ConnectMyDNA™ announced today that it has nationally launched its revolutionary new DNA testing product for the consumer market, offering secure and affordable genetic testing to people all over the world. ConnectMyDNA™ is the first DNA testing product which provides results in an engaging visual and social environment. DNA Diagnostics Center (DDC), a world leader in DNA testing, is the parent company of ConnectMyDNA™.

FAIRFIELD, Ohio (PRWEB) February 06, 2012

ConnectMyDNA™ announced today that it has nationally launched its revolutionary new DNA testing product for the consumer market, offering secure and affordable genetic testing to people all over the world. ConnectMyDNA™ is the first DNA testing product which provides results in an engaging visual and social environment. DNA Diagnostics Center (DDC), a world leader in DNA testing, is the parent company of ConnectMyDNA™.

ConnectMyDNA™ features the Gene Ring™, which is a revolutionary new concept in DNA technology that merges modern art with cutting edge science. Not only is it an eye-catching symbolization of a person’s unique genetic makeup, it's also a scientifically accurate tool that allows a person to visually compare their DNA profile to friends, families and population groups around the world. Using 13 specific markers in a person’s DNA, the same used by forensic sciences for identification purposes, ConnectMyDNA™ matches these markers to DNA of population groups in over 60 countries to determine the ten country populations that a person most closely matches. No two Gene Rings™ are alike, but some are more connected than others and discovering those connections is what ConnectMyDNA™ is all about.

“ConnectMyDNA™ initially launched through HomeRun.com as a test to determine the sustainability of the product and demographics of its users. Within days of launching, ConnectMyDNA™ sold over 1000 units, making it one of the top selling products for HomeRun.com. This is a product which is simple to use, affordable and engaging for everyone. Customers receive an easy-to-use DNA Collection Kit containing the information, instructions, and tools they need to collect a sample of their DNA with a simple cheek swab. The next step is to send the package back to ConnectMyDNA™ in a prepaid envelope and await results. When a customer receives their results, they can securely view their Gene Ring™, a visual illustration of their genetic makeup, online,” said Peter Vitulli, DDC President and CEO.

Vitulli added, “The Gene Ring™ doesn’t contain any genetic information regarding the person’s health or genetic predisposition and is generated using a proprietary technology stored in a secure database so that genetic information can’t be decoded. ConnectMyDNA™ is not intended to be an ancestry test or product – instead it is designed to be a fun, educational product that introduces people to the world of DNA through the Gene Ring™ and population matches. Although the test is based on science, the results can be entertaining as well as enlightening and are an exciting way for people around the world to compare their genetic similarities to their family, friends, and others.”

There are many social features available through ConnectMyDNA™. Customers receive their results online and are offered a variety of ways to view their genetic data, learn about the people and places that their DNA most closely matches, and share their Gene Ring™ with their friends on their favorite social networks.

About DNA Diagnostics Center (DDC), Parent Company of ConnectMyDNA™

DDC is one of the largest DNA testing companies in the world. Founded 17 years ago, DDC offers comprehensive DNA testing services for paternity and other family relationships, forensics, cell line authentication, and ancestry. DDC receives more than 800,000 consumer calls each year, and has performed over 1 million DNA tests since the company was established. The Company is known for its groundbreaking technologies, including an exclusive license for the most innovative and accurate non-invasive prenatal paternity test using SNP (single-nucleotide polymorphism) Microarray Technology, which only requires a simple blood draw from the mother and alleged father. DDC’s unique Dual Process™ ensures all professionally collected DNA samples are independently tested twice producing legal results of unmatched quality and reliability. DDC is recognized through a number of accreditations nationally and internationally achieving perfect ratings in its past 16 inspections including those performed by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) and the College of American Pathologists (CAP). DDC is also accredited by ACLASS to meet the standards of ISO 17025 and the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Laboratory Accreditation Board International and follows the DNA Advisory Board (DAB) guidelines, which attests to DDC’s superior forensic testing service. For more information: http://www.dnacenter.com or 1-800-362-2368.

###

Jan Strode
CEO Advisors
619-890-4040
Email Information

Read the original here:
New DNA Product Simplifies Science and Gives Consumers Affordable Access to People and Places Their DNA Most Closely ...

Southern Utah authorities are hoping to solve a 50-year-old mystery over a deadly flash flood with the help of a human skull fragment found in the Virgin River several years ago.

The September 1961 flood caught a Boy Scout group and others by surprise and killed five people in the river's Zion National Park Narrows section.

Springdale Police Chief Kurt Wright told The Spectrum of St. George ( http://bit.ly/ApAyZf) that only three of the bodies were recovered, and he thinks the skull fragment holds the answer to what became of one of two 17-year-old Salt Lake City boys whose bodies were never found.

The parents of Eagle Scouts Alvin Nelson and Frank Johnson have since died, but Wright was able to track down a living sibling for each and received DNA samples from them last week. He hopes the samples will identify whether the skull was from one of the boys.

