Daily Archives: August 6, 2022

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Ancient DNA reveals phenological diversity of Coast Salish herring harvests over multiple centuries | Scientific Reports - Nature.com

Its not likely, but it seems like there may have been a breakthrough in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. According to Fox News, there is a growing push to test DNA from the murder of Ramsey. This could finally close the cold case.

According to Fox News, JonBenet Ramseys brother is asking Colorados governor to open up the DNA evidence from the case to a new agency for further testing. Parabon NanoLabs is known for using advanced technology to research cold cases and old cases that didnt have the luxury of DNA testing.

CeCe Moore, the chief genetic genealogist at Parabon, recently sat down for an interview with Australias 60 Minutes. In the interview, she revealed that Parabons methods could identify DNA from a crime scene within a few hours.

There are people all over the world that want her killer brought to justice, who want to know what happened and who want the answers, Moore said. Parabon also recently made headlines by helping to solve a cold murder case in Pennsylvania back in July. Prosecutors confirmed that DNA helped bring charges against David Sinopoli in connection to the 1975 murder of Lindy Sue Beichler.

This arrest would not have been possible without the assistance of CeCe Moore and Parabon NanoLabs, Lancaster DA Heather Adams said in the aftermath. We are incredibly grateful for the work that they do and their commitment to securing justice for victims and their loved ones.

Cindy Smit-Marra, the daughter of late detective Lou Smit, and investigator John Anderson are pushing for Boulder police to look into the DNA testing again.

We request that the lab that did the testing on the long johns use their current technology to potentially identify more markers and/or separate any comingled DNA, the pair said. This would simply take a phone call from the Boulder Police Department.

Smit-Marras father left behind a lot of clues that could help solve the case, even though the suspect was never found.

All this said, Boulder police maintains they are still testing and looking into the case. The Boulder Police Department regularly meets with multiple entities regarding this investigation, to include private labs, the FBI, CBI, the District Attorneys Office and others, the department wrote on social media in response to criticism.

In this ever- and quick-changing field of DNA analysis and testing, we are constantly speaking with these investigative stakeholders to evaluate how best to proceed given legal and scientific rules and limiations. Due to the length of time since this crime first occurred, Boulder police must be extremely cautious with handling of evidence and analysis.

John Andrew Ramsey noticed the police officers comments and celebrated them for breaking their silence. However, he quickly pointed out the issues with their details.So here is the issuethey talk a big game but every feeler I got out there tells me otherwise. Not to mention a terrible track record, Ramsey wrote. Do you give them the benefit of the doubt?

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Home News JonBenet Ramsey Murder: Police Urged to Retest DNA Due to Breakthrough in Investigation

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JonBenet Ramsey Murder: Police Urged to Retest DNA Due to Breakthrough in Investigation - FanFest News

Back in 2019, a US Navy officer warned against the use of at-home ancestry test kits. Be careful who you send your DNA to, said Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John Richardson, during a speech on nuclear deterrence in Washington, DC. Theres a number of those companies where you can go and find out what your makeup is. Thats a lot of information. You learn a lot about yourself and so does the company [that]s doing it.

According to a study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at the time, more than 26 million people had taken at-home ancestry tests. Based on the rate at which the public was purchasing the kits, this number was predicted to jump to at least 100 million by 2021.

Fast forward to 2022, a US House Intelligence Committee member has now reiterated these warnings by highlighting how information collected by DNA-testing companies like MyHeritage, Ancestry.com and 23andMe could be used to develop bioweapons targeting specific groups of Americans or even individuals.

Representative Jason Crow made the comments during an appearance at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, saying many Americans are far too willing to give up their DNA information to private companies.

You can actually take someones DNA, you know, their medical profile, and you can target a biological weapon that will kill that person or take them off the battlefield or make them inoperable, Crow said, as noted by Axios. You cant have a discussion about this without talking about privacy in commercial data and the protection of commercial data, because expectations of privacy have degraded over the last 20 years. The lawmaker also added how younger generations have very little expectation of privacy, as per polling data.

