From: Brian D Williams (talon57@well.com)
Date: Wed Jul 31 2002 - 14:57:50 MDT
>From: Charles Hixson <charleshixsn@earthlink.net>
>So, if well handled, the DNA evidence can, as currently used,
>*usually* isolate one man out of 100,000 or so. But not one man
>out of 1,000,000 Quite good, especially if used in conjunction
>with other evidence. But note the usually. Relatives are
>examples of people who are likely to share all of the alleles. So
>if choosing among relatives, it is a much less good test. (How
>good? I haven't seen any statistics.) And inbred populations
>would also be likely to share alleles. Etc. (I don't know which
>sites are choosen, or how long a fragment is checked. But it's
>short, as the limitation on checking was decided several years ago
>as a cost containment measure. It probably predates the database,
>and it's original use was just to confirm other evidence, so it
>didn't need to be too precise.)
One of the stories on the news last night was how they've been
offering free DNA testing to inmates for awhile now, and less than
10 people have requested it.
Less innocent than they claim.
Brian
Member:
Extropy Institute, www.extropy.org
National Rifle Association, www.nra.org, 1.800.672.3888
SBC/Ameritech Data Center Chicago, IL, Local 134 I.B.E.W
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