History of Forensic DNA Analysis
In the mid-1980's, DNA typing was introduced as a way to improve the way crime investigations had been conducted. Since then, it has revolutionized forensic science and the ability of law enforcement to “face to the crime.” Thousands of cases have been closed, innocent people have been freed, and the guilty parties punished because of one hair follicle, one fingernail clipping, a flake of skin, even a sample of saliva, found at the scene of the crime.
Dr. Alec Jeffery’s also discovered certain DNA reapeat regions known now as variable number of tandem repeats or VNTR’s. When examining the VNTR’s Dr. Jefferys used a method called restriction fragment length polymorphism or RFLP. The RFLP was first used in an English immigration case and soon after, a double homicide (unrelated). In the last 15 years the use and viability of DNA evidence has skyrocketed. Today over 150 public forensic perform hundreds of thousands of DNA tests annually in the United States alone. In addition, most countries in Europe and Asia have forensic DNA programs. The number of laboratories and the reputation of the practice will never cease to stop growing but flourish.
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