“Ancient DNA Reveals Shocking Truths About Our Prehistoric Ancestors—What Secrets Are Hidden in Our Genes?”
For Renee and her colleagues, the DNA change does matter. As forensic scientists, they viewed Chris’s case from the perspective of combating crime, and they knew that the DNA change could mean life or death for some.
…But It Could Throw Off Criminal Investigations
For forensic scientists, Chris’s DNA change uncovered a new host of problems. When criminal investigators hunt down criminals, they rely on DNA swabs to lead to one person. What will happen if the DNA links to two people, one in Nevada and one ten years younger in Germany?
According to Brittney Chilton, a criminalist of the forensic science division, says that this DNA change could mislead investigators. It could result in someone being falsely accused of a crime they didn’t do.
This Mix-Up Has Happened Before
In 2004, criminal investigators in Alaska thought they had caught a criminal when they uploaded a DNA sample to a database. There was just one problem: the man was in jail at the time of the crime. But DNA samples are flawless, right?
It turned out that the criminal’s brother had received a bone marrow transplant. He was convicted, and a year later, crime detection scientist Abirami Chidambaram presented the case in 2005. It’s the exact dilemma that Chilton was talking about.
But That’s Not The Only Problem
According to Chilton, chimeras create another issue for the medical community. In 2008, research scholar Yongbin Eom tried to identify a victim of a car accident in Seoul, South Korea. His DNA showed that he was female–but his body was male.
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