Category Archives: DNA

Due to the increasing cases of COVID-19 in most cities of India, you will neither be able to celebrate Christmas with your friends nor will you be able to have a New Year party. Christmas and New Year's party has been banned in many big cities of the country including Delhi. Even in weddings, you can no longer invite more than 200 guests. But if you are holding a political rally, you can also invite 2 lakh people to that. In many places, you cannot go to a mall or a government office without taking both doses of the vaccine. But if you go to a political rally, neither you will be asked about the mask nor will you be asked for information about vaccination. If you have a big party or you want to invite thousands of people to the wedding, then declare yourself a politician and your program as an election rally. By doing this, you can invite as many people as you want.

In the last two years, COVID-19 has changed our lives. People working in offices are doing work from home, online hearings are being held in courts. Online classes are going on in schools. The customs after birth and death are also happening online. Sports like IPL and Olympics are being organized without spectators. And movies are being released on OTT instead of theatre. But there is one area where COVID-19 has not made any difference at all and that is politics. Even now, elections are being held as before, voting is also happening in the same way and the attitude of the politicians is also the same.

In the last two years, neither the elections have changed, nor the process of elections has changed nor the manner in which the politicians' rallies have changed. At present, massive campaigning is going on for the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections. And all the parties are holding rallies by mobilizing thousands of people. But there is no restriction on these rallies. More than 40 state-level elections have been held in India in the last two years and next year's calendar is also full from the election dates.

In the year 2022, elections to the Legislative Assembly are to be held in seven states of Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Manipur. During this time, even if the cases of coronavirus increase in these states, perhaps, the process of elections and elections will not change at all.

Unfortunately, no more than 200 guests can come in a wedding ceremony today, but in election rallies, 20,000 people can easily gather at one place. You can't party in a restaurant or pub with more than 50 people, but you can go to a crowd of thousands at an election rally. You cannot go to a shopping mall or shop without a mask and vaccination. But you can easily go to the rallies of leaders, where no one will ask you for a mask or ask for vaccination.

That is, the situation has become such that today if someone is getting married in your house and you call people in that marriage saying that they are organizing an election rally then probably the administration and governments will not take any action against you. But if you have invited more than 200 guests to the wedding or party with 50 people on Christmas then you can also be arrested under criminal sections and can also be fined up to a maximum of Rs 2 lakh.

However, we are not saying this thing only for India. Politics is the only area in the whole world that has not changed.

In the last two years, since the pandemic arrived, elections have been held in 146 countries of the world. Out of these, there are 124 countries where national and state-level elections have been held. That is, elections were held for the post of President, Prime Minister, Chief Minister and Governor and in these elections, the leaders held rallies among the crowd, Due to this, the cases of coronavirus also increased in these countries. For example, Presidential elections were held in America last year and due to these elections, there was a tremendous explosion of COVID-19. But despite this, the politics there did not change.

Elections were also held in South Korea, Mongolia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Croatia despite increasing cases of infection. And when people died from this disease, these leaders did not even take moral responsibility for it. Rather, these leaders became silent when it came to taking responsibility.

That is, the world has told you that in COVID-19, markets can be closed for common people, marriage can also stop, jobs can also be done from home, customs of birth and death can also be changed and movies can also be released online instead of cinema halls. That is, everything can be changed and stopped for you. But nothing can stop for politics and politicians. Whether coronavirus remains or not, politics will remain the same as it was before.

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DNA Special: COVID-19 changed everything but politics - DNA India

A hapless burglar who targeted two locations an hour apart was snared after CCTV filmed him pressing his face against a porthole window to peer inside.

Liam Lingham, 26, of Laburnum Grove, Runcorn, and an unknown accomplice first struck at The Food Group on Dalton Court in Astmoor Industrial Estate at 10.50pm on Thursday, March 11.

Kate Morley, prosecuting at Chester Crown Court today, said CCTV showed the pair approach and this defendant could be seen with his face up at a porthole window.

Forensic tests were later able to match DNA retrieved from the glass to Lingham.