Wright said he became interested when he learned of a free program at the University of Texas that matches DNA to identify skeletal remains. The skull fragment and DNA samples now are on their way to Texas for examination.

Doralee Freebairn, 65, of Holladay, the sister of one of the boys, said she hopes the DNA samples bring closure.

"It's a tough thing. Without that body, you don't really believe that they're gone," she told The Spectrum. "My feeling's strong that it's my brother Alvin. But the DNA will tell."

Past searches failed to turn up the bodies of Nelson and his best friend, Johnson, who both attended East High School in Salt Lake City. The boys were doing what they loved and enjoying the outdoors before the flood struck, Freebairn said.

"One of the girls who survived said they looked up and heard this horrible sound coming through the canyon," Freebairn said. "It was a beautiful day before the storm moved in."

The bodies of Scoutmaster Walter Scott of Murray; Steven Florence, 13, of Park City; and Paul Nicholes, 17, of Salt Lake City, were recovered.

___

Information from: The Spectrum, http://www.thespectrum.com

See more here:
DNA, skull may solve Utah flash flood mystery

Originally published February 5, 2012 at 8:21 PM | Page modified February 5, 2012 at 8:22 PM

Anthony Dias is the poster boy for why police and prosecutors hope Washington will join a growing number of states that require people to give DNA samples as soon as they're arrested in a serious crime, rather than when they're convicted.

In 2005, Dias was released on bail while facing a felony hit-and-run charge in Pierce County. Before the year was up, he went on to commit crimes — including half a dozen rapes — against 19 more people. If he had given a DNA sample after his hit-and-run arrest, detectives could have caught him after the first rape — not the last.

"By the time he committed his next rape crime, he could have been identified, arrested and taken off the streets," Charisa Nicholas, who was tied up and forced to watch as her roommate was raped, told lawmakers recently. "My case would have been the first case prevented."

Nevertheless, the rush to expand DNA's use in criminal investigations worries privacy advocates, and courts around the country have disagreed about whether such laws violate the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Many judges have ruled that routinely collecting DNA from convicts is OK because, among other reasons, committing a serious crime reduces their expectation of privacy. It's not clear that reasoning would extend to people who have not been convicted and are presumed innocent.

"The way judges come out depends in a sense on how much trust they have in the government," says Penn State Law School professor D.H. Kaye, who tracks the issue. "Some judges say, 'What's the big deal? It's like a fingerprint.' But DNA samples contain a lot of information, and other judges say that sooner or later somebody is going to abuse the system."

Under bills before the Legislature, the state would collect DNA from people when they're arrested for nearly all felonies or for violating a domestic-violence protection order. Once a judicial officer finds that the arrest was supported by probable cause, the State Patrol crime lab could test the DNA to create a profile and enter it in a nationwide database. The cost of the measure — more than $400,000 a year — would be covered by money from traffic tickets.

Those exonerated or not charged could petition to have the crime lab destroy their sample and profile. The lab would be obligated to do so, but could run a check on the profile first.

About half the states and the federal government have similar laws.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, the highest federal court to rule on the issue so far, closely upheld the federal law 8-6 last summer in a case that could be headed for the Supreme Court. The majority found that although crime labs typically maintain the actual DNA samples, the profiles entered into the national database make up only a small portion of the information available in the sample. There's no indication that the government has any intent to use the full samples, judges said.

The judges reasoned that the government has a right to confirm the identities of the people it arrests, and there are two parts to someone's identity: who they are, and what they've done. Using the DNA profile to see if arrestees have committed other crimes is a part of the government's interest in their identities, the judges said.

The dissent argued that the government doesn't need the DNA profile to identify arrestees. Officials want to be able to conduct an intrusive search of a person's body — taking their DNA — without a warrant and without suspicion, in hopes of finding evidence unrelated to why the person was arrested.

"We do not view a finding of probable cause for one crime as sufficient justification to engage in warrantless searches of arrestees' or pretrial detainees' homes for evidence of other crimes," the dissent noted.

That's one of the analyses offered by Doug Klunder, privacy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington.

"It's collecting really sensitive information about an individual without there being reason to suspect that person of a crime," he says. "There are many ways that law enforcement could collect information that would help solve crimes. They could rifle through my house every day and maybe they'll find it, but we don't allow that without a warrant. Certainly going into my body is as intrusive as going into my house."

Read the original:
Washington considers collecting DNA upon arrest in serious crime

Anthony Dias is the poster boy for why police and prosecutors hope Washington will join a growing number of states that require people to give DNA samples as soon as they're arrested for a serious crime, rather than waiting until they're convicted.

In 2005, Dias was released on bail while facing a felony hit-and-run charge in Pierce County. He went on to commit crimes against 19 more people before the year was up, including a half-dozen rapes. If he had given a DNA sample after his hit-and-run arrest, detectives could have caught him after the first rape — not the last.