People will very rapidly spit into a cup and send it to 23andMe and get really interesting data about their backgroundand guess what? Their DNA is now owned by a private company, he continued. It can be sold off with very little intellectual property protection or privacy protection, and we dont have legal and regulatory regimes that deal with that. That data is actually going to be procured and collected by our adversaries for the development of these systems.

In July 2022, the Washington Examiner reported how privately-owned databases could be easily leveraged to create bioweapons like the ones touted by Crow. The publication explained that DNA belonging to a target, or even a close relative of a target, could be stolen and used to develop a biological weapon effective only against that person. The technology hence harbours the unsettling potential to initiate highly-targeted assassination programmes while also making it harder for killers to be tracked downsimilar to the horrific case of genetic paparazzi who are predicted to start stealing genetic material of public figures for reproductory and other nefarious purposes.

According to Senator Joni Ernst, such scientific advancements can be equally dangerous if they are designed to target only a certain breed of farm animal or crop rather than humans. Highly pathogenic avian influenza, African swine feverall of these things have circulated around the globe, but if targeted by an adversary, we know that it brings about food insecurity, she said at the Aspen Security Forum. Food insecurity drives a lot of other insecurities around the globe.

The lawmaker continued by stating how theres a need to make sure were not only securing human beings from the genetic threat but also the organic supplies that will sustain us. Ernst also believes food will be increasingly weaponised in the future as she pointed out how Russia has already armed the same in the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Although 23andMe has repeatedly stated that it does not sell the private information of its customers, the Daily Mail noted how other DNA companies have previously provided databases to law enforcement upon request. Meanwhile, several startups have also cropped up on the genomic horizonincluding dating app digiD8 which allows users to match with potential love interests based on information about their genes.

Heck, 23andMe has itself offered users the chance to go from a curious trip down ancestry lane online to a literal trip down ancestry lane by partnering and sharing data with Airbnbultimately using DNA to capitalise on heritage travel. Taking all of this into consideration, the concept of bioterrorism by leveraging online DNA databases doesnt seem so far-fetched anymore in 2022.

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US lawmakers warn 23andMe could lead to bioweapons that kill people based on their DNA - Screen Shot

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was killed in a CIA drone strike in Afghanistan over the weekend according to U.S. officials, appears in an undated FBI Most Wanted poster. FBI/Handout via REUTERS

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WASHINGTON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - The United States has no DNA confirmation of the death of al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in the heart of Kabul, a White House spokesman on Tuesday, but verified his identity through other sources.

"We do not have DNA confirmation. We're not going to get that confirmation. Quite frankly, based on based on multiple sources and methods that we've gathered information from, we don't need it," White House national security spokesman John Kirby said in an interview with CNN.

"We have visual confirmation, but we also have confirmation through other sources."

Kirby also said there was a small al Qaeda presence remaining in Afghanistan.

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Reporting by Doina Chiacu;Editing by Andrew Cawthorne

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U.S. has no DNA on Zawahiri, confirmed death by other sources - White House - Reuters.com

The Bombay High Court recently rejected the bail plea of father of two kids for raping and impregnating a minor house help and said, "DNA test cannot be said to be conclusive evidence regarding a rape, but it can only be used as corroborative evidence."

A single bench of Justice Bharati Dangre was hearing a bail application by Abbas Ali who was arrested on September 11, 2020. He has been charged with rape, punishment for criminal intimidation and punishment for penetrative sexual assault and aggravated penetrative sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act .

Ali had approached a labourer living in the slums her 14-year-old daughter, asking for assistance for his wife and their two children. The minor girl started soon started work at Alis house, everyday from morning till 8.00 p.m. in the night.

However, soon thereafter she complained of stomach pain and disclosed that Ali was committing forcible sexual intercourse with her for 10 days when his wife had been out of town. In her statement to the police, the victim said he used to pay her 200 everyday and promised to marry her if she did not disclose anything.

After lockdown when the victime got pregnant, Ali's wife learnt about it and took her to the hospital for an abortion, but it could not take place, as she was already seven months pregnant.