READ MORE: Man stabbed to death was 'loving dad of two married to childhood sweetheart'

After searching inside a van without finding anything, the burglars forced entry to an office and made an untidy search and swiped between seven and 10 Euros from on top of a desk.

At 9am the next morning, it was discovered that the same two intruders had entered a dock office at Bridgewater Motor Club on Victoria Road at about 12.10am

The building, described as a shipping container, wasnt secured as access but the burglars forced an internal door and dragged a cabinet out of place to force it open, revealing two cash tins inside, from which they stole about 200-250 and left.

Repair costs for the club were estimated at about 200 plus labour.

After his arrest by Cheshire Police on September 20, Lingham was also charged in connection with a burglary at Halton Play Council resource centre on Mersey Road, Runcorn, on June 27 but in light of the two guilty pleas on October 19 to the other burglaries, prosecutors decided not to seek a trial in respect of the Mersey Road allegation.

Ms Morley told the court Lingham, who brought a large packed bag with him to court and whose female supporter sat weeping in the public gallery for much of the hearing, had 22 convictions for 49 offences.

These spanned dwelling burglaries, handling stolen goods offences, theft from a vehicle, taking a vehicle without consent, possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, aggravated vehicle taking, and theft.

The most recent of those was in 2018.

Judge Simon Berkson sought details of the tag Lingham has been on since September 21 as part of his deliberations.

Paul Wood, defending, said his client deserved credit for his guilty pleas and had complied with his curfew conditions.

He cited a positive pre-sentence report but acknowledged Linghams negative antecedent history.

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Mr Wood said Lingham was a father with children and has developed a positive attitude, particularly following the recent birth of a baby.

He said the public interest could be best served by a suspended sentence with conditions, and urged the court to give his client a last chance.

Judge Berkson concurred and although he accepted Lingham was a "prolific" offender, sentenced him to 12 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, with a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement and 120 hours of unpaid work plus curfew.

He told Lingham he had a terrible record but offered him a chance to mend his ways.

Judge Berson said: Since committing that offence and being arrested you havent committed any other crime and have complied with a stringent curfew and come before the court with a positive pre-sentence report and a suggestion you can stay out of trouble.

Lingham lit a cigarette and beamed with joy after leaving court.

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Burglar left DNA on porthole window he was filmed peering through - Liverpool Echo

Twenty-five years after JonBent Ramsey was killed, police say DNA hasnt been ruled out to help solve the case.

The six-year-old was found dead in the basement of her familys Boulder, Colorado, home on 26 December 1996, bludgeoned and strangled, several hours after her mother called 911 to say her daughter was missing and a ransom note had been left behind. Her death was ruled a homicide, but nobody was ever charged in the case.

Boulder police have been working closely with state investigators on future DNA advancements, the department said in a statement Monday addressing the anniversary of JonBents death.

As the department continues to use new technology to enhance the investigation, it is actively reviewing genetic DNA testing processes to see if those can be applied to this case moving forward, it said.

In recent years, investigators have identified suspects in unsolved cases by comparing DNA profiles from crime scenes and to DNA testing results shared online by people researching their family trees, including the Golden State Killer in California.

In Oregon earlier this year, a man was accused of killing two people who disappeared 20 years apart after forensic genealogy linked him to the 1999 disappearance and presumed death of one of them. Christopher Lovrien has pleaded not guilty to murder charges.

Its unclear if this is the method investigators plan to apply to the JonBent case. A police spokesperson, Dionne Waugh, said she could not comment further because the investigation is still active and ongoing.

Investigators have analyzed nearly 1,000 DNA samples during the course of the Ramsey investigation, police said in the statement, along with receiving, reviewing or investigating more than 21,016 tips, letters and emails. Detectives have traveled to 19 states to interview or speak with more than 1,000 people in connection with the case, the department said.

Tests in 2008 on newly discovered DNA on JonBents clothing pointed to the involvement of an unexplained third party in her slaying, and not her parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, or their son, Burke. That led former district attorney Mary Lacy to clear the Ramseys of any involvement, two years after Patsy Ramsey died of cancer, calling the couple victims of this crime.

