DNA analysis has been an amazing tool for finding guilt and innocence in criminal cases- however it could be a double edged sword when it comes to privacy. Could insurance companies track your activities to see if you engage in risky behavior and/or your employer find that you have been places \"you're not supposed to be?\"
DNA analysis- just like anything else- will become faster, cheaper and more accurate. It may come to a point where the costs of such an analysis are low enough where just about anyone can find out where we have been and what we've been up to.
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DNA left at crime scene could be used to create picture of criminal's FACE, say scientists
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:45 AM on 17th February 2009
Analysis of DNA left at several crime scenes helped identify serial killer Derek Todd Lee
Forensic experts will soon be able to reconstruct facial features and skin just by reading DNA, U.S. scientists said.
'Forensic molecular photofitting' maps the genes that are linked to skin pigmentation and facial structure which means a person's face could emerge from the analysis, Dr Mark Shriver from Pennsylvania State University said.
The process has already been used to help identify and convict serial killer Derek Todd Lee who murdered seven women in Louisiana.
Witness statements said the offender was white but genetic testing of DNA at the crime scenes showed he was African American - which helped lead to his arrest.
He was convicted in 2004.
Dr Shriver said he has now linked DNA that mark a person's ethnic origin with the gene mix of fixed points on the face, e.g. corners of the mouth and tip of the nose.
This allows the computer to build up an image of a face based on the gene mix found in the DNA.
Speaking to the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago at the weekend, Dr Shriver said 'maybe 500 facial markers and 500 ancestry markers' would be enough to build an accurate and complete face.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ ... tists.html
Amazing...yet scary.
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Nightshade
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Amazing...yet scary.
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"Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun" - Mao Zedong
"Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun" - Mao Zedong
