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To Chris:
P.S. - But should! Sorry!
Ann
Chris:
Unfortunately - many things not dated by mo. or yr. Once in a while, you just don't know.
Have a good day.
Ann
Team:
This page shows a direct link between DNAP & DNAPro:
http://www.biotechcareercenter.com/DNAPrint.html
Ann
You must click on "More" (Management Team)
Ann
Take a look at the long list of Management Team for DNAP: (02)
http://www.otcbb.com/profiles/DNAP.htm
Ann
One of the searches came up w/that info. Sorry, if I'm wrong. Having configuration problems w/my puter. Have to defrag my C drive.
Later, whatever
Ann
It looks as though DNAPro is involved in domain names, web hosting and design.
I will search further.
Ann
DNAPRO gif. image files, as stored since '99-'00:
http://www.guam.net/pub/sshs/depart/science/mancuso/apbiolecture/14_translation/
Ann
DNAPRINT on Editorial Advisory Board (Life Sciences):
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/post_reply.asp?message_id=3928941
Ann
Never a problem! - Ann
More Info from DNAP site:
Pharmacogenomics
Over the next 10 years, the worldwide pharmaceutical market is expected to grow from $320 billion to $2 trillion, driven primarily by the flood of new drug targets identified through genomics and through the co-development of drugs and accompanying genomics response tests. The primary objective of DNAPrintTM‘s near term research and development efforts in pharmacogenomics will be to expand our library of predictive drug response tests to include multiple therapeutic areas which include commonly used FDA approved drug therapies.
We currently have two pharmacogenomic tests in development:
OVANOMETM- DNAPrintTM scientists are working on a genomic-based diagnostic tool to match ovarian cancer patients with the most suitable form and dose of chemotherapy. Currently, cancer patients are treated with anti-cancer drugs whose efficacy is known in terms of population averages. In reality, individual cancer patients exhibit unpredictable and unique responses to virtually all commonly used chemotherapeutic compounds. Individual genetic differences have long been suspected to play a role in this variable drug response. For cancer patients, decisions about treatment regimes are often fateful, and second chances at treatment are sometimes not successful. A better understanding of the relationship between genes and drug response can replace the current trial and error process of chemotherapy treatment and guide physicians and patients toward the optimal treatments at the outset of therapy. In early March 2000, DNAPrintTM announced success with this project at the Society of Gynecological Oncologists meeting in Miami, and at the BIO IT World Expo in Boston.
Our scientists have identified several Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (“SNP”) markers whose haploid alleles are predictive for non-response to the Taxol and Carboplatin drug combination, a drug combination manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb for the treatment of ovarian cancer.
Once funding sufficient to screen 250 patients at $1,000 per patient is received, OVANOMETM will be tested in clinical trials for monitoring and reporting on the use of Taxol and Carboplatin. Our Chief Medical Officer, Hector J. Gomez, MD, PhD will lead the clinical development process.
FDA rules regarding pharmacogenomics testing are still evolving and we are seeking additional guidance from the FDA on this issue. Until OVANOMETM is FDA approved or deemed to not require FDA approval, we plan on generating revenues through physician guided Investigative New Drug studies.
STATINOMETM- This test is currently being developed for the cardiac drug market. STATINOMETM is being developed in conjunction with a group of Jacksonville, Florida physicians to classify patients as adverse responders or good responders to a class of drugs known as “statins”. Statins are drugs used to treat patients who are at increased risk of heart disease. Approximately 50% of the U.S. population is at risk of heart disease as a result of high cholesterol. While statins have been demonstrated to be effective at cholesterol reduction, decreasing incidence of heart disease by 10.3% from 1990 to 1994, adverse reactions can include liver damage and kidney failure. Approximately 2-5% of patients must discontinue statin use due to these adverse side effects. Once perfected, we believe STATINOMETM will be able to dramatically improve the rewards associated with taking statins by obviating the risks associated with adverse response. STATINOMETM is projected to enter clinical studies for FDA approval by late 2004 or early 2005.
