DNAprint Genomics (DNAG)

[mingwan0]

frogdreaming, my position is that DNAP will potentially be able to tell hair color (and hair shape BTW which is inherited separately) from DNA analysis; the main complication being the complexity of the number of genes and the number of allele variations that seem to be involved. This of course is the "natural" hair color in the absence of the other factors that have been listed. It is in this sense that I maintain that there is a causal linkage between "hair color" and genetic makeup.

So they could potentially say to a police officer that the perpetrator has black hair, and might modify this to say the hair would possibly be greying if the perpetrator's age warranted it. They might also be able to say something about e.g. hair shape and male pattern baldness, which would also be relevant and useful information for the detectives concerned. It is not clear how many of the additional factors are genetic in basis and/or whether their assessment and analysis would be part of the service provided by DNAP for this particular trait(s).

The murine studies seem to be paricularly useful in a number of areas!