The court recorded, "The DNA analysis excludes Ali as the father of the child, but that does not discredit the statement of the girl who has repeatedly said that Ali had forcible sexual intercourse with her which resulted in the pregnancy. There is no reason to disbelieve her testimony. The DNA test cannot be said to be conclusive evidence regarding a rape, but it can only be used as corroborative evidence."

The bench rejected Ali's bail and said, "considering the precarious situation of the victim's family there is every likelihood of them being pressurised."

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Bombay HC: DNA test cannot be said to be conclusive evidence in rape case - The Hindu

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) -- A gleaming new five-story building appears finished at the corner of South White and Gravier Streets, sitting between the New Orleans Police Department headquarters and the Orleans Parish District Attorneys office.

It was supposed to be opened years ago. Its far behind schedule, said Skip Gallagher, a New Orleans resident and independent NOPD watchdog.

The NOPDs new $25 million crime lab remains unopened. Its a facility that could be extremely valuable in solving some of the citys most violent crimes.

It really disturbs me, because if youre trying to catch serial criminals, you dont have the evidence to show that they are connected to other events or other crimes, Gallagher said.

Gallagher knows the impact DNA can have on cases. Hes a chemist, and taught forensic science for more than 10 years.

Absolutely, I think its a crisis, he said.

According to the NOPD, right now most DNA exhibits are stored -- untested -- in a Central Evidence and Processing warehouse. The NOPD says about 73,000 samples are waiting in there.

Related coverage

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Zurik: Over 70,000 DNA samples sit untested in NOPD evidence collection

The NOPD has lacked the capacity to test DNA samples in-house since before Hurricane Katrina. Instead, DNA samples are sent to the Louisiana State Police lab in Baton Rouge, but theres a statewide backlog waiting there.

Right now, were sitting in line with everyone else in the state lab that can run the samples that they have now, Gallagher.

Back in May, the NOPD had 670 DNA samples waiting to be processed. The new crime lab could be critical in easing that backlog, but the department is far from ready.

The NOPD told Fox 8 it has been moving in equipment and hiring people. It hopes to open the new lab for at least ballistics, fingerprint and other testing before the end of the year. But until it is a nationally accredited DNA lab, it will not be able to provide genetic evidence that could be crucial to making successful arrests and prosecutions.

So, while at some point in the near future, we may have the bright, shiny new building, we dont have the equipment or the people to put in that building, Gallagher said.

DNA analysts will have to be hired, trained and certified, and that will take time and money. New Orleans City Councilwoman Lesli Harris authored an ordinance back in March requiring that to happen.

The first step is hiring a director of the crime lab, and that has not happened yet, Harris said in a statement Tuesday. Only once that director and a trained deputy (superintendent) are in place can the NOPD move toward securing equipment, bringing in staff and moving swiftly toward accreditation.

It appears it could take years before the NOPD will be able to test DNA samples in its own crime lab.

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It could be years before NOPD can test DNA evidence in its own new crime lab - FOX 8 Local First

DETROIT (WXYZ)Black adults in the United States are more likely than any other group to see race as central to their identity. For many of those Americans, descended from enslaved Africans, the roots of their identity through ancestry remains a mystery.

When enslaved people were captured from the continent and brought to the Americas, they lost their names, they lost their languages, they lost the freedom to honor their ancestors, said Gina Paige, President and Co-founder of AfricanAncestry.com.

Today those ancestors descendants are on a quest to reclaim what was taken all those years ago.

I can only go so far back in my family as far as my great grandparents on one side and grandparents on the other side, and that was not enough for me, said Evan Chaney, researching his family history.

Unlike his grandparents, Evan could use DNA to pick up, where the paper trail had ended- a test through Africanancestry.com that could trace his roots back hundreds of years to a specific country and ethnic group.

I learned that on my mother's side I'm the Tikar, Hausa Fulani out of Cameroon, said Chaney.

WXYZs Ameera David asked, What was your reaction when you saw that?"

You feel a sense of home, and sense of belonging, said Chaney.

Black Americans across the country jumping on the ancestry wagon -the uptick reflected in the numbers - African ancestry noted a 35 percent boost in test takers between 2019 and 2021.

Whats your sense as to why were seeing more people interested in connecting with their roots and learning more about their origin? asked David.

