Category Archives: DNA

A turtle feared to be locally extinct has been found to beplentifulenough to be shedding its DNA all over Australia's highest discharge river. The rediscovery of any species is good news for ecology, but the chelidae in question is a particular favorite for breathing through its rear end.

The lower Burdekin river is wide and muddy, and its turtles spend most of their time at depth, so it was only in 1990 that TV presenter Steve Irwin and his father captured one. On confirmation this was a new species it was named Irwin's turtle (Elseya irwini). Although subsequently found to inhabit the Burdekin's tributaries, it hasn't been seen in the lower Burdekin for more than 25 years, leading to fears it had lost its largest habitat

However, a paper in the journalBMC Ecology and Evolution has revealed proof the turtle remains present at many locations on the river. The evidence comes in the form of DNA found in water samples collected along the river.

Queensland freshwater turtles, including Irwin's, have developed a distinctive method of respiration to avoid having to come to the surface too often, thus cutting the risk of becoming someone else's lunch. They absorb water through their cloaca (the hole reptiles and birds use for reproduction and defecation). Gill-like structures in their digestive tracts capture oxygen dissolved in the water.

No known turtle species can survive purely on its anally-sourced oxygen; they all have to come to the surface now and then to take in air in the usual way. However, bum-breathing delays the need to do so. Under the right conditions, some turtles can get 80 percent of their oxygen needs this way although the figure is lower for other species.

Bum-breathing requires oxygen-rich water, however, which requires fast-moving streams. It was feared a dam on the Mary River might drive that catchment's species to extinction by lowering the oxygen supply. The campaign to stop the dam, in which the unusual and endangered turtle took a starring role, was the first time their capacity had become widely known outside herpetological circles.

Consequently, there were fears the Burdekin Falls Dam, completed in 1987, might have started a fatal decline in Irwin's turtle numbers on that river. However, Dr Cecilia Villacorta-Rath,Professor Damien Burrows, and co-authors sampled 37 sites along the Burdekin River and its tributaries, and the presence of turtle DNA was found throughout the catchment.

That doesn't mean the turtle is unaffected by the dam. Samples taken in the Broken and Bowen tributary rivers were more frequently positive for turtle DNA, indicating greater abundance there than below the dam. Nevertheless, turtle DNA was found at four sites below the dam, but above the confluence with the Bowen River.

"Until this rediscovery, we didn't have any formal records to prove that the Irwin's turtle was still living in the lower Burdekin River, and that river has changed a lot since the construction of the Burdekin Falls Dam," Burrows said in a statement. "It's reassuring to know they are still living there."

Irwin's turtles share the lower Burdekin with crocodiles, discouraging scientists from diving into the waters. The murkiness of the river below the falls makes underwater cameras useless, and all that bum-breathing limits opportunities to spot them at the surface. The capacity to collect environmental DNA (eDNA) and magnify it to the point its source can be determined has proven a game-changer for finding the turtles, just as it has been for extinct human species. All we had to do was take awater sampleand analyze for their DNA," Burrows said.

"We don't know anything about the demographics of this population, Vilacorata-Rath said, but the fact they are still alive proves further work is not fruitless.

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'Bum-Breathing' Turtle Feared Extinct In Parts Of Australia But DNA Confirms Alive And Well - IFLScience

Archaeologists and members of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe worked together on the project, which revealed the longstanding genetic roots of the region's Native peoples. Courtesy of Far Western Anthropological Research Group

For decades, a misperception that the San Francisco Bay Areas Muwekma Ohlone Tribe was extinct barred its living members from receiving federal recognition.

Soon, however, that might change. As Celina Tebor reports for USA Today, a new DNA analysis shows a genetic through line between 2,000-year-old skeletons found in California and modern-day Muwekma Ohlone people.

The research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, flies in the face of more than a century of misconceptions about the tribe and its peoples long history.

The study reaffirms the Muwekma Ohlones deep-time ties to the area, providing evidence that disagrees with linguistic and archaeological reconstructions positing that the Ohlone are late migrants to the region, write the authors in the paper.

Members of the tribe, scholars and the public are hailing the work as a chance to correct the recordand perhaps open up opportunities for the tribe to regain federal recognition, which allows tribes to qualify for federal funds and grants and be acknowledged as independent and sovereign. In the early 20th century, the tribe was on a federal list of recognized tribes, but was removed in 1927.

The tribes history mirrors that of other Native Californians. After more than 10,000 years in the area, Native people were forced to submit to colonization and Christian indoctrinationfirst by the Spaniards, who arrived in 1776, and then, beginning in the 19th century, by settlers from the growing United States.

