidating situation, but the fact that he's willing to confront that tells me more about him than anything that I've ever seen that's been really put out there to evaluate this young talent."

Whether or not Mills will prove to be anywhere near the realm of Brady is a long way from being realized.

However, forgetting this comparison for a moment, Tillman's point about Mills being worth more than his draft pick is certainly valid. All other rookies who have seen the field this year were first-rounders, and outside of New England's Mac Jones, Mills' performances have been right up there with the rest of them, even better than many.

Certainly, against the Seahawks, he was accurate, looked far more at ease in this offense than earlier in the year, and the timing with his receivers was vastly improved.

If he can continue to show some level of improvement in each of their final four games this year, maybe Mills can cement himself that starting job again next year and really begin his journey to becoming the next ... Tom Brady? Or, at least, a capable first-team QB, which Houston desperately needs.

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Does Texans Rookie QB Davis Mills Have 'Tom Brady DNA'? - State of The Texans

Investigators have identified a man whose skeletal remains were found nearly 40 years ago in Twinsburg.

And who he is might surprise you.

His name is Frank Frankie Little Jr. and he was a songwriter and guitarist for The OJays in the 1960s. The R&B group started in Canton and made it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Investigators discovered Littles identity with the help of DNA and genealogical research. The breakthroughfollowed years of failed attempts that included the state crime lab making a clay model of the mans skull.

More: Authorities need public's help in identifying remains found in Twinsburg

Im very excited we were able to put a name to these remains and to get him back to his family and give his family that piece of closure, said Summit County Medical Examiner Lisa Kohler, who assisted Twinsburg detectives with the investigation.

The family also was pleased to learn what happened to Little after all these years.

"It's amazing," said Margaret O'Sullivan, Little's cousin, who lives in Cleveland. "We're glad that we have closure now. We know he's deceased."

The next step will be trying to figure out who killed Little and how his remains ended up in a garbage bag behind a Twinsburg business in February 1982. Kohler said his death, originally deemed undetermined, will be ruled a homicide.

Little, who would be 78 if he was still alive, was born in Cleveland in 1943. He was with the OJays in the mid-60s, writing several songs, including Do the Jerk and Oh, How You Hurt Me. The band is best known for its hits that include Love Train.

Little served in the U.S. Army for two years, including in the Vietnam War. He was last known to live in the area of East 105th Street and Superior Avenue in Cleveland and it is believed he was alive into at least the mid-1970s. Not much is known about his disappearance.

Employees of a now-closed machine shop on Cannon Road in Twinsburg found a skull in February 1982 when they were dumping shavings in the woods. They werent sure what theyd found.

When they saw the skull, they didnt believe it was human, Twinsburg detective Eric Hendershott said. They showed it around.

The employees alerted police and a search of the property turned up a garbage bag with more remains.

The remains, which werent a complete set, were determined to be those of a Black male, 20 to 35 years old, about 5-foot, 6-inches tall who may have had adolescent kyphosis, which is a curvature of the spine.

A forensic anthropologist estimated the remains had been there between two and four years. The remains had nothing with them that would help police identify the man.

There wasnt even clothing just bones in a garbage bag, Hendershott said.

Detectives issued a press release and appealed to the public and other local law enforcement agencies for assistance. They ruled out a few leads and the case went cold for more than 20 years.

Sgt. Greg Feketik reopened the case in 2009, researching the idea of using DNA to determine the mans identity.

The mans DNA was put into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), the FBIs DNA database, but this produced no hits.

A Kent State professor made a sketch of the skull to show what the man looked like. In 2016, Samantha Molnar, a forensic artist with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), made a clay model of the skull.

More: Forensic artist puts face to unidentified remains

In October 2018, Akron detectives reached out to Twinsburg, wondering if the remains might belong to a missing person from Akron. That tip didnt pan out, but it lit a fire in Hendershott to make another attempt to identify the remains.

It occurred to me that times ticking, he said. Soon enough, people wont be alive to remember him.

Hendershott knew that Joseph DeAngelo, the Golden State Killer, had been identified through DNA and the use of genealogical databases and another case in Eastlake had been solved this way. He wondered if the same technique could be used for Twinburgs oldest unsolved case.

I was hopeful, he said. I was never certain or confident.

Hendershott reached out to the DNA Doe Project in September 2019 to help with the effort.The nonprofit groupuses genetic genealogy to help identify John Does and Jane Does nationwide.

Elias Chan and other volunteers with the Doe Project compared the DNA profile of the remains with profiles in GedMatch and Family Tree DNA, two public genealogy databases. From there, they began to build family trees to try to find potential family members of the man.

The researchers zeroed in on the name Little and provided several names to Hendershott.

Hendershott called O'Sullivan and found out that she had a cousin, Frank Little, who had disappeared. She didnt know much about him but said he had a brother who lived in Georgia.