Ann
DNAP's Patents Pending:
Patent Applications
DNAPrintTM has filed claims for international and domestic patent protection. The patent applications seek to protect the company's bioinformatics platforms, analytical software, genome maps and genetic classifiers in forensic, consumer products, and pharmacogenomic applications. The most significant patents would cover the bioinformatics platforms and genome maps. Other Company patents describe the mathematical process of finding complex genetic information and the actual processes that find the gene variants responsible for specific complex genetic traits.
Pending Patent Applications
Title
Serial Number
Efficient Methods and Apparatus for High-Throughput Processing of Gene Sequence Data
US: 09/964,059
Methods for the Identification of Genetic Features for Complex Genetics Classifiers
US: 10/120/804
Methods for the Identification of Genetic Features for Complex Genetics Classifiers
International: PCT/US02/38326
Methods and Apparatus for Use in Genetics Classification Including Classification Tree Analysis
International: PCT/US02/38309
Methods and Apparatus for Complex Genetics Classification Based on Correspondence Analysis and Linear/Quadratic Analysis
International: PCT/US02/41465
Compositions and Methods for Detecting Polymorphisms Associated with Pigmentation
US: 10/156,995
Compositions and Methods for the Inference of Pigmentation Traits
International: PCT/US02/16789
Compositions and Methods for Inferring a Response to Statin
US: 10/188,359
Compositions and Methods for Inferring a Response to Statin
International: PCT/US02/20847
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Predictive for Paclitaxel Responsiveness in Cancer Patients
US: 60/140,363
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms and Combinations Thereod Predictive for Paclitaxel Responsiveness
PCT/US02/38345
Methods and Markers for Accurate Estimates of Human Ancestry
US: 60/404,357
Methods and Markers for Accurate Estimates of Human Ancestry
US: 60/467,613
Ann
Hey, Chris:
OT - I would think you would let Tony F. pick out a readhead for you w/the tools he has to work with - lol
Nice weekend,
Ann
Cyrus One - Family Tree:
http://www.cyrusone.com/pr_06292004.html
Ann
msufan:
Got it. Thanks
Ann
Gotcha, Miss Scarlett!
Ann
Thank you Miss Scarlet:
I thought it was "slightly" inferred that way. However, I can't blame anyone for taking it as my post appeared - wrongly in reply to one unpopular poster. (Sure got into hot water on that one - lol) This is not my style. I have no agendas. I rarely engage in direct conversations with anyone on this board re: DNAP's detailed science and DD. I pretty well know my limits. I just have privy to a handful of good search engines, as many of you also do to archive and dig. I realize that from time to time I have posted older articles, but, I feel there is relevance at that particular time - either in asnwer to someone's questions, a refresher to dated material, or it may be a different slant on a particular article that has not been posted here before.
Thanks for your comments, Miss Scarlet.
Take care
Ann
P.S.
If you'd like to choose me not to post. No problem.
Ann
Carter:
I apologize for it appearing as though I am replying to someone - but, can someone please let me know one more time how to post my topics in reply to no one "general/". I did not mean to reply to anyone specific, in this case. I, of course know, it appeared that way. No two ways about it. Excuse my ignorance in this area.
Ann
Beckman Coulter/Orchid mentioned in DNAP's eye color documentation under Genotyping:
http://www.genetics.org/cgi/content/full/165/4/2071
Ann
My apologizies. The earlier post was not highlighted on my page as to where I left off. (Happens when I empty my cache files).
I do have an excuse, though. I have NOT had my morning coffee, (just egg on my face!)
Have a great one, all.
Ann
Bag:
The NEWS I posted a while ago is a "new" release from the one posted yesterday.
Ann
Ming:
Did you read my post (prior to yours) on a New DNAP news release?
Ann
News ON DNAP Retinome - Eye Color!!
DNAPrint Announces the Release of RETINOME(TM) for the Forensic Market: Eye Color Prediction From Crime Scene DNA!