As a result, the Ohlone and other Native groups lost significant numbers to disease and forced labor. Before European contact, at least 300,000 Native people who spoke 135 distinct dialects lived in what is now California, per the Library of Congress. By 1848, that number had been halved. Just 25 years later, in 1873, only 30,000 remained. Now, USA Today reports, there are just 500 members of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe.

The Ohlone people once lived on about 4.3 million acres in the Bay Area. But federal negligence and anthropologist A.L. Kroebers 1925 assessment that Native Californians were extinct for all practical purposes caused the federal government to first strip the Muwekma Ohlone of their land, then deny them federal recognition, writes Les W. Field, a cultural anthropologist who collaborates with the Muwekma Ohlone, in the Wicazo Sa Review.

Even though Kroeber recanted his erroneous statement in the 1950s, the lasting damage from his diagnosis meant the very much not-extinct members of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe never regained federal recognition, according to the New York Times Sabrina Imbler.

The new research could change that. It arose after the 2014 selection of a site for a San Francisco Public Utilities Commission educational facility. The area likely contained human remains, triggering a California policy that requires developers to contact the most likely descendants of people buried in Native American sites before digging or building. When officials contacted the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, its members requested a study of two settlement areasSi Tupentak (Place of the Water Round House Site) and Rummey Ta Kuuwi Tiprectak (Place of the Stream of the Lagoon Site).

Experts from Stanford University, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, cultural resources consulting firm Far Western Anthropological Research Group and other institutions led the research.

But members of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe were involved in every aspect of the study, from the initiative to pursue the project to the selection of research questions, in archaeological excavation and ancient genomics involving sites in their historical lands, and in present-day genomic analysis with current tribal members, according to the study. Tribal members even helped exhume the bodies.

Researchers and tribe members alike commented on the unique nature of the collaboration.

When youre a student doing the work, its not common to have this kind of direct connection to the people who are the data that youre working with, says lead author Alissa Severson, a doctoral student at Stanford University at the time of the research, in a statement. We got to have that dialogue, where we could discuss what were doing and what we found, and how that makes sense with their history. I felt very lucky to be working on this project. It felt like what we should be doing.

Jennifer A. Raff, a paleogeneticist at the University of Kansas who was not involved in the study, describes the work as fascinating.

If other tribes are interested in using genetics to investigate histories, they may be encouraged by the fact that some researchers are doing this work in a careful way, Raff tells Science magazines Andrew Curry.

The team analyzed the DNA of 12 individuals buried between 300 and 1,900 years ago, then compared the genomes to those of a variety of Indigenous Americans. They found genetic continuity between all 12 individuals studied and eight modern-day Muwekma Ohlone Tribe members.

It was surprising to find this level of continuity given the many disruptions the Ohlone people experienced during Spanish occupation, such as forced relocations and admixture with other tribes forcibly displaced by the Spanish, co-author Noah Rosenberg, a population geneticist at Stanford, tells the New York Times.

Tribe members hope the new evidence of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribes longstanding connection to the landand their ancestorswill spur politicians to finally recognize the tribe. According to an official tribal website, Muwekma Ohlone families started the reapplication process in the early 1980s and officially petitioned the U.S. government for recognition in 1995. Despite filing a lawsuit against the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the tribe is still not recognized by the U.S. government.

Co-author Alan Leventhal, a tribal ethnohistorian and archaeologist who works with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, tells USA Today hes hopeful this new research will help cut through some of the bureaucratic red tape thats been delaying the tribes petition.

Privately, this further validates the tribe, he says. Now, as politicians are reading, they're noticing. And now we'll be lending support for the tribe's reaffirmation.

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This Native American Tribe Wants Federal Recognition. A New DNA Analysis Could Bolster Its Case - Smithsonian Magazine

FARGO Nobody knows for sure why the baby was left on the doorsteps of the Church of Ascension on North Bryant Avenue in Minneapolis in 1967, other than perhaps the mother was active in that Catholic church and had a sense of comfort that things would work out. Thats where the life of Jonathan Wright began.

He was adopted by two loving parents the father a publisher of three small newspapers in the Twin Cities but both passed away around 20 years ago. Wright always wondered about his biological parents but didnt want to pursue it for fear it would hurt his adoptive parents.

I didnt want to have them feel that I didnt want their love, he said.

After they died, at some point, he revisited the thought. He and his wife, Elva, were living in Ontario, Calif., when Jonathan saw a news segment aired Fridays on KTLA-TV in Los Angeles called Finding Family, where anchor Chris Schauble, who was adopted, talks about an organization that specializes in finding biological parents.

Thought turned to conversations on the topic with Elva. It would require an investment with an ancestry organization and in this case the Los Angeles firm of BirthParentFinder.com.

Elva gave her blessing but also gave Jonathan the following advice: You never know what youre going to find.

It could be Pandoras box, Jonathan said.