"By the time he committed his next rape crime, he could have been identified, arrested and taken off the streets," Charisa Nicholas, who was tied up and forced to watch as her roommate was raped, told lawmakers recently. "My case would have been the first case prevented."

Nevertheless, the rush to expand DNA's use in criminal investigations worries privacy advocates, and courts around the country have disagreed about whether such laws violate the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures. Many judges have found that routinely collecting DNA from convicts is OK because, among other reasons, committing a serious crime reduces their expectation of privacy. It's not clear that reasoning would extend to people who have not been convicted and who are presumed innocent.

"The way judges come out depends in a sense on how much trust they have in the government," says Penn State Law School professor DH Kaye, who tracks the issue. "Some judges say, 'What's the big deal? It's like a fingerprint.' But DNA samples contain a lot of information, and other judges say that sooner or later somebody is going to abuse the system."

Under bills before Washington's Legislature, the state would collect DNA from people when they're arrested for nearly all felonies or for violating a domestic violence protection order. Once a judicial officer finds that the arrest was supported by probable cause, the State Patrol crime lab could test the DNA to create a profile and enter that profile in a nationwide database used to help solve crimes. The cost of the measure — more than $400,000 a year — would be paid with money from traffic tickets.

If the person is exonerated or not charged, they could petition to have the crime lab destroy their sample and profile. The lab would be obligated to do so, but could run a check on the profile first.

About half the states and the federal government have similar laws.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, the highest federal court to rule on the issue so far, closely upheld the federal law 8-6 last summer in a case that could be headed for the Supreme Court. The majority found that although crime labs typically maintain the actual DNA samples, the profiles entered into the national database comprise only a small portion of the information available in the sample. There's no indication that the government has any intent to use the full samples, judges said.

The judges reasoned that the government has a right to confirm the identities of the people it arrests, and there are two parts to someone's identity: who they are, and what they've done. Using the DNA profile to see if arrestees have committed other crimes is a part of the government's interest in their identities, the judges said.

The dissent argued that the government doesn't need the DNA profile to identify arrestees. Officials want to be able to conduct an intrusive search of a person's body — taking their DNA — without a warrant and without suspicion, in hopes of finding evidence unrelated to what the person has been arrested for.

"We do not view a finding of probable cause for one crime as sufficient justification to engage in warrantless searches of arrestees' or pretrial detainees' homes for evidence of other crimes," the dissent noted.

That's one of the analyses offered by Doug Klunder, privacy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington.

"It's collecting really sensitive information about an individual without there being reason to suspect that person of a crime," he says. "There are many ways that law enforcement could collect information that would help solve crimes. They could rifle through my house every day and maybe they'll find it, but we don't allow that without a warrant. Certainly going into my body is as intrusive as going into my house."

Virginia's Supreme Court has upheld that state's law, and an appeals court in Arizona has OK'd the law there. However, California and Minnesota appeals courts have rejected their laws, and a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has yet to rule on a federal challenge to California's law, even though the arguments took place 18 months ago.

Washington's proposal could face an even tougher legal road if passed, because the state Constitution is even more protective of people's right to be free from intrusion by the government.

"There's not a definite answer on the constitutional questions," says Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist. "But the merits of this are so obvious it's worth having it go up to the courts."

___(equals)

Johnson can be reached at https://twitter.com/GeneAPseattle

View original post here:
Wash. considers collecting DNA upon arrest

Results from DNA testing on samples collected from the car of Zinah Jennings are in, but Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott says he will not comment until the first of the week when he expects to be briefed by State Law Enforcement Division agents.

“I have not seen the report,” Scott said Saturday. “SLED is finished with one portion of the preliminary results, and I will be briefed on those findings on Monday.”

Jennings, 22, is the mother of Amir Jennings, last seen Nov. 29, when he was 18-months-old.

Samples were taken from Jennings’ car in December after investigators found “stains consistent with bloodstains” on clothing and blankets. Investigators also searched a two-story house in the Waverly neighborhood where Jennings lived with her mother and Amir. They also took a swab of fluid or tissue from Zinah Jennings for DNA identification purposes.

Scott said multiple submissions were made and sent for testing in SLED’s crime lab, and only a portion of those results have come back.

In addition, he said he would not know until Monday whether the report included DNA testing from a shovel found at the home.

Amir was reported missing by his grandparents in December after Zinah Jennings wrecked her Dodge Neon in a one-car accident near her house and gave police conflicting reports of where her son might be.

Jennings has remained in jail since Dec. 29, when she was charged with unlawful conduct toward a child. Police say she has since refused to cooperate in their search for the toddler.

A request for a bond lower than the $150,000 set was recently denied. In asking a judge for a lower bond, Jennings’ attorney, Hemphill Pride II, said his client is mentally ill and pregnant.