The police department was criticized for its initial handling of the investigation into the death of JonBent, who had competed in beauty pageants.

The details of the crime and video footage of JonBent from the pageants propelled the case into one of the highest-profile mysteries in the United States, unleashing a series of true-crime books and TV specials.

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JonBent Ramsey: DNA testing could be used to solve case, police say - The Guardian

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Global In Situ Hybridization Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Technology (FISH, CISH), Probe Type (DNA, RNA), Product, Application, End-user (CROs), Region, and Segment Forecasts, 2021-2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global in situ hybridization market size is expected to reach USD 2.6 billion by 2028, according to the report. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 8.9% from 2021 to 2028.

The growing popularity of in-vitro diagnostics over conventional disease diagnostic methods has majorly driven the ISH market over the past years.

The market is gaining momentum in breast cancer with the FISH test. For instance, Roche offers a comprehensive ISH workflow solution with automated assay and digital pathology for breast cancer. Thus, increasing the scope of application is expected to drive the market to a major extend. In addition, technological advancements in instruments have fueled the market growth.

The COVID-19 is found to have a mixed impact on the market space. Social distancing mandates and lockdown policies have negatively affected the market to a considerable extent. However, the pandemic has opened new opportunities for operating entities by allowing them to deploy ISH methods in the R&D of COVID-19 related programs.

The leading institutions and market competitors are now focusing on designing fluorescence in situ hybridization probes to visualize COVID-19 RNA in the infected cells. FISH has proven to offer relevant information on the virus at a cost-effective method.

Market Report Highlights

Key Topics Covered:

Chapter 1. Methodology and Scope

Chapter 2. Executive Summary

Chapter 3. Market Variables, Trends & Scope

3.1 Market Segmentation

3.2 Parent Market Lineage

3.3 Ancillary Market Lineage

3.4 Market Dynamics

3.4.1. Market Drivers Analysis

3.4.1.1 Rising Prevalence Of Target Disorders

3.4.1.2 Technological Advancement

3.4.1.3 Increase In R&D Investments In In-Vitro Diagnostics

3.4.2 Market Restraint Analysis

3.4.2.1 High Cost Of ISH

3.4.2.2 Presence Of Ambiguous Regulatory Framework

3.4.3 Market Opportunity Analysis

3.4.4 Market Challenge Analysis

3.5 SWOT Analysis; by Factor (Political & Legal, Economic and Technological)

3.6 Porter's Five Forces Analysis

3.7 Major Deals and Strategic Alliances Analysis

3.7.1. Mergers and Acquisitions

3.7.2 Technological Collaborations

3.7.3 Licensing and Partnerships

3.8 COVID-19 Impact Analysis

3.8.1 Challenge Analysis

3.8.2 Opportunity Analysis

3.8.3 Key Developments and Activities

Chapter 4. Competitive Analysis

Chapter 5. In Situ Hybridization Market: Technology Type Business Analysis

Chapter 6. In Situ Hybridization Market: Probe Business Analysis

Chapter 7. In Situ Hybridization Market: Product Business Analysis

Chapter 8. In Situ Hybridization Market: Application Business Analysis

Chapter 9. In Situ Hybridization Market: End User Business Analysis

Chapter 10. In Situ Hybridization Market: Regional Business Analysis

Chapter 11. Company Profiles

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/dxsw9l

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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Global In Situ Hybridization Market Segment Forecasts 2021-2028: DNA Probes Segment Forecast to Maintain Dominance Due to Increasing DNA-based Studies...

Sometimes cells can forget what type of cell they are and stop functioning correctly. This commonly happens in cancer, in which mature cells lose aspects of their identity and become more susceptible to begin dividing uncontrollably.

Heart conditions like cardiomyopathy, a disease that makes it harder to pump blood, affect the shape and function of affected heart cells. These changes can also occur in the nucleus of the cell, which houses genetic material that tells a cell how to function.