Jonathan teaches English and video in Guam, a United States territory located almost a half a world away in the western Pacific Ocean. One thing about modern science: distance doesnt matter.

Jonathan contracted with BirthParentFinder.com last October. Through DNA, in January, the news was quite startling.

Jonathan Wright found out he has a full brother, Jimmie Lee Bishop, living in the Twin Cities. He found out he has a half brother, Thomas Moede, living in Georgia. Both Moede and Bishop previously took DNA tests.

Furthermore, the DNA system identified the father of all three boys. He was former North Dakota State All-American running back Paul Hatchett.

Well it was just confounding, Bishop said. It was like, wow. But you see it all the time, you see these stories and I never imagined I would have one of these stories too with a long-lost brother I never knew about.

Hatchett was a star at Minneapolis Central High School. NCAA rules prohibited freshmen from playing back then but from 1967-69 he ran for 2,309 yards, a Bison career record that stood until the mid-1980s.

He held 15 school rushing and scoring records at one time including single-season marks of 1,213 yards and 17 touchdowns in 1968. His 41 touchdowns in that three-year period was another career record.

It was the beginning of NDSU football dominance that is alive and well at the Division I FCS level. The Bison were 29-1 with national titles in 1968 and 1969. They were second in the national wire service poll in 1967.

But Hatchett left NDSU after the 1969 season and was never heard from again in Fargo, perhaps disappointed the NFL didnt come calling. Wright would someday like to see old film footage of his biological father, if it exists. His initial online research into Hatchett took him to a small college All-American list.

I grew up a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and to see his name next to Terry Bradshaw (Louisiana Tech) was pretty cool, he said.

The question for both brothers, however, is why? Why did their mother leave Jonathan on the church doorstep? Its not a subject for conversation and, with the mother having health issues, may never be known.

There was no such thing as a safe haven law, a stipulation that allows a parent to surrender an infant without facing prosecution for abandonment.

Back in that time period, there was no sanctuary where you could drop off a child at a hospital, fire station or police station with no questions asked, said Jay Rosenzweig, the founder and CEO of BirthParentFinder.com.

Wright thinks there was more of a plan to it. He appreciates his adoptive parents, saying they did a better job than perhaps his real mother could because of a lack of resources. Bishop, who remains in touch with his mom, has heard little by little of a few clues.

She was telling stories of how she was feeling at the time, he said. She was saying at one time she didnt want to interfere with Pauls football career. And it kind of started making a little more sense, she was trying not to hinder him from going on and playing football because he loved it so much.

Whatever the case, the brothers plan on getting together in person for the first time in July in the Twin Cities. It promises to be an emotional union of siblings.

There is no sugar coating it for the boys: their father had off-the-field issues. For whatever reason, he never got a shot at pro football. There were run-ins with law enforcement in Fargo, a demon that would follow him until he died of natural causes in 2013 at the age of 64 in Savannah, Ga. Childhood friend Gregory Washington, who spoke to Hatchett a year before he died, said Hatchett had regrets that things didnt go a different way.

Wright learned of his fathers past from online links that Bishop sent him.

It was surprising, kind of bittersweet, he said. It was really stunning to hear. Im thinking he was one phone call or bad decision away from an incredible career in the NFL. I tell my students: do today what others wont so tomorrow you can do what others can. We talk about how a decision you make today can impact your career.

Bishop takes a more personal approach. He and his mother lived in north Minneapolis, but seeing her son running the streets more to her liking, they moved to the north suburb of Coon Rapids.

He had a few conversations with Hatchett over the years, like the one time as a young boy both were walking through a gym and somebody asked Hatchett if he still had it.

He took a basketball and dunked it, Bishop said. He was super strong and muscular. He kind of seemed like a superhero.

Hatchett was 5-foot-9 and at NDSU was listed at 195 pounds.

NDSU Athletics photo

Bishop was around 13 years old the last time he saw him. He was about 18 the last time they spoke on the phone.

I started drinking and was not on a very good path, Bishop said. He was like, I think I can help you out. I was like, Im grown and I dont need your help. I felt bad about that later on.

Later on, these days, Bishop is back in school at Metropolitan State in the Twin Cities working on a bachelors degree. At night he works with a local theater, a passion that may lead him and Jonathan to write a screenplay or play on their life story.

He has most of his classes done to go into addiction counseling but isnt sure he wants to continue to pursue it. But if he did, what would he theoretically tell his father?

Just to talk about things Ive learned, to open up those things inside, Bishop said. The secrets that keep us sick. Figure out the reasons why? When its all by itself deep inside, everything seems scary in the dark when youre all alone. When you bring it out and deal with other people, its easier to come back. The more people on your team, the more you dont feel so alone and isolated.

All involved agree Hatchett must have felt alone and isolated. There were signs of positivity, like telling a Forum reporter in 1969 he wanted to get into social work. He worked with underprivileged kids at the Sabathani Community Center in Minneapolis.

