Category Archives: Transhuman News

Forbes

How To Plan The Trip Of A Lifetime With Your DNA Forbes Fielding's quest to to connect clients with intimate, unforgettable experiences like these fueled the idea of a DNA-dictated itinerarya notion that was, fittingly, in her genes. Familiar with ancestral testing thanks to her family's background in ... and more »

Read the original post:
How To Plan The Trip Of A Lifetime With Your DNA - Forbes

KXAN.com

APD releases new stats on cases impacted by DNA lab freezer break KXAN.com The Austin Police DNA lab has been shut down since June, due to a lack of properly trained staff, but a memo obtained by KXAN shows problems with the lab also extend to equipment failure from March 2016. During that time, the maintenance manager ...

The rest is here:
APD releases new stats on cases impacted by DNA lab freezer break - KXAN.com

Picture the scene. A detective is addressing her team:

The DNA test results are in. Were looking for a white male suspect, 3437 years old, born in the summer in a temperate climate. Hes used cocaine in the past. His mother smoked, but he doesnt. He drinks heavily, like his Dad. Were seeing high stress levels, and looking at the air pollution markers, lets start looking downtown, probably near a major intersection.

Science fiction? Yes, for now. But advances in epigenetics the study of reversible chemical modifications to chromosomes that play a role in determining which genes are activated in which cells might soon start making their way out of research labs and into criminal forensics facilities.

Take the idea of the epigenetic clock, one of the ways in which our cells and DNA can betray our age. Epigenetic patterns change throughout our lives, along broadly predictable paths, making it possible to infer age from DNA samples.

Steve Horvath at UCLA has developed a statistical model based on 350 potential epigenetic modification positions in the human genome that can estimate your age to within three and a half years. The rate of epigenetic aging seems to depend somewhat on race, and can be affected by some health conditions, but this kind of test is already at the stage when forensics labs are validating it for use in criminal investigations.

The things we get up to while our epigenetic clocks are ticking can also leave their mark on our DNA. Cigarette smoking correlates with characteristic and persistent epigenetic changes. The same goes for cocaine, opioids and other illicit substances. Theres also some evidence for epigenetic signatures of obesity, traumatic childhood experiences, exposure to tobacco in the womb, season of birth, exposure to environmental pollution, exercise, and possibly even the things our parents and grandparents did before we were born.

There are also ways to detect non-epigenetic evidence of environmental exposures that we all experience For example, international travel or exposure to certain chemicals or experiences can change the composition of the microbiome (the collection of bacteria, viruses and fungi found in and on our bodies). Tests based on these observations might also eventually find their way into forensic science.

Unless theres an urgent need to tell the difference between a pair of identical twins for example if one is suspected of murder none of these tests are likely to appear in court in the immediate future. There needs to be extensive validation before we know if these findings are specific and sensitive enough to be useful. Existing epigenetic analysis methods also use impracticably large samples of blood or tissue, much more than is usually available at a crime scene.

However, these technical challenges will hopefully soon be overcome, and its not too early to start thinking about the legal implications of this type of information. Do we want law enforcement agencies and governments to know the details of our personal and family histories, our vices and habits? Can epigenetic evidence be presented accurately by lawyers, and interpreted appropriately by jurors? Even intelligent people without statistical training can struggle with the concepts of, for example, probabilities in the context of DNA fingerprinting.

And if as a juror youre supposed to decide somebodys guilt or innocence based on evidence of the crime, what bias might be introduced by knowing their epigenetic history or that of the victim?

There are no easy answers, and there is the potential to do great harm if these shiny new technologies are applied inappropriately. Epigenetics is an exciting and fast-moving science; lets hope that the legal and ethical fields can keep up with it.

Cath Ennis book Introducing Epigenetics: A Graphic Guide (with Oliver Pugh) is out now in the UK, and can be pre-ordered for March release elsewhere

Excerpt from:
Forensic DNA profiling might be about to take a big leap forward. Are we ready? - The Guardian

Alan Shearer feels this Arsenal team is unrecognisable from the ones Arsene Wenger used to produce.

Wenger's first 10 years in north London saw Arsenal win three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and reach the Champions League final. The second decade, however, has brought just two FA Cups.

The Gunners finished second in the table last season and were billed as potential challengers in 2016/17, but their 3-1 hammering at the hands of Chelsea on Saturday means they are now 12 points behind the league leaders.

