Forensic® News publishes DNA Matters™ – a Special Feature column written by Cybergenetics founder and chief scientist Dr. Mark Perlin.
The Forensic® DNA Matters column explores DNA identification technology – and how it affects people and society – in the context of criminal cases.
- Why forensic genotypes are probabilistic
- How to use the likelihood ratio
- How complex DNA evidence exonerates the innocent
- What forensics owes to Alan Turing
Why forensic genotypes are probabilistic
Friday, April 30, 2021
"Probabilistic genotyping" is now in crime laboratories, courts and the news. But why is this technology "probabilistic"? Where does randomness come into the DNA typing process? And how does "probgen" computing take care of it?
The first DNA Matters column tells the story of a serial rapist in Upstate New York, and the DNA he left on a pair of purple gloves. How crime laboratory processing introduced inherent randomness into the DNA data. And how TrueAllele® probabilistic genotyping resolved the DNA mixture to identify the criminal in the context of his crime.
How to use the likelihood ratio
Friday, May 28, 2021
Forensic scientists report a “likelihood ratio” (LR) for the strength of match between DNA evidence and a suspect. Without a match statistic, DNA can’t be used as courtroom evidence. The entire purpose of forensic DNA science is producing a reliable LR match statistic. But what is a “likelihood ratio”? How is the LR used? When is the LR easy to understand?
The second DNA Matters column tells the story of a cold-blooded killer in Southwestern Pennsylvania, with DNA mixtures found on a gun and a hat. How initial crime laboratory reports gave little information. And how TrueAllele® data analysis revealed likelihood ratios that showed who did, didn’t, and couldn’t have committed the crime.
How complex DNA evidence exonerates the innocent
Friday, June 25, 2021
The third DNA Matters column tells the story of the exonerations of Darryl Pinkins and Roosevelt Glenn.
What forensics owes to Alan Turing
Wednesday, June 29, 2022
The fourth DNA Matters column tells the story of Alan Turing and his contributions to the field of forensics.
Founded in 1994, Pittsburgh-based Cybergenetics innovates advanced computing to get more information out of biological data. Twenty years ago, founder Dr. Mark Perlin invented TrueAllele® probabilistic genotyping for automated human identification from DNA mixtures. The company helped identify victim remains in the World Trade Center disaster, and has helped exonerate ten innocent men.
Since 2005, Forensic® has been bringing professionals the products, news and research innovations essential to advancements in both the laboratory and the crime scene. Their e-newsletters are delivered to inboxes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.