Wright thinks his biological father had a Dr. Jekyll Mr. Hyde-type of personality.

He was well-loved during the day, friends speak highly of him, he said. But at night time this character came out. Why did he go down that road? Guess well never know.

What the brothers do know is theyre thankful theyve found each other.

I cant say enough about that, Wright said. It provides closure because its something Ive always wondered about growing up.

They Zoom call each other. Its not easy with Wright being in Guam and the time zone change, but they try to connect every Sunday at 7 a.m. for Wright, which is Saturday in the Twin Cities for Bishop.

Bishop says the best comfort for him is knowing Jonathan grew up with a good life and continues to succeed. It was some upbringing; he was one of six kids Hardy and Elizabeth adopted from different backgrounds while living in Mendota Heights, Minn.

Jonathans sister, Beverly, discovered her grandfather was a chief on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Jonathans brother Mark is of Lakota descent who died of a gunshot wound in 1980 on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

His sister, Tamara, retired after working for the city of St. Paul for 36 years and is a cancer survivor. His oldest brother, Donald, was born partially blind and with facial paralysis.

When the adoption agency asked my parents what kind of children they wanted, Jonathan said, they responded the ones that need the most help.

The only help Jonathan, Jimmie Lee and Thomas need now is finding time to connect. When Jonathan and Jimmie Lee first talked, they noticed right away both like to joke and have fun.

We both seem really similar personality-wise, Bishop said. Hes a talker. One of the first things he said is youll have to excuse my sense of humor and Im like, thats not going to be a problem. Hell say something smart and Ill say something witty and our mother would do that, too. That is really amazing to me. The DNA doesnt lie.

Submitted photo

And neither do the photos. When Bishop showed photos of him and Jonathan to a third party Hatchett was Black and their mother is Caucasian the response was that can be your own twin. The noses are different but the facial structure is very similar.

The mother was 21 years old at the time Wright was born. Perhaps football was already in his blood. He knew every running back and every quarterback on every NFL team. He played the sport in high school but not beyond.

Bishop never really got into sports, but baseball was his favorite. He said a high school football coach wouldnt let him try out.

The bond of the brothers, however, is not about football. Its about, well, being brothers. Finally after all these years.

Submitted photo

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'DNA doesn't lie:' After more than 50 years, sons of former Bison great Paul Hatchett finally united - INFORUM

Even if the aliens are short, dour and sexually obsessed, the late cosmologist Carl Sagan once mused, if theyre here, I want to know about them.

Driven by the same mindset, a Nasa-led team of international scientists has developed a new message that it proposes to beam across the galaxy in the hope of making first contact with intelligent extraterrestrials.

The interstellar missive, known as the Beacon in the Galaxy, opens with simple principles for communication, some basic concepts in maths and physics, the constituents of DNA, and closes with information about humans, the Earth, and a return address should any distant recipients be minded to reply.

The group of researchers, headed by Dr Jonathan Jiang at Nasas Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, says that with technical upgrades the binary message could be broadcast into the heart of the Milky Way by the Seti Institutes Allen Telescope Array in California and the 500-metre Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope in China.

In a preliminary paper, which has not been peer reviewed, the scientists recommend sending the message to a dense ring of stars near the centre of the Milky Way a region deemed most promising for life to have emerged. Humanity has, we contend, a compelling story to share and the desire to know of others and now has the means to do so, the scientists write.

The message, if it ever leaves Earth, would not be the first. The Beacon in the Galaxy is loosely based on the Arecibo message sent in 1974 from an observatory of the same name in Puerto Rico. That targeted a cluster of stars about 25,000 light years away, so it will not arrive any time soon. Since then, a host of messages have been beamed into the heavens including an advert for Doritos and an invitation, written in Klingon, to a Klingon Opera in The Hague.

Such attempts at interstellar communication are not straightforward. The odds of an intelligent civilisation intercepting a message may be extremely low, and even if contact were made, establishing a fruitful conversation could prove frustrating when a response can take tens of thousands of years. Aliens may not even understand the signal: as a test run for the Arecibo message, Frank Drake, its designer, posted the missive to some scientific colleagues, including a number of Nobel laureates. None of them understood it.

There are other concerns, too. More than a decade ago, Prof Stephen Hawking warned that humans should refrain from sending messages into space in case they attract the wrong sort of attention. If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didnt turn out well for the Native Americans, he told a Discovery channel documentary.

But Dr Jiang and his colleagues argue that an alien species capable of communication across the cosmos may well have learned the value of peace and collaboration, and humanity could have much to learn from them. We believe the advancements of science that can be achieved in pursuit of this task, if communication were to be established, would vastly outweigh the concerns, they write.