Because certain changes to nuclear structure can be early warning signals for heart problems, monitoring for such changes could help clinicians diagnose and treat disease before it gets worse. Researchers know that certain changes in the physical forces exerted on heart cells, including from their own contraction, can lead the cells to lose their heart cell identity and function poorly. But exactly how these physical forces work to change heart cell identity was unclear.

In a new study my colleagues and I published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, we found that mechanical forces can reorganize the genetic material inside the nucleus of heart cells and affect how they develop and function. Better understanding of how cells claim and maintain their identities may help advance treatments to repair heart damage from cardiovascular disease and create new prosthetic tissues.

Early in human development, the external pressures surrounding immature cells influence what type of cell they eventually become when they differentiate, or fully mature. These external forces also help maintain tissue health as people age.

During differentiation, cells move around and restructure a mixture of proteins and DNA called chromatin thats located in their nuclei. Cells use chromatin as a way to package and organize their genetic code. Knowing that external physical pressures can affect how cells mature, my research lab and I wanted to explore how mechanical forces can reorganize chromatin and what that might tell us about how heart cells develop and sometimes stop working.

To do this, we looked at adult heart cells as they contracted under a microscope to see how their nuclei change shape. We then compared these images with the nuclei of embryonic heart cells as they normally change during early development. We found that areas in the nucleus with high tension tended to organize chromatin into specific shapes known to influence cell behavior. When we changed the tension in those areas of the nucleus, we were able to prevent cells from developing into normal heart cells. This meant that tension may play a key role in guiding heart cells on how to develop.

We then examined how mechanical stress changed the chromatin structure of heart cells from patients with cardiovascular disease and mice with reduced heart performance. Compared with healthy cells, heart cells from both patients and mice lost their chromatin organization and identity as heart cells. This meant that mechanical tension could influence how well mature cells function and their likelihood of developing into cardiovascular disease.

While our study explores the role that chromatic reorganization plays in early development, additional research is needed to understand exactly what triggers cells to develop into specific cell types. Further insight into how the mechanical environment surrounding a cell affects how it matures will help researchers better understand the process of human development.

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Understanding what triggers a collection of cells to transition to a fully functional organ may also help researchers learn how to mimic these developmental processes and create new prosthetic devices. For example, accounting for the mechanical forces that affect how well tissue grafts for failing hearts and muscles work may help biomedical engineers design even more effective artificial implants. It may also set the stage for more organ-on-chip models that can be used instead of animals to screen potential drugs.

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Mechanical forces in a beating heart affect its cells' DNA, with implications for development and disease - The Conversation AU

The Simpsonville woman accused of homicide by child abuse in the death of a 3-year-old girl has been ordered to submit to a DNA test, according to online court records.

No trial date has been set yet for Ariel Robinson, who's been charged with homicide by child abuse in the death ofVictoria Rose Smith, who was not yet formallyadopted and was under care of the state Department of Social Services at the time of her death,according to the Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office.

A trial is expected to come by summer, according to the Solicitor's Office.

Jerry Robinson, Ariel Robinson's husband, has also been charged with homicide by child abuse in the case. His trial is also yet to be scheduled.

'System failed': 'System failed' 3-year-old Simpsonville girl who died in abuse case, family member says

At a bond hearing for Ariel Robinson in February,Assistant SolicitorChristy Sustakovitch said attorney Lucas Marchant contacted prosecutors a few days after Victoria's death in January to sayhis client, Jerry Robinson,wanted to make a statement to investigators.

Jerry Robinson told investigators that his wife sometimes beat Victoria with things such as a belt anda paddle, and he said he was outside of his house when he heard his wife hitting the little girl with a belt on the day she died,according toSustakovitch.

The order for Ariel Robinson's DNA collection was issued on Nov. 29, according to court records.

Calls to her attorney, William Bouton, were not returned.

More: Husband says Simpsonville woman hit 3-year-old with belt before the girl's death

She's been held without bond at the Greenville County Detention Center, according to online records.

Robinson was a contestant of the Food Network's 20th seasonof "Worst Cooks in America", according to Discovery Network representative Irika Slavin.