SARASOTA, Fla., Aug. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DNAPrint genomics, Inc. announced today that it has finished validating an ultra-high throughput version of its proprietary RETINOME(TM) genetic test for predicting human (eye) iris color from DNA. The new test has been added to the Company's proprietary DNAWitness(TM) 2.5 physical profiling package of genome tests sold to forensics and security investigators.
The completion of the RETINOME(TM) project and the addition of the new RETINOME(TM) product to the Company's DNAWitness(TM) package of genome tests constitute a dramatic advance in the newly developing science of molecular forensics profiling, where the goal is to paint a physical profile from crime scene DNA.
RETINOME(TM) provides an accurate inference of iris (eye) color from the measurement of proprietary single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) distributed throughout the human genome. The genetic basis of this trait has vexed geneticists for decades. As detailed in an article published in a recent 'Trends in Genetics' review article, RETINOME(TM) was developed from a genome screen of tens of thousands of genome SNPs in thousands of European subjects. A necessary but not sufficient component of the RETINOME(TM) technology was first published by DNAPrint(TM) scientists last spring in the peer-reviewed journal, "Genetics." Since the discovery of the genetic keys for predicting iris color from DNA 3 years ago, the Company has been augmenting, evaluating and optimizing the performance of its innovative RETINOME(TM) genome test. The most recent blind validation test for 65 individuals of predominant (>80%) European ancestry, between the ages of 10 and 60 years, showed greater than 97% accuracy. A "blind" test is one in which a model is used to classify a trait for samples that were not used to develop the model in any way, and provides an indication of the generality of the model for field application. DNAPrint's computer scientists developed innovative and proprietary software that proved to be the key to unlocking the door to this difficult trait.
"As a presumptive test designed for investigative, rather than human identity applications which suggest culpability, a 97% accuracy rate corresponds to a solid 'A' grade," said Zach Gaskin. "The test is appropriate for samples that have typed with the Company's DNAWitness(TM) 2.5 test to be of predominant European continental ancestry, and was blindly validated strictly for individuals of both sexes between the ages of 10 and 60 years."
The validation and commercial implementation of RETINOME(TM) using this powerful approach is a historic event; RETINOME(TM) becomes the first test developed and validated for the inference of a complex genetics trait from DNA. Prior to the human genome era, complex genetics traits such as disease proclivity, drug response and particularly physical traits such as iris and hair color vexed geneticists for decades. The excitement generated by the completion of the human genome sequence draft in 2001 was based on the hope that common human traits would finally be understood from a genetics perspective. The ultimate expression of genetic understanding is demonstrated by showing an ability to predict or infer a trait from DNA sequences, but so far this hope has remained largely unfulfilled. Prior to RETINOME(TM), no predictive genome-based test had been developed, described in the peer- reviewed literature or, most importantly, launched commercially. DNAPrint's ability to do so stems from its innovative approach for screening the human genome that feeds from the mathematical fuel provided by natural human population structure. "We are very proud to be the first to demonstrate how the promise of the human genome project can be fulfilled in a practical sense," said Tony Frudakis, DNAPrint's Chief Scientific Officer.
"DNAPrint's success with this difficult trait has profound implications for its goal of developing a pipeline of small molecule drugs that target specific human subpopulations," said Richard Gabriel, CEO and President. "More immediately, a grant is available from the National Institutes of Justice and can be found at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/funding.htm and is specific for 'Solving Cold Cases with DNA.' Now not only can we tell the genetic profile of the crime scene DNA, but we can also describe the eye color if their DNA genetic results fall into the correct category. Each time we do this, we are reducing the "donor pool" of individuals and the number of suspects. Combining our DNAWitness(TM) technology with RETINOME(TM) and standard STR testing, as well as mitochondrial and y-Chromosome testing, this is a powerful combination of information for the investigators. Our photo database system of images, coupled with an eye color prediction, are just the beginning of our forensic products for the investigative community. We intend to aggressively roll out additional services over the next several years to enhance the predictive ability of our Company's products and services from crime scene DNA."