Dr Anders Sandberg, a senior research fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford, said: My view is that the overall risk and benefit of sending messages are both small; it is better and safer for us to move out into space and hopefully, eventually, find neighbours when we are both adult species.

But he said it was worthwhile to think over how we may communicate with aliens. I think it is something we should regard as training for learning to coordinate better as a species, he added.

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Scientists hope to broadcast DNA and Earths location for curious aliens - The Guardian

In the 1990s, the dawn of DNA analysis in Orange County, forensic scientist Mary Hong was the queen of the cold case.

Arriving at the Orange County Crime Lab in 1985 with her bachelor of science degree in criminalistics from Michigan State University Hong became a forensic star in latex gloves.

She led the way in solving stagnant, high-profile murder cases at the lab, the first local law enforcement DNA laboratory in the western United States. By 2005, she had testified more than 100 times in DNA cases.

The high point of her career: Hong linked four unsolved rape-murders in Orange County to killings in Northern California, helping to identify one of the worst serial killers in state history. Her work eventually aided in the capture of Golden State Killer Joseph DeAngelo, who would later plead guilty to 13 murders and dozens of rapes in the 1970s and 80s.

In 1996, Hong submitted Orange County samples to the states fledgling DNA database and solved six murders right off the bat, according to the late author Michelle McNamara.

McNamara prominently featured Hong in the book Ill Be Gone in The Dark, about the hunt for the Golden State Killer. Hong also has appeared in the television shows Unsolved Mysteries, Cold Case Files and Dateline.

Assigned in 1997 to a team formed to concentrate on old murders, Hong was, in the words of one top public defender, Orange Countys cold case closer.

She was a pioneer in the most advanced forms of DNA testing and analyzed the blood evidence that proved a dead woman found in an Arizona freezer was actually killed in Orange County. That finding meant that defendant John Famalaro should be tried in Santa Ana, not Arizona. Famalaro was given the death penalty in 1997 for the slaying of 23-year-old Denise Huber.

Crime writers described the lab-coated Hong as methodical and intrepid, having a scientists dispassion. In one case, a prosecutor speaking to the jury likened the work done by Hong and the crime lab to Galileo and Copernicus.

But now, Hongs reputation as a scientist and leader among California forensic experts she is the former president of the statewide association of criminalists is under attack.

Hong, who left Orange County five years ago to run a lab for the California Department of Justice, faces allegations that she cooked the books in one recent murder case that unraveled midtrial. The case also has brought renewed attention to two other murder cases in which she was accused by the defense of tailoring her analyses to benefit the prosecution.

She uses the science to come to a preconceived answer, charged Assistant Public Defender Chuck Hasse. She cooked the books.

In response, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer has launched a probe into local cases new and old in which Hong testified or provided forensic opinions. And the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office is considering a potential review of at least five cases in which she worked on behalf of the agency.

Hong did not respond to an email seeking comment.

At issue in the most recent Orange County case, involving a decades-old murder of a young Buena Park woman, is whether Hong deliberately tweaked DNA evidence in favor of the prosecution and then backed away from that analysis when it came time to testify in a second trial. Or was it just a matter of interpretation in a complicated field?

The answer lies in a forensic world that is not always black and white, but often gray.

The data is the data, but the interpretation of the data can be skewed by the person interpreting it, said Tiffany Roy, a former DNA lab worker, lawyer and forensics expert from West Palm Beach, Florida. The lawyers think DNA is black and white and they dont know how gray DNA can be.

Scott Sanders, assistant Orange County public defender, has been sparring for more than 13 years with the local Crime Lab, which is operated by the Sheriffs Department.

For nearly two decades Hong was the Crime Labs cold case closer and she clearly relished that role, which is the problem, Sanders said. The Crime Lab should not see itself as a loyal member of the prosecution team. A functioning crime lab must serve as a check on those who want to manipulate science for the sake of a conviction. When thats not the case, scientists become the most dangerous players in the criminal justice system.

As president of the California Association of Criminalists, Hong warned in the groups newsletter in 2009 that forensic scientists need to be vigilant in protecting the integrity of their work.

We need to examine and analyze evidence without compromising its integrity, she wrote. We are required to have an in-depth understanding of the scientific processes that we utilize and be able to relay the significance of the results (and) we must ensure that the methods we use are validated and proper controls are in place to guarantee the results are accurate.

But Hongs integrity is under assault in the case against Daniel McDermott, accused of the rape and murder of an 18-year-old Buena Park woman in 1988. The case languished until 2009, when Hong conducted an analysis of DNA found on the victims right wrist.

After McDermott was arrested in 2012, Hong reinterpreted the data by removing genetic markers found in the first analysis. Those deleted markers would have shown McDermott was not a match or that the sample was, at least, inconclusive, said his defense attorney, Hasse.