Continued here:
DNA results in in missing toddler case

The tip of a girl’s 40,000-year-old pinky finger found in a cold Siberian cave, paired with faster and cheaper genetic sequencing technology, is helping scientists draw a surprisingly complex new picture of human origins.

The new view is fast supplanting the traditional idea that modern humans triumphantly marched out of Africa about 50,000 years ago, replacing all other types that had gone before.

Instead, the genetic analysis shows, modern humans encountered and bred with at least two groups of ancient humans in relatively recent times: the Neanderthals, who lived in Europe and Asia, dying out roughly 30,000 years ago, and a mysterious group known as the Denisovans, who lived in Asia and most likely vanished around the same time.

Their DNA lives on in us even though they are extinct. “In a sense, we are a hybrid species,” said Chris Stringer, a paleoanthropologist who is the research leader in human origins at the Natural History Museum in London.

The Denisovans (pronounced dun-EE-suh-vinz) were first described a year ago in a groundbreaking paper in the journal Nature made possible by genetic sequencing of the girl’s pinky bone and of an oddly shaped molar from a young adult.

Those findings have unleashed a spate of new analyses.

Scientists are trying to envision the ancient couplings and their consequences: when and where they took place, how they happened, how many produced offspring and what effect the archaic genes have on humans today.

Other scientists are trying to learn more about the Denisovans: who they were, where they lived and how they became extinct.

A revolutionary increase in the speed and a decline in the cost of gene-sequencing technology have enabled scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, to map the genomes of both the Neanderthals and the Denisovans.

Comparing genomes, scientists concluded that today’s humans outside Africa carry an average of 2.5 per cent Neanderthal DNA, and that people from parts of Oceania also carry about 5 per cent Denisovan DNA. A study published in November found that Southeast Asians carry about 1 per cent Denisovan DNA in addition to their Neanderthal genes. It is unclear whether Denisovans and Neanderthals also interbred.

A third group of extinct humans, Homo floresiensis, nicknamed “the hobbits” because they were so small, also walked the earth until about 17,000 years ago. It is not known whether modern humans bred with them because the hot, humid climate of the Indonesian island of Flores, where their remains were found, impairs the preservation of DNA.

This means that our modern era, since H. floresiensis died out, is the only time in the four million-year human history that just one type of human has been alive, said David Reich, a geneticist at Harvard Medical School who was the lead author of the Nature paper on the Denisovans.

For many scientists, the epicentre of the emerging story on human origins is the Denisova cave in the Altai Mountains of Siberia, where the girl’s finger bone was discovered. It is the only known place on the planet where three types of humans — Denisovan, Neanderthal and modern — lived, probably not all at once.

John Hawks, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, whose lab is examining the archaic genomes, visited the cave in July. It has a high arched roof like a Gothic cathedral and a chimney to the sky, he said, adding that being there was like walking in the footsteps of our ancestors.

The cave has been open to the elements for a quarter of a million years and is rich with layers of sediments that may contain other surprises. Some of its chambers are unexplored, and excavators are still finding human remains that are not yet identified. The annual average temperature, 32 F (0 C), bodes well for the preservation of archaic DNA.

Could this cave have been one of the spots where the ancient mating took place? Hawks said it was possible.

But Reich and his team have determined through the patterns of archaic DNA replications that a small number of half-Neanderthal, half-modern human hybrids walked the earth between 46,000 and 67,000 years ago. The half-Denisovan, half-modern humans that contributed to our DNA were more recent.

Peter Parham, an immunologist at Stanford University School of Medicine, has used an analysis of modern and ancient immune-system genetic components — alleles — to figure out that one of the Denisovan-modern couplings most likely took place in what is now southeastern China. He has also found some evidence that a Neanderthal-modern pair mated in west Asia.

He stressed, however, that his study was just the first step in trying to reconstruct where the mating took place.

Parham’s analysis, which shows that some archaic immune alleles are widespread among modern humans, concludes that as few as six couplings all those tens of thousands of years ago might have led to the current level of ancient immune alleles.

Another paper, by Mathias Currat and Laurent Excoffier, two Swiss geneticists, suggests that breeding between Neanderthals and modern humans was rare. Otherwise, they say, modern humans would have far more Neanderthal DNA.

Were they romantic couplings? More likely they were aggressive acts between competing human groups, Stringer said. For a model, he pointed to modern hunter-gatherer groups that display aggressive behaviour among tribes.

The value of the interbreeding shows up in the immune system, Parham’s analysis suggests. The Neanderthals and Denisovans had lived in Europe and Asia for many thousands of years before modern humans showed up and had developed ways to fight the diseases there, he said.

When modern humans mated with them, they got an injection of helpful genetic immune material, so useful that it remains in the genome today. This suggests that modern humans needed the archaic DNA to survive.

The downside of archaic immune material is that it may be responsible for autoimmune diseases such as diabetes, arthritis and multiple sclerosis, Parham said, stressing these are preliminary results.