"We were wondering what happened to him," O'Sullivan said.

Hendershott reached the brother and obtained a DNA sample from him.

The samplewas analyzed by BCI researchers and Kohler, who confirmed Littles identity.

Chan, who has worked on about 25 cases involving missing persons, with identifications made in 10 of them, was pleased Little was identified.

Its very exciting, especially for these long cases, Chan said.

Chan said people can help solve missing persons cases by entering their DNA into one of the public databases, especially if they have someone in their family who disappeared.

That will help bring your loved one home faster, Chan said.

Now that theyve identified Little, investigators hope to find his killer.

Little had a daughter who died in 2012 and a son who is thought to still be alive and living in the Cleveland area.

Hendershott is hoping to track down the son to see if he might have more information about what have happened to his father. He said Littles brother didnt stay in contact with his nephew or even know his full name.

The detective said Littles brother recalled the last conversation he had with Little but not much else.

Hendershott said he confirmed with Walter Williams, one of the still-living members of The OJays, that Little was a guitarist and songwriter with the band. He said Williams told him that Little wrote songs with Eddie Levert, another original band member.

O'Sullivan, 79, said she went to see Little perform in Cleveland once but didn't realize he was with The O'Jay's until much later.

"To me, all rock-and-roll sounds good," said O'Sullivan, who was about 16 when she saw the band.

O'Sullivan said she isn't sure when the family lost touch with Little.

Hendershott said many questions remain about Little.

Part of the mystery is over with, but we have no idea how he got there, how he disappeared or where he lived toward the end of his life, the detective said.

Kohler said she plans to rule Littles death a homicide, based on blunt-force injuries identified by the forensic anthropologist and the attempt to conceal his remains. She said she will finish Littles death certificate once his family members choose a funeral home and make arrangements.

As for determining who killed Little, Kohler said, that will fall to the detectives. She said her office will be happy to help when called upon.

Detectives will have to look at what theyve got and decide if theres anything more they can pursue, she said.

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.

Anyone with information on Frank Frankie Littles disappearance and murder is asked to contact Twinsburg Det. Eric Hendershott at 330-405-5679 or ehendershott@twinsburg.oh.us.

Read the rest here:
Twinsburg remains found 40 years ago identified as member of The O'Jays R&B band - Akron Beacon Journal

The Australian Federal Police recently announced plans to use DNA samples collected at crime scenes to make predictions about potential suspects.

This technology, called forensic DNA phenotyping, can reveal a surprising and growing amount of highly personal information from the traces of DNA that we all leave behind, everywhere we go including information about our gender, ancestry, and appearance.

Queensland police have already used versions of this approach to identify a suspect and identify remains. Forensic services in Queensland and New South Wales have also investigated the use of predictive DNA.

This technology can reveal much more about a suspect than previous DNA forensics methods. But how does it work? What are the ethical issues? And what approaches are other countries around the world taking?

The AFP plans to implement forensic DNA phenotyping based on an underlying technology called massively parallel sequencing

Our genetic information is encoded in our DNA as long strings of four different base molecules, and sequencing is the process of reading the sequence of these bases.

Older DNA sequencing machines could only read one bit of DNA at a time, but current massively parallel machines can read more than six trillion DNA bases in a single run. This creates new possibilities for DNA analysis.

DNA forensics used to rely on a system that matched samples to ones in a criminal DNA database and did not reveal much beyond identity. However, predictive DNA forensics can reveal things like physical appearance, gender, and ancestry regardless of whether people are in a database or not.

This makes it useful in missing persons cases and the investigation of unidentified remains. This method can also be used in criminal cases, mostly to exclude persons of interest.

The AFP plans to predict gender, biogeographical ancestry, eye color, and, in coming months, hair color. Over the next decade, they aim to include traits such as age, body mass index, and height, and even finer predictions for facial metrics such as distance between the eyes, eye, nose and ear shape, lip fullness, and cheek structure.

DNA can reveal highly sensitive information about us. Beyond ancestry and externally visible characteristics, we can predict many other things including aspects of both physical and mental health.

It will be important to set clear boundaries around what can and cant be predicted in these tests and when and how they will be used. Despite some progress toward a privacy impact assessment, Australian forensic legislation does not currently provide any form of comprehensive regulation of forensic DNA phenotyping.

The highly sensitive nature of DNA data and the difficulty in ever making it anonymous creates significant privacyconcerns.

According to a 2020 government survey about public attitudes to privacy, most Australians are uncomfortable with the idea of their DNA data being collected.

Using DNA for forensics may also reduce public trust in the use of genomics for medical and other purposes.

The AFPs planned tests include biogeographical ancestry prediction. Even when not explicitly tested, DNA data is tightly linked to our ancestry.