Thats like the missing link in our heritage and it directly impacts our identity, said Kefentse Chike, Wayne State University Assistant Professor of African American studies.

Professor Kefentse Chike says the desire has always been there but does believe upward trends are tied to current events.

Of course, the killings of African American men and I think this kind of came to a height or a pinnacle with the death of George Floyd, said Chike.

A boost in popularity is thought to be a response to the perceived systemic oppression of Black Americans today that began when their ancestors were first brought into the country.

We weren't supposed to know where we were from, we were supposed to leave and never come back so this is an act of resistance, said Paige.

Today, knowledge is evolving into action. The pursuit to uncover lost lineage pushes diasporas to return.

We just came back. We remembered where we were from.

That includes Chaney, who for the first time this year, traveled to West Africa- to Ghana, an experience so transformative, he now has plans in motion to move there permanently.

The atmosphere was beautiful, culture was beautiful- people are beautiful. Heard my ancestors Its time for you to come home, you need to come home, said Chaney.

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Discovering your African roots through DNA testing is tracing roots back hundreds of years - WXYZ 7 Action News Detroit

In recent times, we have all experienced the value of diagnostics used in the comfort and ease of our own homes. Imagine if we could look for other infectious diseases just as easily, with less invasive, self-administered, highly accurate, and reliable tests. Such tests would be highly valuable for patients where privacy is a concern, for patients in rural regions, and for rapidly screening large groups at venues and events. With the convergence of advances in telehealth and biotechnology, this is the direction that the diagnostics industry is heading towards.

By far the most challenging issue for diagnostics developers is the issue of sample preparation. For NAATs to run, nucleic acids must be isolated from the sample's debris of cell material. In blood samples, there is extra debris from red blood cells and platelets. Lab-based PCR fractions off the nucleic acids from debris using large centrifuge machinery. However, at-home diagnostic devices cannot afford to be so generous with equipment. One popular approach several diagnostic players have turned to is the use of magnetic beads to isolate the nucleic acid. These magnetic beads are biofunctionalized with antibodies on their surfaces that will bind to all nucleic acids. The isolated nucleic acid can then be immobilized temporarily by a magnet, and the remaining debris in the sample can be washed away. Magnetic beads are very effective for small devices designed for the home, but they are expensive. Alternative sample preparation solutions exist, such as sonication methods but these trade off with other limitations, such as a need for a power source.

Conventional PCR relies on a heating system that rapidly cycles through high and low temperatures to denature nucleic acids, opening them up for the amplification reaction to take place. In recent decades, players have turned to using isothermal NAATs, techniques that only use one temperature, to eliminate this constraint. There are many types of isothermal techniques, with the most used being loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), yet many industry players will use their own patented amplification chemistries. What these isothermal techniques have in common is the use of a polymerase with strand-displacement properties to replace the role of temperature in opening the nucleic acids. LAMP and other isothermal techniques are fast to amplify and eliminate the design issues of high temperatures. These technologies still have some challenges to solve, like issues with non-specific amplification (the amplification of unwanted DNA), which increases the risk of false positives in the test. These isothermal techniques also still require a small heating element (LAMP, for instance, runs at 60 degrees Celsius). Nevertheless, players are already optimizing their chemistries for room temperature.

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Three Technologies Taking DNA Diagnostics Into the Home - Printed Electronics World

MUMBAI: Aanchal Khurana is currently seen playing the role of Brinda Shkehawat in Sony TV's show Bade Achhe Lagte Hain 2.

The actress has been a pivotal part of the show and shares a great bond with Ram.

Brinda is someone who has always extended her support to Ram and Priya in every matter.

But now, as the show has taken the leap, Ram and Priya have separated but Brinda is still in support of Ram.

Brinda's character has seen a lot of changes as the show's story has progressed.

Well, we all know that Ram is still unaware that Pihu is his daughter.

Not just Ram, even his friends Vikrant, Aditya, Brinda and Kunal are also unaware of this big truth.

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE! BALH 2 fame Aanchal Khurana opens up about getting typecast, says, ''Till now, I get calls only for negative characters''

Nandini, Vedika and Shubham don't want Ram to know about Pihu's truth at any cost as it will ruin their plan.