Although little is known about the Denisovans — the only remains so far are the pinky bone and the tooth, and there are no artifacts such as tools — Reich and others suggest they were once scattered widely across Asia, from the cold northern cave to the tropical south. The evidence is that modern populations in Oceania, including aboriginal Australians, carry Denisovan genes.

Reich and others suggest the interbreeding that led to this phenomenon probably occurred in the south, rather than in Siberia. If so, the Denisovans were more widely dispersed than Neanderthals, and possibly more successful.

But the questions of how many Denisovans there were and how they became extinct have yet to be answered. Right now, as Reich put it, they are “a genome in search of an archeology.”

New York Times News Service

See more here:
DNA turning our story into tell-all

A "significant DNA link" convinced prosecutors Friday to drop charges against a man accused of killing his mother and older brother in October and instead has connected suspected serial killer Itzcoatl Ocampo to the crimes.

At a hastily called evening news conference, Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas said Eder Herrera, 24, would be released from Orange County Jail and that two additional murder charges would be filed against Ocampo on Monday.

However, he cautioned, "We're not saying that Mr. Herrera is not guilty."

Ocampo, 23, is already accused of fatally stabbing four homeless men in northern Orange County, what authorities say was part of a weeks-long stabbing rampage that began days before Christmas and ended with his arrest Jan. 13. One victim was stabbed more than 60 times.

Rackauckas noted similarities between the deaths of the homeless men and the Oct. 25 slayings of Raquel Estrada, 53, and her older son, Juan Herrera, 34, at their Yorba Linda home. Estrada was stabbed more than 30 times while Herrera had more than 60 wounds.

He also said DNA found on items taken from Ocampo's Yorba Linda home matched a profile from the double homicide.

"This case has now expanded from murdering random vulnerable strangers to murdering people he knew," Rackauckas said.

Eder Herrera and Ocampo were classmates, Rackauckas said, graduating together in 2006 from Esperanza High School in Anaheim.

In addition, Ocampo lived about a mile from the Herrera home.

According to a friend who has knowledge of the case, Ocampo visited the Herrera home days before the killings to spend time with his buddies.

The friend, who requested anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said Ocampo's perplexing mental state was noted.

Rackauckas said Estrada's body was found in the kitchen. Prosecutors believe that Juan Herrera tried to escape out the front door, where police found a large amount of pooled blood.

His body was found in the hallway of the home. Investigators did not find evidence of forced entry.

At 11:30 p.m., Brea police responded to a 911 call from an unidentified person who said they heard strange noises coming from the home.

Eder Herrera, who owned a small business with his older brother, was arrested the next morning as he drove away from a friend's house. Last month, he pleaded not guilty to the crimes.

Rackauckas said Friday that there had been "significant evidence" resulting in charges against Herrera.

On that night, Herrera was driving randomly in the area with a friend. "His behavior was in general suspicious," Rackauckas said.

In addition, a witness saw a person he believed to be Eder Herrera dragging something from the front door threshold back inside.

Also, near the spot where the anonymous 911 call was placed, surveillance video showed a person who looked like Herrera walking, wearing shoes with a distinctive side pattern that looked like the shoes he was wearing when he was arrested.

Rackauckas said Herrera also made no effort to check on his mother and brother, despite driving by the crime scene with his friend and seeing police cars in front of the home.

That friend urged Herrera to call his family members on their cellphones. They didn't answer.

A task force continued to investigate the crimes, but Rackauckas said that as of Friday afternoon, that there was "no longer sufficient evidence to hold Mr. Herrera in custody."

At 4:45 p.m., charges were dismissed against Herrera, who was facing 52 years to life in prison, but Rackauckas said that the "door is open" regarding new charges.

Randall Longwith, Ocampo's attorney, said he had not spoken with his client regarding the latest charges. "To me, it doesn't fit," he said.

Ocampo will be arraigned Monday morning.

The homeless murders shot fear through the transient community and were the first serial killings to shock the region in more than two decades.

After Ocampo's arrest, family and friends recalled how he apparently had sympathy for the poor and, despite being unemployed and broke, donated to the homeless.

They also said after he was discharged from the Marines in June 2010, he seemed different.

nicole.santacruz@latimes.com

More:
DNA key in case against Ocampo, D.A. says

Advances in DNA technology are helping police catch criminals and prosecutors see that justice is served, an Abilene Police Department official says.

A state combined DNA index system, or CODIS, is helping police solve crimes with DNA evidence left behind at crime scenes.

DNA is traced through blood evidence, fibers and touch DNA, such as latent fingerprints said Abilene Police Department Sgt. Mike Moschetto, who works in the criminal investigation division.

Blood, he said, usually is left behind at burglary crime scenes, often when broken glass is involved in the entry of homes or vehicles.

"Criminals are shedding skin and leaving it behind on the scene, and we're using science to piece it together," Moschetto said. "It's catching our criminals. All of this is done outside Abilene and it's not the quickest process, but it has helped us solve cases tremendously."