Hong testified in 2016 that McDermotts DNA was a match for the sample found on the victims arm. But the trial ended in a hung jury.

When it came time for a new trial this month, Hong told prosecutors she could not repeat her testimony on the DNA from the wrist. Without that testimony, the D.A. was forced to offer McDermott a plea bargain that allowed him to be immediately released with nine years time served. McDermott had been facing life in prison without parole.

Suzanna Ryan, a forensics expert hired by the McDermott defense, said Hong should never have reinterpreted her original analysis. Furthermore, Hong failed to get a second opinion on her reinterpretation, a violation of industry standards.

I do believe it was done deliberately, Ryan said.

She added, however, it is the only time she found evidence of cooking the data in the dozen or so analyses she reviewed by Hong.

I dont like what she did in this case, (but) I dont think she is consistently changing data, Ryan said.

Roy, the Florida expert, is not sure Hong did anything intentionally wrong in the McDermott case. I dont see anything that looks nefarious, said Roy, who is not involved in the case.

At the request of the Southern California News Group, Roy reviewed a forensic report done by the defense as well as a recording of Hong explaining to prosecutors why she was having trouble with her earlier testimony.

Roy said there was indeed a scientific basis for Hongs deletion of the genetic markers but barely.

Hong appeared to be operating on the fringe in disregarding the several markers that could have helped McDermott, labeling them as noise. Those markers could easily have been interpreted the other way, Roy said. She said Hong should have erred on the side of caution and included the markers, but was overly aggressive and may have succumbed to a bias for law enforcement.

Roy acknowledged forensic scientists often are pressured to overstep to give police and prosecutors what they want.

Analysts are faced with this every day. The pressure is high to operate on the fringe, Roy said. These analysts are pressured to have the answers.

In essence, scientists often want to be good teammates with law enforcement, she said. Its called confirmation bias.

They want to feel like they are helping the good guy, Roy said. You can see patterns that dont exist, its in the human mind. It happens more than people realize.

These prosecutors and defense need to stay away from these scientists and let the science speak for itself.

Sometimes when forensics experts on the witness stand go beyond what the analysis shows, no one in the courtroom knows enough to check them, Roy said. Defense attorneys dont always retain their own forensics experts, especially when the client is poor or indigent.

(Analysts) often know no one is checking on them, Roy said. There are a lot of overstatements. Theres a lot of pressure on these experts to fit into the prosecutors story.

In the McDermott case, prosecutors didnt talk to Hong for the second trial until the eve of her planned testimony. Hong said, in her recorded interview, she could not be sure the DNA standards had not changed since 2012, when she compared McDermotts DNA to the wrist swab from the victim.

I think Im over-thinking this, she said.

Hong told prosecutors she did not believe she had tailored her analysis to deliberately include McDermott. She said she didnt purposely disregard the disputed markers as noise to incriminate McDermott. She just didnt believe they were DNA, Hong told prosecutors.

She also said in their interview that she had tried earlier to set up a meeting with the prosecution team, but nothing was ever scheduled.

Even before the McDermott case collapsed, Hong was under fire for her contradictory testimony in two cases hinging on the age of semen found on the female murder victims. Both are Anaheim cold cases from the mid-1980s that were solved in the late 2000s.

In 1985 long before an arrest was made former Orange County criminalist Daniel Gammie concluded that semen found in murder victim Bridgett Lamon had not been deposited around the time of death, meaning she probably was not killed by the donor.

About 20 years later, the semen was tied to Lynn Dean Johnson, who was charged in the killing. Called to the witness stand, Gammie recanted his earlier analysis, saying the science had changed. He now believed the semen could have been deposited near the time of death, which would incriminate Johnson. Gammies then-supervisor, Hong, also testified to the same.

Despite the flip-flop, the Crime Lab never went back to review old convictions won using the antiquated science.

Months later, Hong wound up before the same judge to testify in another cold case with similar sperm evidence. This time she testified the semen could not have been deposited near the time of death, attorneys said.

Her analysis in that case allowed prosecutors to clear the victims boyfriend, whose semen was found in the victims underwear, and focus on suspect Wendell Lemond. Lemond was convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life.

Sanders, one of Johnsons attorneys, said he used Hong and Gammies flip-flop to avoid the death penalty for his client. Lemonds conviction is under appeal.

Attorneys in the two murder cases did not know about the contradictory testimony until years after the trials when they found out by happenstance.

Orange County lab officials have said the semen samples studied by Hong in the Lemond and Johnson cases were different enough to warrant her conflicting testimony.

In her 2009 newsletter message, Hong speaks about the hardships faced by forensic scientists and the need to make the most of whatever evidence has been collected.

Sanders responded that making the most isnt always good.

Mary Hong certainly lived by these words. Now the question is whether our criminal justice system cares.