One of the biggest risks with any DNA data is exacerbating or creating racial biases. This is especially the case in law enforcement, where specific groups of people may be targeted or stigmatized based on pre-existing biases.

In Australia, Indigenous legal experts report that not enough is being done to fully eradicate racism and unconscious bias within the police. Concerns have been raised about other types of potential institutional racial profiling. A recent analysis by the ANU also indicated that 3 in 4 people held an implicit negative or unconscious bias against Indigenous Australians.

Careful consideration, consultation, and clear regulatory safeguards need to be in place to ensure these methods are only used to exclude persons of interest rather than include or target specific groups.

DNA data also has inherent risks around misinterpretation. People put a lot of trust in DNA evidence, even though it often gives probabilistic findings which can be difficult to interpret.

Predictive DNA forensics is a relatively new field, and countries across Europe have taken different approaches regarding how and when it should be used. A 2019 study across 24 European countries found ten had allowed the use of this technology for practical purposes, seven had not allowed it, and seven more had not yet made a clear determination on its use.

DNA-based prediction is used in some European countries and forbidden in others. Adapted from Schneider, Prainsack & Kayser/Dtsch Arztebl Int.

Germany allows the prediction of externally visible characteristics (including skin color) but has decided biogeographical ancestry is simply too risky to be used.

The one exception to this is the state of Bavaria, where ancestry can be used to avert imminent danger, but not to investigate crimes that have already occurred.

A UK advisory panel made four recommendations last year. These include the need to clearly explain how the data is used, presenting ancestral and phenotypic data as probabilities so uncertainty can be evaluated, and clearly explaining how judgments would be made about when to use the technology and who would make the decision.

The VISAGE consortium of academics, police, and justice institutions, from eight European countries, also produced a report of recommendations and concerns in 2020.

They urge careful consideration of the circumstances where DNA phenotyping should be used, and the definition of a serious crime. They also highlight the importance of a governing body with responsibility for deciding when and how the technology should be used.

The AFP press release mentions it is mindful of maintaining public trust and has implemented privacy processes. Transparency and proportionate use will be crucial to keep the public on board as this technology is rolled out.

This is a rapidly evolving field and Australia needs to develop a clear and coherent policy that is able to keep up with the pace of technological developments and considers community concerns.

Article by Caitlin Curtis, Research fellow, The University of Queensland and James Hereward, Research fellow, The University of Queensland

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Australias police linking DNA with ancestry could be a privacy nightmare - The Next Web

A 40-year-old South Kitsap man convicted earlier this year of groping one woman and exposing himself to another was charged Tuesday with sexually assaulting a woman in 2017 and for choking his mother during an argument over cleaning his room.

Neil David Chess was also suspected this summer of harassing women who were hiking in Banner Forest Heritage Park, leading to multiple calls to Kitsap County sheriff's deputies.

The new sexual assault case against Chess, attempted second-degree rape, follows repeated testing by the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab of DNA recovered from a woman who in 2017 told police a man unknown to her had sexually assaulted her beneath the Warren Avenue bridge in Bremerton.

Though the lab was unable to match the DNA recovered in the investigation when it occurred, court records said lab technicianskept retesting the sample until they found a match in March, leading a Bremerton police detectiveto obtain a sample from Chess while he was lodged in the Kitsap County Jail.

In September the crime lab reported that it found very strong support that the sample taken from Chessmatched the DNA evidence recovered from the sexual assault on the woman.

Chess had been booked into the jail in Januaryafter he was accused in two separate cases of climbing into a UPS truck and touching the driver, a woman, and going to a house to ask for a drink of water. He then went inside the house and exposed himself to the woman who had answered the door.

In June he pleaded guilty to a count of residential burglary and fourth-degree assault with sexual motivation and was sentenced to nine months in the Kitsap County Jail.

As part of the resolution of the case, Chess was not required to register as a sex offender.

However, he had been accused by two separate women of raping them in 2019, but prosecutors dismissed the charges saying they did not believe they could prove the case in court.

Over the summer, after Chess release from jail, women who hiked and jogged in Banner Forest began reporting disturbing interactions with a man who many of them believed was Chess.

At that time, the Kitsap Sun requested records of complaints about the man harassing women in the park and found deputies had not written any reports.

However, call logs obtained through the state Public Record Act showed that users of the park believed it was Chess and told deputies they repeatedly told the man to leave them alone.

On Aug.3, a log from the sheriffs office indicates a deputy may have identified Chess and told him to stop harassing women at the park.

In a case separate from the attempted second-degree rape, but also charged Tuesday in Kitsap County Superior Court, Chess mother called 911 on Monday from her residence on the 4700 block of Westway Drive SE to say her son had choked her.

There is no-contact order prohibiting Chess from having contact with his mother, but she said Chess was living with her and she was concerned about him. She described Chess as being a paranoid schizophrenic and said that he had choked her and punched her in the face.