Whenever DNA is collected, the evidence is sent to a Texas Department of Public Safety lab in Austin that is responsible for keeping a computerized database of DNA.

If a DNA match occurs, the results then are sent back to the agency that requested the evidence. As of December 2011, the lab has aided in 9,413 investigations in Texas and holds offender profiles on 591,816 people since its program launch in 1998.

Although statewide statistics are accessible through the programs website, local numbers are not available, said Rebecca Vieh, CODIS program liaison.

The latest match, Moschetto said, might lead to a man already in prison being charged in an unsolved Abilene burglary. All leads in the case had been exhausted until this year when Moschetto was told blood left at the scene of the crime returned a hit against a man now behind bars in Arizona.

"It initially didn't hit because he had never been arrested before," Moschetto said. "He's now locked up in Arizona and when they updated the database, it flagged that there was a possible match."

The next step, said Moschetto, is to secure a warrant against the man to run a subsequent DNA test for verification.

"It always depends on the circumstance, but it's always right," he said. "I haven't seen an instance where the DNA was wrong if it points to the individual. ... It's an interesting process. This technology will continue to grow as time goes on."

View original post here:
DNA advances aiding Abilene police in cases

31-01-2012 04:31 CAUTION: IF YOU ARE NOT READY FOR THIS ACTIVATION AND ALIGNMENT DO NOT WATCH! EVERYONE MAY REACT DIFFERENTLY AND MAY FEEL LIGHT HEADED AFTERWARD. PLEASE KEEP THIS IN MIND. In this video, the Goddess Inanna brings to you her message and a divine activation of your DNA through her representative on earth, Helen Demetriou. Please visit Helen's website at: http://www.angeltouchcyprus.com Join her FB page http://www.facebook.com Music by: http://www.zero-project.gr

Continue reading here:
DNA Activation

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- GeneTree.com today unveiled the Family Consultation Service, an in-depth examination of genealogical and DNA data that is designed to assist avid genealogists with established family groups and those trying to identify ancestors in specific family lines.

To accent the Family Consultation service, GeneTree.com is offering a new DNA test, known as Y-19. The Y-19 test provides testing of additional DNA markers beyond the 46 markers typically used for ancestral testing, and brings an added layer of knowledge in identifying whether distant ancestors were siblings, cousins or even second cousins.

“We call the Y-19 test ‘the differentiator,’” said Scott Woodward, president of GeneTree.com. “We often recommend the test after a Family Consultation because it can provide so much additional detail about the relationship between a person’s ancestors and help narrow down research to specific genealogical lines.”

The Family Consultation Service comes at a point as more people turn to DNA testing in establishing their family lines. Yet understanding DNA data and how it fits in family history research can present a challenge even to the most experienced genealogists.

“GeneTree’s Family Consultation Service combines genetic data and genealogy work and shows how the two come together,” Woodward said. “Genetics are a relatively new science that can be extremely useful to genealogists, yet so many people get DNA tests and don’t know how to apply it to their family history research. This Family Consultation Service helps remove much of that mystery.”

Angela Taylor, a Utah resident, recently used the Family Consultation Service in interpreting her genealogical DNA data.

“Before the consultation, my data was just a bunch of numbers,” Taylor said. “GeneTree was able to able to walk me through the information and give me understanding of things that I didn’t know. This has opened up an entirely new world.”

After the consultation, Taylor elected to have the Y-19 test identify specific relationships between three of her ancestors who, in the mid-1800s, together migrated from Ireland to America. Taylor already knew that one of the men was her great-great grandfather. With GeneTree.com’s Y-19 test, she learned that her great-great grandfather traveled to America with his brother and a cousin.

The Family Consultation Service will be showcased at this year’s RootsTech family history conference in Salt Lake City Feb. 2-4 at the Salt Palace Convention Center. At the conference, GeneTree.com will offer free 10-minute consultations.

“People put a lot of money into DNA testing and into genealogy, but they are not doing a good job of combining the two,” Woodward added. “Many genealogists don’t know how to get the most out of the interpretation. For instance, there is a lot you can learn by one single little mutation that two people share. There are a lot of people who need someone to look at their genealogical DNA data and tell them what it means. GeneTree.com can help people design the right DNA test, interpret the results and point you in the right directions.”

Pricing and Availability

The Family Consultation Service starts at $49.99 and the Y-19 test is available for $94.99. To order a test or consultation, contact 866-740-6362.

About GeneTree.com

GeneTree.com (www.genetree.com), a wholly owned subsidiary of the non-profit Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, is a leading provider of genetic and family history services that unlock peoples' ancestral legacy. Powered by the world's largest, most comprehensive repository of genetic and genealogical information, GeneTree.com's best-in-class genetic testing, genetic genealogy consulting and family history research enables individuals and extended families alike to dramatically extend their families.