Jerry Robinsonwas granted a $150,000 surety bond, clearing the way for his beingunder house arrest with GPS monitoring pending his trial. He's to reside with his parents and have no contact with anyone under the age of 18, according toJudge Letitia Verdin.

Care has been arranged for four other children who lived with the Robinsons, including two boys biologically related to Victoria, according to the Simpsonville Police Department and the Solicitor's Office.

Victoriadiedfrom multiple blunt-force injuriesafter being found unresponsive at the Robinson's houseon Sellwood Circle in the Westwood subdivision ofSimpsonville on the afternoon of Jan. 14, according to the Greenville County Coroner's Office.

Her adoption had been scheduled to be formalized five days after her death, according to the Solicitor's Office.

Related: Simpsonville man charged with homicide by child abuse has been granted bond

Tamia Boyd is a Michigan native who covers breaking news in Greenville. Email her at tboyd@gannett.com, and follow her on Twitter @tamiamb.

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Simpsonville woman accused of homicide by child abuse has been ordered to submit DNA - Greenville News

SUNBURY The state attorney general has again opposed a Northumberland County mans effort to obtain court approval for DNA testing of evidence he claims will clear him of a 1986 murder.

Deputy Attorney General Christopher J. Schmidt has asked the state Supreme Court not to accept the appeal of Scott R. Schaeffer who claims he was wrongly convicted of the murder of Rickey Wolfe.

Schaeffer, of the Sunbury area, is appealing a Superior Court ruling in October that denied as untimely a request for DNA testing.

The ruling affirmed the decision by specially assigned Lycoming County Senior Judge Dudley N. Anderson who in addition found that Schaeffer failed to make a prima facie showing the requested DNA testing would establish actual innocence.

Schaeffer wants the Supreme Court to interpret what the legislature intended when in 2018 it amended the Post-Conviction Relief Act to include those who have completed their sentences like him.

The amendment, while it permits DNA testing when there is reasonable possibility it would produce exculpatory evidence, did not change the time period in which to seek it.

It makes no sense for the legislature without overriding the timeliness requirement to allow those who have completed their sentences to seek DNA testing, Schaeffers attorney Joel Wiest argues.

Otherwise, requests like his clients would be denied as untimely, he wrote in asking the Supreme Court to accept the appeal.

Schmidt contends the high court should not accept the appeal because Schaeffer argued in lower courts his petition was timely not that the amendment altered that requirement.

Schmidt further contends the Superior Courts memorandum does not present rare, special or important reasons for granting a review.

Superior Court properly concluded Schaeffers first request for DNA testing, which he made almost 30 years after he was charged, was untimely, he said.

The opinion did not address whether Anderson erred in concluding there was no reasonable probability DNA testing would lead to evidence of actual innocence.

If the Supreme Court would be inclined to review that issue it would have to remand it to Superior Court, Schmidt claims.

The body of Wolfe, 30, of Mifflinburg, was found Dec. 12, 1986, face down in a pool of blood near his car at a state Fish Commission boat ramp along the Susquehanna River north of Montandon.

Schaeffer was one of five men charged (two were acquitted) with beating Wolfe while he was blindfolded, on his knees and with his hands secured behind him.

The prosecutions theory was Wolfe was kidnapped and beaten to death because he owed a drug debt.

Schaeffers 1991 conviction on first-degree murder and other charges and that of William Lloyd Hendricks III were vacated after co-defendant Robert Eugene Hummel said he had testified falsely under pressure from state police.

Schaeffer and Hendricks in 2004 pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit third-degree murder and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. They were re-sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison followed by 10 years probation. Although Schaeffer had served the minimum, he remained in jail two more years for a total of 17 before paroled.

Schmidt maintains DNA testing was available in 2004 but Schaeffer waited until 2018 to seek it.

More:

Parents drop masking suit since Pa. school district now makes wearing them optional

Pa. mom gets state prison term for driving two children while high on PCP

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Pa. AG continues to oppose DNA testing that man claims will clear him of 1986 murder - PennLive

Kids playing in a small wooded area behind the Club House Diner on Street Road in Bensalem Township found something theyre likely to never forget on September 18, 1995.