This morning she was cleaning up his room and he just became enraged when she asked him to help clean up, a deputy wrote. His rage turned against her.

Deputies located Chess near the Southworth Ferry Terminal and arrested him. While being driven to the Kitsap County Jail, Chess admitted to choking his mother but denied punching her, according to court documents.

See more here:
DNA recovered in 2017 from attempted rape matched to South Kitsap man repeatedly accused of sexual assaults - Kitsap Sun

On Monday, a jaw-dropping Halo Infinite video kept showing up on my Twitter feed that looked like something out of a Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild speedrun.

The video, from Australian YouTuber Mint Blitz, begins with Master Chief armed with a massive hammer behind a Warthog vehicle. In an impressive sequence taking place over a matter of seconds, Mint Blitz swings the hammer to send the Warthog flying while almost simultaneously using Master Chiefs new grappling hook on the vehicle to slingshot himself into the air like Spider-Man. As hes soaring high above Zeta Halos treetops, he uses the thruster powerup and then, inexplicably, just keeps flying forward. After 39 seconds in the air, he finally lands, gracefully setting down on top of a tall tower thats likely supposed to otherwise be inaccessible.

Mint Blitz is almost assuredly doing something Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries never specifically intended. I cant imagine that players are supposed to be able to fly straight forward without falling for more than half a minute. But based on a conversation I had with 343 Industries, it seems like the studio is fine with letting players figure out how to do similarly outlandish stunts and doesnt plan to patch those sorts of things out.

It would actually have to be something that causes the game to lock up for us to be wanting to stop it, 343 Industries associate creative director Paul Crocker tells The Verge. Id love it if someone managed to speedrun the game by using some crazy combination of mechanics to get there.

Unless its brick-blocking player progression or their ability to enjoy the game, well fix it, adds character director Stephen Dyck. Those are the types of things we patch. Otherwise, we love seeing that kind of stuff.

Dyck argues that pushing the boundaries is something thats part of Halos DNA. He gave an example of trying to squeeze a vehicle where you technically arent supposed to. If the player wants to invest time and energy into doing that, and then ultimately theyre successful, and they get the vehicle where they technically werent supposed to? Awesome, he says.

Crocker shared the story of a time the development team spent two hours trying to get a Ghost (kind of an alien hovercraft speeder) into a certain building. When they wrote up this huge bug [report] about, I can get a Ghost in, we need to fix this, we went, Nope. Youre totally able to do that, Crocker said.

Seeing the things players end up doing also inspires the team for things they make down the line, according to Dyck. Well see interesting things that players are gravitating towards, and were like, Cool, yeah, well lean into that one.

Pushing worlds to their limits can give games extended lives. People are still actively shaving time off Breath of the Wild speedruns more than four and a half years after its original release, for example. And Halo fans have already shown theyre a persistent bunch, having spent seven years trying to get into a cutscene room in Halo: Reach.

343 Industries hasnt said whats next for Halo Infinites campaign, so we dont know how the next chapter on Zeta Halo may unfold. But while were waiting for whats to come, Im looking forward to seeing whatever tricks top Mint Blitzs epic flight across the map and it seems like 343 will be, too.

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Halo Infinites creators say your wildest stunts are part of the series DNA - The Verge

A galactic jet has been ejected from the only black hole that humans have ever taken an image of, and researchers believe it's shaped like a helix.

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Messier 87 galactic jet helix structure.

According to a statement from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, the black hole is located 55 million light-years from Earth at the center of the elliptical galaxy called Messier 87, which is the same and only black hole ever to be photographed. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory states it operated the Very Large Array and found that the jet is shaped by a corkscrew-shaped magnetic field that stretches from the center of the black hole out at a distance close to 3,300 light-years.

"By making high-quality VLA images at several different radio wavelengths of the galaxy Messier 87 (M87), we were able to reveal the 3-dimensional structure of the magnetic field in this jet for the first time," said Alice Pasetto, lead author of the study and an astronomer at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Messier 87 black hole photographed.

The recent observation of this magnetic field marks a milestone as it's now the longest magnetic field detected for a galactic jet, according to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The researchers explain that helical magnetic fields are typically found closer to the center of the black hole, as they are assumed to play a role in creating a narrow jet. However, researchers were surprised when the helical structure of the jet for Messier 87 extended so far.

"Helical magnetic fields are expected close to the black hole, and are thought to play a highly important role in channeling the material into a narrow jet. But we didn't expect to find such a strong helical field extending so far outward," said Jose M. Marti, co-author of the study and an astronomer at the University of Valencia in Spain.

Observations revealed that the total length of the Messier 87 galactic jet that shoots energy and matter out into space is around 8,000 light-years long.

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Supermassive black hole caught blasting out jet shaped similar to DNA - TweakTown