RETINOME(TM) is available today along with DNAWitness(TM) and can be ordered directly from any of the following companies: DNAPrint genomics, Inc. http://www.dnaprint.com ; ReliaGene Technologies, Inc. http://www.reliagene.com and Lynn Peavey Company http://www.lynnpeavey.com .
About ReliaGene Technologies, Inc.
Founded in 1990 and based in the New Orleans, LA metro area, ReliaGene Technologies Inc. is a leading DNA laboratory facility specializing in human genetic identification and related bio-tech product development. With cutting-edge capabilities for forensic and paternity DNA testing, ReliaGene has now successfully detected human genetic profiles from over 400,000 biological samples, including cases from all 50 U.S. states and over 35 countries worldwide. ReliaGene's Y-PLEX(TM) genotyping systems, first released in 2000, are now sold in over 40 countries with market demand increasing steadily. DNAWitness is available through ReliaGene and for more information, please visit: http://www.reliagene.com.
About Lynn Peavey Company
Lynn Peavey is the leader in providing law enforcement with forensic innovations for use at the crime scene and in the laboratory. Lynn Peavey reaches over 17,000 law enforcement agencies, medical examiners and crime laboratories across the country. The Lynn Peavey Company has an on-line catalog and bound catalog by request for all crime scene materials and including a DNAWitness testing kit. For more information, please visit: http://www.lynnpeavey.com
About DNAPrint genomics, Inc.
DNAPrint genomics Inc. uses proprietary human genome research methods to develop genomic-based services and products. The Company introduced Ancestrybydna in the consumer market and DNAWitness in the forensic market in 2003. DNAPrint is developing products in the pharmacogenomic market and has a disease gene discovery program. The Company is traded on the NASDAQ OTC Bulletin Board under the ticker symbol: DNAP. For more information about the company, please visit: http://www.dnaprint.com.
All statements in this press release that are not historical are forward- looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act as amended. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, including, but not limited to, uncertainties relating to technologies, product development, manufacturing, market acceptance, cost and pricing of DNAPrint's products, dependence on collaborations and partners, regulatory approvals, competition, intellectual property of others, and patent protection and litigation. DNAPrint genomics, Inc. expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in DNAPrint's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statements are based.
Media and Press Contacts
Richard Gabriel
DNAPrint genomics, Inc.
CEO/President
(941) 366-3400
SOURCE DNAPrint genomics, Inc.
CO: DNAPrint genomics, Inc.; ReliaGene Technologies, Inc.; Lynn Peavey Company
ST: Florida
SU: PDT
Web site: http://www.dnaprint.com
http://www.prnewswire.com
08/17/2004 10
Ann
This application has John Ashcroft on list for review of grant submissions - just scroll down:
http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/sl000671.pdf
Ann
Here is the Grant Application site:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/funding.htm
Ann
DNAPRINT Ad-Select Site:
http://ad-select.com/best_deals/dna.htm?OVRAW=dnaprint&OVKEY=dna%20print&OVMTC=standard
Ann
Bush's brother & DNAP on this Council:
Tom Colatosti, Chairman of BIO-key International and CEO of American Security Ventures Appointed to Advisory Board of Biometrics Council - May 22, 2003
Two recent college graduates, David J. Harris and Wm. Matthew Jaunich, have founded Biometrics Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering public awareness of the potential of biometrics to substantially reduce the risk of terrorism to the United States. Mr. Harris graduated from Yale College in 2000, where he worked for former President Bush's brother, Jonathan, at his investment firm, J. Bush and Company, Inc. In addition, Mr. Harris co-authored the first study of women in cardiac trials funded by the National Institutes of Health in the New England Journal of Medicine. Mr. Jaunich, an honors graduate of the University of Southern California, is President of the Lucror Group, L.L.C., a private equity vehicle and consults for Fremont Partners, L.P., a merchant bank in San Francisco. Mr. Jaunich has also worked for Creative Artists Agency in Hollywood.