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Embattled DNA expert worked on some of Southern Californias most high-profile murder cases - The Mercury News

DUBLIN, April 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Worldwide DNA Sequencing Industry to 2031: Trend Forecast and Growth Opportunity" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global DNA sequencing market will reach $52,278.1 million by 2031, growing by 15.4% annually over 2021-2031, driven by the significant technological advancements, the growth of large-scale sequencing initiatives and support by major governmental funding agencies, the rise in the prevalence of chronic diseases, and the rising applications of DNA sequencing for animal & plant reproduction.

This report is based on a comprehensive research of the entire global DNA sequencing market and all its sub-segments through extensively detailed classifications. Profound analysis and assessment are generated from premium primary and secondary information sources with inputs derived from industry professionals across the value chain. The report is based on studies on 2018-2021 and provides forecast from 2022 till 2031 with 2021 as the base year.

In-depth qualitative analyses include identification and investigation of the following aspects:

The trend and outlook of global market is forecast in optimistic, balanced, and conservative view by taking into account of COVID-19. The balanced (most likely) projection is used to quantify global DNA sequencing market in every aspect of the classification from perspectives of Offering, Sequencing Type, Technology, Application, End User, and Region.

Based on Offering, the global market is segmented into the following sub-markets with annual revenue ($mn) for 2021-2031 included in each section.

Based on Sequencing Type, the global market is segmented into the following sub-markets with annual revenue ($mn) for 2021-2031 included in each section.

By Technology, the global market is segmented into the following sub-markets with annual revenue ($mn) for 2021-2031 included in each section.

By Application, the global market is segmented into the following sub-markets with annual revenue ($mn) for 2021-2031 included in each section.

By End User, the global market is segmented into the following sub-markets with annual revenue ($mn) for 2021-2031 included in each section.

Geographically, the following regions together with the listed national/local markets are fully investigated:

For each aforementioned region and country, detailed analysis and data for annual revenue ($mn) are available for 2021-2031. The breakdown of all regional markets by country and split of key national markets by Offering, Sequencing Type and End User over the forecast years are also included.

The report also covers current competitive scenario and the predicted trend; and profiles key vendors including market leaders and important emerging players.

Selected Key Players:

Key Topics Covered:

1 Introduction

2 Market Overview and Dynamics2.1 Market Size and Forecast2.1.1 Impact of COVID-19 on World Economy2.1.2 Impact of COVID-19 on the Market2.2 Major Growth Drivers2.3 Market Restraints and Challenges2.4 Emerging Opportunities and Market Trends2.5 Porter's Five Forces Analysis

3 Segmentation of Global Market by Offering3.1 Market Overview by Offering3.2 Instruments3.3 Consumables3.4 Sequencing Services

4 Segmentation of Global Market by Sequencing Type4.1 Market Overview by Sequencing Type4.2 Sanger Sequencing4.3 Next Generation Sequencing4.4 Other Sequencing Types

5 Segmentation of Global Market by Technology5.1 Market Overview by Technology5.2 Sequencing by Synthesis5.3 Ion Semiconductor Sequencing5.4 Chain Termination Sequencing5.5 Pyrosequencing5.6 Sequencing by Ligation (SBL)5.7 Single-Molecule Real-Time Sequencing (SMRT)5.8 Nanopore Sequencing5.9 Other Technologies

6 Segmentation of Global Market by Application6.1 Market Overview by Application6.2 Biomarker Discovery6.3 Diagnostics6.4 Personalized Medicine6.5 Reproductive Health6.6 Forensics6.7 Other Applications

7 Segmentation of Global Market by End User7.1 Market Overview by End User7.2 Academics and Research Organizations7.3 Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Companies7.4 Hospitals & Clinics7.5 Other End Users

8 Segmentation of Global Market by Region8.1 Geographic Market Overview 2021-20318.2 North America Market 2021-2031 by Country8.2.1 Overview of North America Market8.2.2 U.S.8.2.3 Canada8.2.4 Mexico8.3 European Market 2021-2031 by Country8.3.1 Overview of European Market8.3.2 Germany8.3.3 U.K.8.3.4 France8.3.5 Spain8.3.6 Italy8.3.7 Russia8.3.8 Rest of European Market8.4 Asia-Pacific Market 2021-2031 by Country8.4.1 Overview of Asia-Pacific Market8.4.2 Japan8.4.3 China8.4.4 Australia8.4.5 India8.4.6 South Korea8.4.7 Rest of APAC Region8.5 South America Market 2021-2031 by Country8.5.1 Argentina8.5.2 Brazil8.5.3 Chile8.5.4 Rest of South America Market8.6 MEA Market 2021-2031 by Country8.6.1 UAE8.6.2 Saudi Arabia8.6.3 South Africa8.6.4 Other National Markets

9 Competitive Landscape9.1 Overview of Key Vendors9.2 New Product Launch, Partnership, Investment, and M&A9.3 Company Profiles

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/h151us

Research and MarketsLaura Wood, Senior Manager[emailprotected]

For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

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The Worldwide DNA Sequencing Industry is Expected to Reach $52.2 Billion by 2031 - PR Newswire

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Preventive aerobic training preserves sympathovagal function and improves DNA repair capacity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in rats with...

