THE F.B.I. stunned the legal community on Monday with its acknowledgment that testimony by its forensic scientists about hair identification was scientifically indefensible in nearly every one of more than 250 cases reviewed. But the conclusion should come as no surprise to scientists. ... [More]

  DNA can reveal an extraordinary amount of private information about you, including familial relationships, medical history, predisposition for disease, and possibly even behavioral tendencies and sexual orientation. While DNA testing in a criminal context has some benefits—such as... [More]

  A Brooklyn judge has stirred up controversy by tossing out two types of DNA evidence regularly used in criminal cases throughout the city, the Daily News has learned. Justice Mark Dwyer has thrown out the results of low copy number DNA testing, which generates profiles from minuscule samp... [More]

Background The Forensic Genetics Policy Initiative (www.dnapolicyinitiative.org) is a civil society-led project which aims to set human rights standards for DNA databases around the world, by establishing best practice and involving experts, policy makers and members of the public in open deb... [More]

The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) today announced appointments to a newly created National Commission on Forensic Science.  Members of the commission will work to improve the practice of forensic s... [More]

CIVIL Liberties Australia is concerned emerging DNA technology that allows police to determine eye and hair colour of potential suspects will impinge on privacy and help create a national DNA database. But forensic officer for Victoria Police Runa Daniel said information gained from the technolog... [More]

A serial rapist on the island of Funen has so far attacked two girls. DNA samples from the attacks confirm it is the same perpetrator, but despite testing several men, the suspect remains on the loose.   While police continue to hunt for the man, opposition party Dansk Folkeparti (DF) a... [More]

In the court room, forensics and science can be extremely powerful. Forensic chemists can tell the jury whether DNA was present, what drug the victim was given or what cleaning solution was used to hide the evidence. But what happens when the trusted scientist is a fraud? In September, Annie Dookha... [More]

The Council for Responsible Genetics (CRG) applauds Governor Patrick for signing and Representative John Fernandes and Senator Cynthia Creem for championing S.1987, an Act providing access to forensic and scientific analysis. This vital legislation allows Massachusetts to join the 48 other sta... [More]

Today, 60 countries worldwide operate national DNA databases (many of which are considering expansion) and databases are being considered in at least 34 additional countries.   The use of DNA profiling in criminal investigations can bring benefits to society by helping to solve crimes a... [More]