Within a few weeks, Mr. Harris and Mr. Jaunich have recruited luminaries of the intelligence community, academe and industry to the Board of Directors:
Arnaud de Borchgrave, Editor at Large, Washington Times; UPI, and Director, Transnational Threats, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Member, Secretary Ridge's Advisory Committee for Homeland Security
Margaret L. Johnson, Senior Lecturer, Department of Computer Science, Department of Symbolic Systems, Stanford University
Catherine Lotrionte, Adjunct Professor of Security Studies, Georgetown University. Professor Lotrionte's particular areas of expertise are national security law, international law and international security.
Carlos L. Signoret, Managing Director, Hispania Capital Partners.
In addition to the Board of Directors, Biometrics Council has an Advisory Committee of leaders from the industry, who offer insight but have no governance power.
The advisors are:
Alexander and Michael Bronstein, Members of the 3DFACE Research Group, Technion -- Israel Institute of Technology, twenty-two year old identical twins who developed a facial recognition algorithm that distinguishes between them, which was featured on CNN.
Thomas J. Colatosti, Chairman of the Board, BIO-key International (OTC Bulletin Board: BKYI) and Founder and Chief Executive Officer of American Security Ventures.
R. Terren "Terry" Dunlap, Chief Executive Officer of Ultra-Scan Corporation
Tony Frudakis, Founder, Chief Executive Officer and President of DNAPrint Genomics
Barry Hodge, President of AcSys Biometrics Corporation
Oliver "Buck" Revell, Chairman of the Board of Imagis Technologies, Inc. and retired Associate Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Biometrics Council is market-neutral and all directors have pledged not to own biometrics securities or accept profit incentives from the industry. This underscores their commitment to the proposition that biometrics in its various modalities, including facial-recognition, fingerprint, DNA, retinal and iris, palm and vein, could in a variety of applications enhance the safety of the American people.
Mr. Harris explained the Council's motivation: "Overwhelming evidence demonstrates that the use of weapons of mass destruction against the United States is imminent.
Warren Buffett, for instance, has declared that a nuclear attack on America is 'virtually a certainty.' If we are to preserve the American way of life, we must have a revolution in infrastructure. We believe a vital piece of this is biometrics."
Arnaud de Borchgrave stated, "The next generation will see electronics worn, ingested or implanted. Biometrics is an integral part of our national security as disruptive technologies keep America at the cutting edge of revolutionary change."
"After September 11, there was a surge in interest concerning identity technology, but this crest has fallen, and we are in an almost tranquil abeyance, a denial of the immediacy of the threat," Harris added.
Mr. Harris stresses this is not a partisan issue. "Secretary Rumsfeld has admonished that a weapons of mass destruction attack on America is not a matter of 'if', but 'when.'
Congressman Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, has been sounding the clarion call that we cannot continue status quo operation of nuclear power plants, given that they are capable of being weaponized. We want to seek out more people who do not view the threat of weapons of mass destruction through rose-colored glasses."
The Council has had discussions with various officials in the government, both active and retired, and is heartened by the interest in its initiatives. Lt. General Claudia Kennedy, former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army for Intelligence, the first and only woman to achieve that rank in the United States Army, attended the Council's first meeting this winter.
SOURCE: Biometrics Council
Ann
Tony on Board of Biometrics Council, also listed with Warren Buffet:
Tom Colatosti, Chairman of BIO-key International and CEO of American Security Ventures Appointed to Advisory Board of Biometrics Council - May 22, 2003
Two recent college graduates, David J. Harris and Wm. Matthew Jaunich, have founded Biometrics Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering public awareness of the potential of biometrics to substantially reduce the risk of terrorism to the United States. Mr. Harris graduated from Yale College in 2000, where he worked for former President Bush's brother, Jonathan, at his investment firm, J. Bush and Company, Inc. In addition, Mr. Harris co-authored the first study of women in cardiac trials funded by the National Institutes of Health in the New England Journal of Medicine. Mr. Jaunich, an honors graduate of the University of Southern California, is President of the Lucror Group, L.L.C., a private equity vehicle and consults for Fremont Partners, L.P., a merchant bank in San Francisco. Mr. Jaunich has also worked for Creative Artists Agency in Hollywood.