Amid incidents of violence during festivals in some states, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed that no religious procession should be taken out without permission and that usage of loudspeakers should not cause inconvenience to others.

Zee News Editor-In-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary on Tuesday made an analysis of these new guidelines issued by the Yogi government.

As per the new guidelines, at religious places where loudspeakers are already being used, it will be mandatory to ensure that the noise of the loudspeaker does not go beyond the premises of that religious place. That is, if there is azaan on a loudspeaker in a mosque or aarti is performed on a loudspeaker in a temple, then the sound of azaan and aarti should not go outside the temple or the mosque premises.

Moreover, the use of loudspeakers will not be allowed at all at new religious places in the state. The government has said that the use of loudspeakers at such religious places will be considered an offense by law.

"Although mics can be used, make sure the sound does not come out of any premises. Other people should not face any problem," he said, adding that no permission should be given to install loudspeakers at new sites.

Also, no religious processions will be allowed on the roads from now on. If the police finds that a road is blocked due to any religious procession, then the police will be free to take immediate action against the organisers.

Continue reading here:
DNA Exclusive: Analysis of Yogi govt`s guidelines on religious processions and loudspeakers - Zee News

Wednesday, March 30, 2022 13:30

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When Mission resident Glenn Wells submitted his DNA to Ancestry.ca in 2018, he didnt expect a family reunion years after the results.

Wells spent time in the foster care system growing up, and had been looking for his father. Four years later, by chance, hes going to meet a new uncle, cousin, and his mom will be connecting with her long-lost half-brother for the first time in over 60 years.

I was crying because I was able to provide my mom with some happiness, he said. She was totally beside herself, and it was all she could think about.

On March 20, Wells received a message from the other side of Canada from Courtney Mahler. Mahler lives in Brantford, Ontario, and is helping her father in-law, Harry Mahler, dig for answers regarding his biological parents.

Harry, 74, has had some health problems as of late, and decided to submit his DNA to Ancestry several months ago. The result came back on March 18, and Wells name came up as a 12 per cent match.

Harrys adoptive parents never told him the truth about exactly where he came from, according to Courtney, adding he suffered a lot of hardships growing up.

They never actually came out and told him he was adopted. He just always had questions, because it didnt make sense, she said. And then later on in life, he actually located the adoption papers (and birth certificate) in his adopted parents home.

The documents list May Simm as his mother.

After receiving the DNA results, Courtney reached out to Wells on Facebook, not knowing if he was Harrys cousin or nephew. They spoke by phone shortly afterwards, and Wells told her his grandmothers name was May Simmons.

He then asked his mother, Violet, if she knew someone named Harry from Brantford.

Violet is 77-years-old and her memory is not always reliable, according to Wells, but a light went off in her head when he mentioned that name.

She goes: Oh my God! I think I have a half-brother in Brantford! Wells said. She said: Ive not seen him since I was a teenager.

Harry did, in fact, remember meeting Violet and May growing up, but he had no idea how closely related they were, according to Courtney.

She said they visited Harry a couple of times when he was a teenager, but his adoptive family told him Violet was a cousin, and Mays relation was never explained.

Courtney and Harry are continuing to try and piece everything together. She said they dont know why Harry was given up and Violet was not, and May had been married several times.

After his adoptive parents passed, Harry came into possession of some old black and white photos.

One photo shows a woman now confirmed to be May with a man they suspect to be Harrys father. Another shows the same man in military uniform with a baby girl, who they suspect is Violet. Wells said Violet was also placed in group homes growing up. He said he was as well, and so were older kids, who are now adults.

Its been a vicious circle for that kind of stuff, but its stopping here, Wells said of his 10-year-old daughter. Im breaking that cycle right now, this little girl is about to be a black belt in Taekwondo.

Wells is travelling to Ontario to see his mom,Violet, on May 18 for her birthday, something he does every year.

But this time, Courtney is bringing Harry, and her husband, Jon Wells new first cousin.

(Harrys) very excited about it, Jon said. Our goal was to get him the truth before his time.

Theyve also made contact with the family of the mystery man in the black and white photos, and will be meeting with them soon.

RELATED: Abbotsford woman fills in gaps in grandmas war bride history

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BC man and mom to reunite with long-lost family following DNA results Peace Arch News - Peace Arch News