Patrick Pester is a freelance writer and previously a staff writer at Live Science. His background is in wildlife conservation and he has worked with endangered species around the world. Patrick holds a master's degree in international journalism from Cardiff University in the U.K.
When it comes to linking a suspect to a crime, most people assume that DNA evidence is nearly irrefutable. DNA carries a unique fingerprint, so if a suspect's genetic code is matched to DNA found at the crime scene, then they must have been there — right?The study, published online Sept. 28 in the journal iScience, found that a common DNA test used in forensics is more likely to produce"false positive" results for certain groups of people.
Mixture analysis doesn't give a simple"yes" or"no" to whether a person was present for a crime. The technique involves computer software that estimates how likely it is that someone's DNA contributed to a given mixture. As a part of a criminal trial, that likelihood estimate might then go to a jury, along with other evidence, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology .
"Our work shows that we need to be cautious in interpreting results from forensic analysis of certain mixtures of DNA," study lead author Rori Rohlfs, a data scientist at the University of Oregon, told Live Science in an email."We certainly need to weigh the strength of evidence by its reliability. It is possible that a wrongful conviction could have been made based on a misinterpreted DNA mixture analysis.
"While that number may seem small, we need to interpret it compared to the number of samples analyzed," Rohlfs said."For example, if a lab analyzes 10,000 samples where the POI didn't contribute DNA, then there is a 1 in 10 chance that one of them would be misinterpreted that the POI did contribute."
Groups that might have relatively low genetic diversity include Indigenous groups and Pacific Islander groups, according to a statement released by the University of Oregon.
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