Within a few weeks, Mr. Harris and Mr. Jaunich have recruited luminaries of the intelligence community, academe and industry to the Board of Directors:
Arnaud de Borchgrave, Editor at Large, Washington Times; UPI, and Director, Transnational Threats, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Member, Secretary Ridge's Advisory Committee for Homeland Security
Margaret L. Johnson, Senior Lecturer, Department of Computer Science, Department of Symbolic Systems, Stanford University
Catherine Lotrionte, Adjunct Professor of Security Studies, Georgetown University. Professor Lotrionte's particular areas of expertise are national security law, international law and international security.
Carlos L. Signoret, Managing Director, Hispania Capital Partners.
In addition to the Board of Directors, Biometrics Council has an Advisory Committee of leaders from the industry, who offer insight but have no governance power.
The advisors are:
Alexander and Michael Bronstein, Members of the 3DFACE Research Group, Technion -- Israel Institute of Technology, twenty-two year old identical twins who developed a facial recognition algorithm that distinguishes between them, which was featured on CNN.
Thomas J. Colatosti, Chairman of the Board, BIO-key International (OTC Bulletin Board: BKYI) and Founder and Chief Executive Officer of American Security Ventures.
R. Terren "Terry" Dunlap, Chief Executive Officer of Ultra-Scan Corporation
Tony Frudakis, Founder, Chief Executive Officer and President of DNAPrint Genomics
Barry Hodge, President of AcSys Biometrics Corporation
Oliver "Buck" Revell, Chairman of the Board of Imagis Technologies, Inc. and retired Associate Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Biometrics Council is market-neutral and all directors have pledged not to own biometrics securities or accept profit incentives from the industry. This underscores their commitment to the proposition that biometrics in its various modalities, including facial-recognition, fingerprint, DNA, retinal and iris, palm and vein, could in a variety of applications enhance the safety of the American people.
Mr. Harris explained the Council's motivation: "Overwhelming evidence demonstrates that the use of weapons of mass destruction against the United States is imminent.
Warren Buffett, for instance, has declared that a nuclear attack on America is 'virtually a certainty.' If we are to preserve the American way of life, we must have a revolution in infrastructure. We believe a vital piece of this is biometrics."
Arnaud de Borchgrave stated, "The next generation will see electronics worn, ingested or implanted. Biometrics is an integral part of our national security as disruptive technologies keep America at the cutting edge of revolutionary change."
"After September 11, there was a surge in interest concerning identity technology, but this crest has fallen, and we are in an almost tranquil abeyance, a denial of the immediacy of the threat," Harris added.
Mr. Harris stresses this is not a partisan issue. "Secretary Rumsfeld has admonished that a weapons of mass destruction attack on America is not a matter of 'if', but 'when.'
Congressman Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, has been sounding the clarion call that we cannot continue status quo operation of nuclear power plants, given that they are capable of being weaponized. We want to seek out more people who do not view the threat of weapons of mass destruction through rose-colored glasses."
The Council has had discussions with various officials in the government, both active and retired, and is heartened by the interest in its initiatives. Lt. General Claudia Kennedy, former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army for Intelligence, the first and only woman to achieve that rank in the United States Army, attended the Council's first meeting this winter.
SOURCE: Biometrics Council
Ann
Molecular Cops & DNAP:
Molecular Cops: Forensic Genomics Harnessed for the Law
As unique as . . . fingerprints?
by Alan Dove / Jun 01 '04
On the grainy surveillance video, two men enter the store and proceed to rob it. One of the men, wearing a white baseball cap with a logo on the front, shoots and kills the clerk. As both robbers flee the scene, we see the shooter's hat fall off. When police arrive at the scene, they find the dead clerk, the empty cash register . . . and the hat.
