From: GBurch1@aol.com
Date: Wed May 05 1999 - 06:25:01 MDT
http://www.courierpress.com/cgi/view.cgi?/199905/04/+crimelab_news.html+199905
04+news
-
Crime lab on credit card unveiled
Scripps Howard News Service
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Department of Justice announced in Albuquerque
Monday a five-year, $25 million research program to bring genetic
testing directly to the crime scene on a credit card-sized “lab on a
computer chip.”
Announcing the program on behalf of Attorney General Janet Reno, Jeremy
Travis said the project aims to have a “forensic DNA chip in police
forensic crime units within two years.”
However, experts with Nanogen, a San Diego genetic-testing company that
is working with the Justice Department, said perfecting the technology
may take several more years.
Travis said the technology isn’t just a question of making law
enforcement easier and more effective, but a question of “real justice.”
He said some 28 convicted individuals have been released in recent years
based on new DNA evidence that showed they did not commit the crime of
which they were convicted.
“This chip can be a powerful crime-fighting tool because of its speed of
analysis and the vast amount of important DNA evidence it can contain
and its economy,” Travis said, noting that the chips should cost $10 to
$25 each.
They would be used to assess the DNA in blood, hair or semen samples
collected directly at a crime scene and then identify potential suspects
contained in the FBI’s national genetic database.
The database is a growing collection of individual DNA “fingerprints” —
sequences of DNA collected from criminals that uniquely identifies them,
just as their fingerprints would.
DNA is the biochemical code of life that comprises the genes in human
cells. It confers inherited characteristics to future generations and it
is also what makes individuals unique.
Lisa Forman, a scientist in the Justice Department’s Office of Science
and Technology, acknowledged the project could face objections from
civil libertarians concerned with the potential for abuse.
Among these might be the development of a national database including
all citizens, or the use of medical genetic data obtained from health
centers or hospitals.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Fri Nov 01 2002 - 15:03:40 MST