Read the original post:
GeneTree.com Unveils New Family Consultation Service in Interpreting Genealogical DNA Data

SALT LAKE CITY—Salt Lake City homicide detectives are seeking a DNA sample from a Colorado man in hopes they can thaw out the 17-year-old cold case of a man shot dead at a party.

A warrant seeks DNA from a Fort Collins man who had been interviewed in the months after John Wollshleger, 30, of Sandy was found shot in the head and lying in the bed of a pickup truck in July 1995.

In an interview in Wyoming, the man told detectives Wollshleger was shot at a party before another man dragged him by the feet and tossed him in a truck. Wollshleger was later found by two ambulance workers.

Detectives followed up in March with the man, who had moved to Colorado. He initially said he didn't remember the event, but later said he knew some details. After the interview, he refused to give a DNA sample.

Police interviewed another witness in April who said she believed Wollshleger had come to the party to buy cocaine. She said her boyfriend and another man dragged the body to a truck, and her boyfriend drove off to discard it.

Police collected a DNA sample from the woman's boyfriend, but it didn't match the DNA they'd found on Wollshleger's socks and shoes.

A warrant filed in December in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court seeks samples from three men thought to be at the party.

Read this article:
SLC police seek DNA match in 1995 cold case death

1 February 2012 Last updated at 20:07 ET

Scientists have failed to find any evidence that "big cats" killed two roe deer found dead in Gloucestershire.

The National Trust commissioned DNA tests after finding one deer on its land at Woodchester Park, in Stroud, and one a few miles away last month.

Warwick University experts said they had only found DNA relating to foxes and deer on the bodies of the animals.

Forty-five samples were tested for the saliva of any dog or cat-related species.

The National Trust had initially said the carcasses, which were found within a week of each other, had been eaten in a way "thought to be highly indicative of big cat activity".

'Local curiosity'

Tests found fox DNA on both carcasses.

David Armstrong, head ranger for the National Trust in Gloucestershire, said: "The story of the investigation of the dead deer has really sparked local curiosity with a lot of people coming out to Woodchester Park to explore.

"People love a mystery like this and although we haven't found a wild cat, many of our visitors clearly believe there might be something interesting living quietly hidden in Woodchester."

Rick Minter, a big cat researcher in Gloucestershire, said he still believed something could be out there, despite what the tests had revealed.

However, he said the latest research had been a "valuable input to this exercise".

He added: "The strong media interest suggests an appetite to look into this subject further, and recent community surveys in Gloucestershire have indicated a strong desire for big cat evidence to be researched carefully."

Read the rest here:
DNA rules out Cotswolds 'big cat'

It took Richard Nixon to go to China, Bill Clinton to reform welfare and state Rep. Jeannie Darneille to push House Bill 2588.

That legislation, which passed out of the Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness Committee Tuesday, would require DNA samples to be collected from everyone booked for major felonies and two gross misdemeanors (stalking and violating a protection order).

Currently in this state, DNA samples are only taken upon conviction of major crimes. But in about half the other states, DNA is taken when a suspect is booked and then is entered into state and federal databases to see if it gets any matching “hits.” That system has led to solving numerous cold cases and even clearing the names of people wrongly convicted of crimes.

Darneille, a Tacoma Democrat and card-carrying member of the ACLU, has long been a champion of the underdog. She worked for years to make it easier for ex-cons to get back their voting rights, and she’s quick to challenge any proposed legislation that she thinks might have racist undertones or raise privacy concerns.

Back when she was chair of the House General Government Appropriations Committee, she shot down a previous version of the DNA sample bill she is now prime-sponsoring. After attending a seminar on the topic and doing more research, she says she had an “epiphany.” Now she understands how important taking DNA samples upon booking could be in solving cold cases, preventing new crimes, cutting law enforcement and judicial system costs, and eliminating innocent people from suspicion and even incarceration.

But what about privacy concerns? Because Washington’s constitution has been interpreted to offer greater privacy protection than the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, Darneille says HB 2588 does something most other states don’t: It stipulates that the collected DNA can only be entered into state and federal databases after judicial review. At arraignment, a judge determines if there is probable cause for charging the suspect. If that happens, the DNA sample can be processed.

Suspects who are found not guilty or whose charges are reduced to a misdemeanor can ask that their DNA sample be destroyed and expunged from the DNA identification system.

The added cost of swabbing suspects’ cheeks for DNA and processing samples would be paid for by diverting 50 cents out of the $10 from every traffic ticket that goes to the Auto Theft Prevention Authority Account. That account is administered by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, which supports HB 2588.

This legislation would be an important tool for law enforcement, helping ensure that those who have committed crimes will answer for them and those who have been wrongly accused will be exonerated. It deserves passage this session.