The police arrest a suspect nearby and obtain a DNA sample. At the crime lab, DNA analysis on a sample from the hat reveals a mixture; more than one person had worn this hat. After comparing the DNA from the hat to the DNA from the suspect, the crime lab concludes that at least three people had worn the hat, and one of them was the suspect. The combination of the videotape and the DNA analysis fingers the suspect. Or does it?
For the trial, the defense team called in William Thompson, PhD, professor of criminology at the University of California, Irvine, Calif., and an expert on forensic DNA analysis. "The [crime lab] report indicated no uncertainty or ambiguity about it, but when I looked at it, there were two different interpretations. One interpretation was a mixture of two contributors, neither of whom could be my client. The other was that it was three or more contributors, and one could be my client. This is a good example of how the current technology can be ambiguous," says Thompson.
Virtually all experts in the field, including Thompson, agree that DNA fingerprinting is one of the most definitive forensic technologies currently available. Nonetheless, as cases like this show, imperfections in the technology and the legal system can sometimes align to produce erroneous results. Newer genomic technologies may help address some of the difficulties, but they will face steep obstacles in the crime lab and in the courtroom.
As unique as . . . fingerprints?
The standard for a DNA fingerprint, accepted by most modern courts around the world, consists of a 13-allele profile of microsatellites, also known as short tandem repeats (STRs). Whereas traditional fingerprints are "lifted" from a crime scene with pigmented powder and cellophane tape, DNA fingerprints are prepared by electrophoresis, then probed with oligonucleotides specific for the 13 alleles. Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif., and Promega Corp., Madison, Wis., make the standard DNA fingerprinting probe sets used by most crime labs. In principle, a match at all 13 loci definitively identifies a single person.
Because a pattern of electrophoresis bands is easy to define digitally, DNA fingerprints are easier to compare than old-fashioned fingerprints. Also, DNA fingerprinting rests on the statistical base of population genetics, making it more robust than traditional fingerprints, which cannot be statistically quantified. "Any time there's evidence left and it's clearly a single source . . . the kinds of cross-matching you can do with DNA are in my opinion both easier and probably more accurate than other forms of databasing in the criminal justice system, like fingerprints," says William Shields, PhD, a population geneticist and professor of environmental science at the State University of New York, Syracuse, N.Y.
In order to take full advantage of this database-friendly, statistically sound technique, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) established a system that links databases of DNA fingerprints from crime labs nationwide. The linked database, known as the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) contains profiles of millions of individuals and samples from crime scenes, including an estimated 77,000 crimes that remain unsolved. In the few years since its implementation, CODIS has become as useful as it is controversial (see story on CODIS below).
Unfortunately, crime scene DNA samples are sometimes dilute, degraded, or derived from multiple contributors—the molecular equivalents of smudged fingerprints. In these cases, a standard DNA fingerprint and CODIS search becomes less reliable. For example, dilute samples often exhibit allelic dropout, in which one or more loci are missing. With mixed samples, like the one from the white baseball cap, the number of contributors can drastically affect the meaning of the result.
"Under those circumstances, it becomes entirely subjective what peak you declare is an allele and which peak is an artifact. If it's based on assumptions about potential contributors whose genotypes you know, there's a very real danger" of an incorrect match, says Shields. Newer techniques based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) can literally amplify the problem by inserting errors.
Surprisingly, many forensics laboratories have avoided the simplest solution for this problem. Bench scientists have long considered a blinded experimental design crucial in analyzing qualitative data, but crime labs are reluctant to adopt that approach. "There exists in the forensics community a kind of cowboy attitude," says Thompson. Forensic scientists are hostile to doing any kind of blinded protocol. "The labs know who the suspect is, and then a messy mixture becomes a Rorschach blot into which they project a match," he says.