Their defeat at Stamford Bridge was characterised by a lack of fight they seemed to give up after conceding the first goal and Shearer feels this current crop is the one of Arsenal's "softest" ever sides.

Video Unavailable

Click to play Tap to play

Play now

Video will play in

"Arsene Wenger remains, yet the Arsenal DNA he had between 1997 and 2005 has been totally lost over the last decade," Shearer wrote in his column for The Sun.

"That is what frustrates the fans, that a manager who gave them so much and put out such great teams can now be in charge of one of the softest sides in the clubs history.

"One that rolls over when the going gets tough.

"One that raises hopes one week and shatters them the next. A side that cant compete over a season. Players who simply dont work hard enough to match Watford and more starkly Chelsea, who simply bullied them off the park."

Speaking after the game, Wenger said: Im not subdued. Im disappointed and angry because we lost a very big game. But Im not subdued. The result is there and we certainly have a big wait in the race for the championship.

We have shown in the past that we can recover from that. That defeat against Watford had bigger consequences, maybe, than expected.

We lacked a little bit what makes our game efficient. In the final third we didnt look dangerous enough. That was difficult to watch from upstairs.

The rest is here:
Alan Shearer: Arsenal's DNA has changed - they roll over when the going gets tough - Mirror.co.uk

In a remote corner of eastern Russia, where long winters bring temperatures that rarely flicker above freezing, the genetic legacy of ancient hunter-gatherers endures.

DNA from the 7,700-year-old remains of two women is surprisingly similar to that of people living in that area today, researchers report February 1 in Science Advances. That finding suggests that at least some people in East Asia havent changed much over the last 8,000 years or so a time when other parts of the world saw waves of migrants settle in.

The continuity is remarkable, says paleogeneticist Carles Lalueza-Fox of the Institute of Evolutionary Biology in Barcelona, who was not involved with the work. Its a big contrast to what has been found in Europe.

In Western Europe especially, scientists studying ancient DNA have put together a picture of flux, says study coauthor Andrea Manica. Every few thousand years, there are major turnovers of people. Around 8,000 years ago, he says, migrating farmers replaced hunter-gatherers in the area. And a few thousand years after that, Bronze Age migrants from Central Asia swept in.

In DNA collected from the bones and teeth of these ancient peoples, scientists can spot genetic signatures of different populations. When a population of farmers balloons Lalueza-Fox says, the signatures of hunter-gatherers are mostly erased.

But whether thats true across the globe is unclear, says Manica, of the University of Cambridge. We wanted to see what happened in other places. Asia is huge compared to Europe, and its been neglected.

Story continues after graphic

A genetic analysis of 561 people living in populations across Asia today (colors represent different regions) reveals that two ancient women (black triangles, left) from Devils Gate Cave in Russia (see black triangle on map, right) had genomes similar to the Ulchi, a modern group of hunter-fishers.

Manicas team collected DNA from the skeletons of five ancient people found in a cave called Devils Gate. The cave rests in a far east finger of Russia, tucked along the border of China and North Korea, and holds human remains, scraps of textiles and bits of broken pottery.

Researchers gathered enough DNA from two of the people to piece together about 6 percent of the genome, the complete set of genetic instructions inside a cells nucleus. Thats not much, Manica says, but its enough to compare the Devils Gate denizens with other people. The researchers analyzed the genomes of people strewn across the far reaches of the continent from the Dolgan in Siberia to the Thai thousands of kilometers south.

Genetically, the 7,700-year-old women closely resembled the Ulchi, a small group of hunter-fishers who still live off the land today. Manica cant say whether the Ulchi are direct descendants of the two Devils Gate women, or just closely related. But the find suggests a pocket of stability in East Asia a place where hunter-gatherers werent swept out by, or folded into, booming groups of farmers.

Perhaps farming didnt take off there because the cold climate wasnt good for growing crops, Manica says. Or maybe the ideas and technologies from farmers and other migrants made it to the Ulchi without an accompanying influx of people. (The Ulchi arent like primitive hunter-gatherers of the past. They farm a bit, and have adopted new ways to fish, hunt and store food, he points out.)

This shows that ideas can travel without people moving with them, Manica says.

That makes sense, Lalueza-Fox says. But scientists now need more data additional samples from East Asia, and Southeast Asia, too, he says. I have a feeling the whole story will be much more complicated.