Original post:
DNA-collection bill addresses civil-liberties concerns

24-01-2012 14:26 http://www.TheBeeShine.com

Originally posted here:
Charlie Clips speaks on KOTD, Dizaster, DNA,

24-01-2012 06:06 Sharon-Ann Riley channels the Galactic Federation of Light. The GFL discuss Cosmic triggers demolishing old mind control programs, slave encodings, family dna karma release. Sharon-Ann Riley is a Galactic Ambassador whose role is to empower humanity to trust its divinity and spiritual knowingness.She has experienced ET visitations and UFO encounters throughout her life. She is an incarnated Galactic Federation Ascended Master and Blue Ray Star Seed. Her role is to prepare Humanity for its galactic re-emergence. Sharon assists the Galactic Federation, Cosmic / multidimensional beings and Mother Gaia with Earth Healing. She is guided to various places around the world to channel energy and activate the land by the Great Mother and Galactic Federation. http://www.sharonannriley.com Email: info@sharonannriley.com Written Transcript: http://www.sharonannriley.com The above transcript is copyrighted to http://www.sharonannriley.com . Posting on websites is permitted as long as the information is not altered and credit to ©2011 Sharon-Ann Riley and website is included. For all publications / syndications please contact info@sharonannriley.com

Continued here:
Releasing DNA fear codes,Galactic Federation of Light, Sharon-Ann Riley, 2 February 2012 - Video

28-01-2012 06:10 uploaded by Killuminatithemovie with clips from the "esoteric agenda" Please visit my channel and Subscribe Izabelab@rocketmail.com Anastasia Beavenhouser on FB. new paradigm 2012 shamanism shift cleansing 2012 mother earth climatic disaster pole shift end time new world new earth hopi prophecy 2012 December Dec 21st 2012 Apocalypse end world Rapture time asteroids Nostradamus native american calentamiento end of world end of the world as we know it end of paradigm new paradigm change Extreme Weather Patterns Maya END OF THE WORLD DOOMS DAY NEW AGE change evoloution shift timewave zero terence mckenna 2012 sightings nostradamus dimensional shift omega dedroidify Mayan Calendar Apocalypse Pinchbeck i ching prophecies prophecy alien ufo illuminati solar radiation Harmonic Convergence Great Shift cosmic cycle Pleiades The Photon belt Great Shift the wave of love red elk Galactic Federation solstice quetzalcoatl Pahana global warming pleiades orion singularity quantum revelations spirituality vision quest Apocalypse Armageddon endtime rapture apocalypto thunderbeing films ken thornton post 2012 emergence planetary ET Pleiadian wayshowers WWIII alycone indigo galactic yoga sacred geometry pineal ufo phi om fifth 5th sun gloabl shift Pleiades bloodline David Icke lightworkers seer photons cosmic arcturian alignment enlightenment 5th dimenson mass awakening great awakening wayshower way shower heyoka light cosmic rays sun ascended indigo children 2012 milky way ken thornton ...

Go here to see the original:
Sacred Geometry DNA changes 2012 Mollecular Atom Consciousness.mp4 - Video

01-02-2012 03:13 Bioline's Senior Global Product Manager, Dr Steve Hawkins, runs through the features, benefits and specially formulated novel buffer system of MyTaq DNA Polymerase. About MyTaq The MyTaq DNA Polymerase product range is a new generation of very high performance PCR products developed by Bioline: The PCR Company, specifically designed to deliver outstanding results on all templates, including complex genomic DNA. MyTaq is based on the latest technology in PCR enzyme preparation, engineered to increase affinity for DNA, resulting in significant improvements to yield, sensitivity and speed. The enzyme is supplied with an industry-leading novel buffer system, specifically formulated and validated for the unique properties of MyTaq, making it the perfect choice for all of your PCR assays. For more information please see: bioline.com

Read more from the original source:
MyTaq DNA Polymerase - Product Overview, Features

30-01-2012 19:22 Penn Research Finds Genetic Link Between Native Americans, Russian Region Artifacts show that humans were living in North America 15000 years ago; they reached the tip of South America over the next 2000 years. Using techniques akin to DNA fingerprinting, scientists have continued to gather evidence that the majority of current native people of North and South America derive their ancestry from Asia. University of Pennsylvania researcher Theodore Schurr's group focused on two types of DNA - mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down in eggs and traces maternal lines, and the Y chromosome, which is passed down through male lines. The Y chromosome analysis took advantage of non-coding regions, which are not part of genes and which are used in criminal forensics to match suspects to crime scenes. These DNA regions differ from one person to another, Schurr said. The more such quirks people share, the more recently they are likely to have had a common ancestry. Schurr said his group had collected about 1500 DNA samples from Native Americans, as well as 750 from people in the Altai. The researchers also compared DNA from people from other parts of Asia. The scientists can use groups of variations on the Y chromosome to identify specific human male lineages, and variations in mitochondrial DNA to trace female lineages. Male lineages called Q, and a subset of Q called Q-M3, appear widespread in Native Americans and are thought to have come from a founder population. Both also appear ...

See the original post:
# 1146 Native Americans DNA Linked to Altai from Russia - Video