The kids uncovered the skeletal remains of a

woman. The woman was unclothed and her remains wrapped in a plastic tarp. An autopsy revealed the womans remains had been there for two to three years and she died by an unspecified means of homicide.

Despite an ongoing investigation and tips over the years, Bensalem Township authorities werent able to identify her. In fact, they had ruled out numerous possible women who they suspected the body might have belonged to.

Over 50 missing women were excluded as being Jane Doe, police said in a statement.

In May 2004, Bensalem Township police exhumed the womans remains and sent samples to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification where a DNA profile was extracted and uploaded into the national CODIS system. It was all part of an attempt to identify her, and names were crossed out, but no positive identification was uncovered.

That changed recently.

Bensalem Township police said Monday they are confident the body belonged to Merrybeth Hodgkinson, who was 31 years old and lived in Warminster. She also was known to have lived on Rhawn Street in Philadelphia, the George Washington Motor Lodge, and the Oakford Inn.

Police said Hodgkinson disappeared in September 1992 after visiting with family. She was working at the time as an exotic dancer in Lower Bucks County.

BODE Technology, a DNA analysis firm area police have worked with for years, developed a DNA profile for the unknown womans remains in November 2021. Working with BODE and Jennifer Moore, of Innovative Forensic Investigations, police were able to link the body to Hodgkinson through GEDmatch and FamilyTreeDNA.com, companies that allow users to find relatives through DNA samples.

Police said they also tested the DNA of Hodgkinsons siblings as part of their investigation.

Hodgkinsons remains rest in Telford and her grave lists her as a Jane Doe.

No arrests have been made in connection with Hodgkinsons death.

Several items of interest were located near Hodgkinsons body in 1995. Police said theyre not sure if the items were connected, but they suspect some or all may have belonged to her.

A blue quilted sleeveless vest, a pink t-shirt with KPMG Peat Marwick, and a white T-shirt with Property of Alcatraz Penitentiary Swim Team, San Francisco printed on it were located. A brown beaded seat cushion (possibly used in an vehicle) and two crucifixes, one gold and one silver, were also found near the remains.

Police asked anyone who knew Hodgkinson or who may have information on the death to contact Bensalem Township Detective Chris McMullin at 215-633-3726 or Bucks County Detective Greg Beidler at 215-348-6344.

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NEARBY: DNA Used To ID Woman Years After Death, Detectives Seek Tips - LevittownNow.com

Hugo Lloris has claimed that Antonio Conte has a winning culture in his DNA and believes the Italian can help Tottenham make the next step in their quest to achieve silverware.

Tottenham hired Conte last month following the dismissal of Nuno Espirito Santo and things appear to be going well in the early stages of his tenure.

Much was made of Spurs appointment given that the 52-year-old has enjoyed such a decorated managerial career so far, winning league titles at Juventus, Chelsea and most recently Inter Milan.

Lloris understands the fine details needed for a side to claim titles himself, having captained France to the World Cup in 2018 and the 2021 Nations League.

The long-time Spurs goalkeeper praised Contes impressive career achievements so far and backed him to bring the quality the club needs to succeed in the future.

Lloris told the clubs website: Football is all about details. And when you come close to the final step, details are so important. We know that we have the manager who can help the team improve in those details.

Antonio Contes CV talks by itself. Hes bringing his energy, his football approach but also, mainly, his mentality. He has the winning culture in his DNA.

He played all his career for Juve, was at Juve as a manager and has won everywhere hes been. So, its important to use his experience, but also for the players to take responsibility, and to become better as a team.

Spurs Web Opinion

Conte appears to be having a bid influence on a number of Spurs players already which should bode well heading into the second half of the season.

As long as the players continue to have faith and listen to his methods, there shouldnt be a limit as to what the club can achieve.

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Winning culture in his DNA Hugo Lloris on what Conte can bring to Spurs - The Spurs Web

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) 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 privacy concerns.

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.

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 can keep up with the pace of technological developments - and considers community concerns.

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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Should the Police Have the Power to Link DNA With Appearance and Ancestry? - Interesting Engineering