Well, we all know that Ram's friends have been his backbone and supported him through thick and thin.

With Pihu entering everyone's life, a lot has been happening.

There were several reports that Brinda will suspect something fishy about Pihu and will decide to do a DNA test.

Aanchal had also shared a screenshot of the same on her social media.

Take a look:

Well, it turns out to be that it is all just the rumours.

Aanchal clarified with us when we got in touch with her for the same.

She said, ''I have no clue about it. I don't know how the track will unfold so it is confusing for me as well.''

Well, this makes it clear that nothing of this sort is going to happen in the show.

What is your take on this? Tell us in the comments.

Stay tuned to TellyChakkar for all the latest updates.

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE! BALH 2 fame Aanchal Khurana opens up about getting typecast, says, ''Till now, I get calls only for negative characters''

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EXCLUSIVE! Will Brinda conduct a DNA test of Pihu to know her truth in Sony TV's Bade Achhe Lagte Hain 2? Here's what Aanchal Khurana said -...

Were Steve Jobs, Sheryl Sandberg or even Martin Luther King Jr. born great leaders?

The short answer is no, says Michael Useem, a professor emeritus of management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and leadership development consultant for a wide array of private, public and nonprofit companies. Useem says the ability to tutor, guide and galvanize the people around you isn't innate it's something you learn and develop over time.

And there's no one-size-fits-all strategy to acquiring those skills, Useem says: Rather, you need to look at your successes and failures with an "unclenching eye," and use those experiences to identify what you personally need improve on.

"Leadership is not something we're born with, it's not something in our DNA," he tells CNBC Make It. "We learn it. We have to learn to improve and become a great leader."

Useem says he taught that lesson for years at Wharton, drawing on scholarship from other experts and referring to real-world examples. Today, his go-to example is the "humiliating" downfall of Matt Doherty, a former college basketball coach.

At age 37, in the first season of his first head coaching role, Doherty led the University of Notre Dame to the finals of the 1999-2000 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. That success immediately catapulted him to the prestigious role of head coach at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina, in 2000.

But then, after just three years, Doherty was "abruptly, unceremoniously" forced to resign, Useem says. This was reportedly due to concerns over his treatment of players: One players' parent told the Greensboro News & Record that Doherty tore down her son's "confidence and self-esteem," while another pointed to verbal abuse during practice.

"From there, he clearly needed to figure out why his leadership of the team backfired," Useem says. "He had to learn."

For Doherty's part, the ex-coach says he viewed himself as a decent leader before coming to UNC, which made him experience an "immediate feeling of failure" after resigning.

"I started to believe some headlines, started to believe that maybe I'm not a good leader," Doherty says. "And back then, I thought maybe that I wasn't born a great leader."

Doherty says he set out on a personal "leadership journey" to understand what went wrong ending up in one of Useem's leadership classes at Wharton, which is how the duo met.

The revelation that leadership is a trained skill, rather than a given, was "the most exciting thing to learn in my life, at the time," Doherty says. "I was so down and out. I was depressed. I never thought I'd be a good leader until then."

Doherty says the class taught him he was missing a critical element of leadership: emotional intelligence. He had the hard skills he needed to strategize as a coach, but not a natural ability to make strong emotional connections with his players.

"We talk about core values mine now are respect, trust, commitment, positivity. But those, I didn't learn and develop until after I went through this leadership journey," says Doherty, who went on to coach at two other schools before becoming associate commissioner of the Atlantic 10 conference. Now, he works off the court as an executive coach helping owners of small to mid-sized businesses.

Doherty says the journey looks different for everyone. While he needed a lesson in emotional intelligence, others may lack entirely different elements of leadership. Useem says that's the crucial takeaway: Whether you're an entry-level employee or CEO, you can't just rely on your so-called natural traits to motivate those around you.

You also need to rely on the lessons you've learned along the way, Useem says: "We have to look at what we've been through some great successes, others that are terrible disasters and use that as a source of educational guidance."

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This is the key to influencing and motivating the people around you, says Wharton professor: 'It's not something in our DNA' - CNBC