While blinded protocols in the lab might help reduce some types of errors, technological advances might soon render the point moot, at least for initial analyses. Chip-based tests, for example, have the potential to move DNA fingerprint analysis from the crime lab to the crime scene. Many forensics experts envision a time, only a few years away, when a police officer can swab a piece of evidence with a chip, then download a complete criminal record on the sample's contributor a few minutes later.
Having a machine do the interpretation will reduce the risk of bias, but not eliminate it, as current systems have already demonstrated. "Truthfully, in most cases, the results are clear-cut and not subject to debate. But there's a subset of cases . . . with more ambiguities, where the lab has to actually make critical judgements," says Thompson. For example, he points to another case in which he was consulted, where "depending on whether you run the [DNA analysis] software on a Macintosh or a PC, you get a different result. In the PC world [the defendant is] guilty, and in the Mac world he's innocent. This is not a problem with the technology per se, it just means that even the most valid technology will have marginal cases."
Ethnic profiling
Other researchers are focusing on finding better marker sets to analyze the mixed, dilute, and degraded samples that trip up standard DNA profiling techniques. The boom in single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) profiling for basic research has boosted interest in using SNP profiles for fingerprinting. Because automated sequencers can identify dozens or hundreds of SNPs in a single run, the technique could theoretically be made more robust than the 13-allele CODIS profile.
Probably the most unusual forensic adaptation of SNP-based profiling, though, is aimed at producing a description rather than a fingerprint. At DNAPrint Genomics Inc., Sarasota, Fla., researchers have developed a test that uses 176 SNPs to classify the ancestry of a DNA sample into four population groups: Sub-Saharan African, East Asian, European, and Native American. The resulting profile cannot definitively identify a specific suspect, but could be useful in an initial investigation.
"If someone comes back who's 85% Sub-Saharan African, with a high degree of confidence you can tell [police] they're not looking for a Caucasian in that case. Sometimes it's just as important to exclude two or three groups," says Zach Gaskin, technical director of forensic genomics at DNAPrint.
Indeed, that was exactly the result that led to DNAPrint's first "collar." Last summer, police arrested a 34-year-old African-American suspect in connection with a series of murders in Louisiana. Before using the new test, police had assumed the serial killer was Caucasian.
Ann
Securities & Exchange Commission on DNAP:
http://www.edgar-online.com/bin/edgardoc/finSys_main.asp?dcn=0001070876-02-000030&nad=
Ann
Eye Color clasifier:
2:05 RETINOMEsm Genetic Eye Color Test
Dr. Tony Frudakis, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer, DNAPrint genomics, Inc.
We have screened the common polymorphisms in the major human pigmentation genes in an effort to develop a classifier for human iris pigmentation. Genotypes from about 300 SNPs in about 600 individuals of known eye color were collected, and haplotype features were extracted and modeled using novel genetic pattern detection algorithms. We were able to identify five haplotype systems predictive of human eye color and model these systems into a classifier comprising over 40 compound genotypes for the prediction of Caucasian eye color shade with over 97% accuracy. We hope that the classifier could be used to guide investigative work and provide probable cause for STR typing requests.
Tony Frudakis on this list:
http://www.healthtech.com/2002/fdx/
Ann
There seems to be an error in transition. I tried.
Let's see if I can eventually post it, or not.
Ann
Chinese discovered America before Columbus on tape:
Listen To Dr. Tony Frudakis discuss teaming with a British author to try to prove the author's theory that the Chinese discovered America 70 years before Columbus.
Click here for Real Audio link >(WGCU News http://www.wgcu.org)
Ann
My font size on DNAP's Message Board suddenly decreased. It looks like it's around 8 pt. Am I the only one to have this problem? If so, how do I reset it back to original size?
Ann
GAFF Biologics substantiation:
http://www.dnaprint.com/news_story13.html
Ann
Siomics website:
http://www.sciomics.com/
Ann