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Numbers and the Magic Box

By Melody Evans and Kirk Redmond

Ah, the magic DNA box. Sample goes in, profile comes out, and a match of 1 in 62 kajillion condemns the client. The massive number quantifying the odds that the client?s sample would randomly match the genetic profile of an unrelated person comes from a database of genetic information about which we previously knew very little.That may change. The LA Times recently detailed some problems with the astronomical numbers coming form government DNA labs- namely, that they may be wrong. The article opens with this explanation."State crime lab analyst Kathryn Troyer was running tests on Arizona's DNA database when she stumbled across two felons with remarkably similar genetic profiles. The men matched at nine of the 13 locations on chromosomes, or loci, commonly used to distinguish people...continue to full post

Full post as published by Kansas Federal Defender on July 22, 2008 (boomark / email).