Read more:
DNA points to millennia of stability in East Asian hunter-fisher population - Science News

New York Post

Police catch suspect after DNA is linked to slain jogger scene New York Post They asked him for a DNA sample, which he gave voluntarily thereby potentially sealing his own fate, sources said. He had no prior record, so until he agreed to a cheek swab, his DNA profile had been unknown to law enforcement, sources told The Post.

Visit link:
Police catch suspect after DNA is linked to slain jogger scene - New York Post

Judy Rybak is a 48 Hours producer. She investigated the questionable convictions of Darryl Pinkins and Roosevelt Glenn for the episode, Guilty Until Proven Innocent. Watch the full episode online.

About three years ago, I was on Twitter when I spotted a cry for help from DNA expert and director of the Idaho Innocence Project, Greg Hampikian. He tweeted that his Innocence Project had more cases of wrongful conviction than the money he needed to investigate them. Wondering if he had any cases that might be appropriate for 48 Hours, I called immediately.

There was one case, said Hampikian, but it was not in Idaho. It was in Indiana and was, according to him, one of the most egregious cases he had ever come across. Hampikian is a highly respected scientist who has worked on many high-profile wrongful convictions, including Amanda Knox.

Darryl Pinkins, left, and Roosevelt Glenn

He had my attention.

Darryl Pinkins and Roosevelt Glenn were serving time for a brutal 1989 gang rape in Hammond, Indiana. This despite the fact that long before their trials, both men were excluded from the DNA. The state had successfully argued that because the DNA in this case was a mixture of five rapists, the test results could be not trusted.

Outrageous, said Hampikian, who had been working for years to help convince the authorities that science does not lie. It is a complicated case, said Hampikian, so convoluted that the media had stayed away.

Complicated and convoluted is what we at 48 Hours do best, I told him.

A month later, I was in a rental car on a long stretch of Indiana highway, in the middle of a blizzard, heading to the Miami Correctional Facility to meet Darryl Pinkins for the first time. I had already read several key documents in the case and met with the defense team: Indiana University Law Professor, Fran Watson and some of the law students who had participated in her wrongful conviction clinic.

Believing I was prepared to meet Darryl and discuss his case, I emptied my pockets and went through the metal detectors, as I had dozens of times in dozens of prisons. It took me just moments to realize that this time was different. I was actually not fully prepared. I had not anticipated how much Darryl Pinkins would move and impress me.

Despite his clear and seething anger, and deep sadness, he was gentle and kind. He wanted me to know all that he had accomplished while in prison for over two decades: Earning a Bachelors Degree, studying Native American Spirituality, becoming a certified Suicide Prevention Companion, learning Tae Kwon Do and becoming fluent in braille.

From the prison, I drove several hours to Gary, Indiana, where I met Roosevelt Glenn and his family. After fighting for 16 years to have his conviction overturned, the state paroled Glenn in 2007 for good behavior and forced him to register as a sex offender.

Our meeting took place in his mothers home, where several of his supporters joined us. Among them were Roosevelts sister, Renitta, and their pastor, who both desperately wanted me to know that Roosevelt is a good man.

Play Video

Darryl Pinkins was convicted of a 1989 brutal rape. Correspondent Maureen Maher speaks with his mother and sisters who say he's been wrongfully i...

Like Darryl, Roosevelt was warm, welcoming, kind, gentle and open. He told me how he had survived all those years behind bars, and explained how he was able to forgive those who he claimed wrongly convicted him.

I did not see a rapistbut I wasnt sure what to think. I left Indiana that night committed to digging in to this case. If what I was hearing was true and, more importantly, there was DNA evidence that substantiated their claims, two innocent men were paying a steep price for a serious injustice.

Three years later, there was a break in the case and 48 Hours was there to cover it. A new DNA technology called True Allele-developed specifically to test DNA mixtures-was used in this case, and the explosive findings were about to be presented in a court hearing.

Just weeks before the hearing, Maureen Maher was interviewing Darryl Pinkins mother and sisters for our report, when they all declared that for the first time in a long time they were hopeful that Darryl would soon be free.

Why this time? asked Maureen.

Judy, said Tracy Pinkins.

I was standing behind the cameras when I heard my name, and felt my face heat up.

I went and Googled Judy. Printed everything out, called my family, I was like, Theyre listening. This is the media. They are actually listening, Tracy Pinkins said. Thats when I got my hope.

No one was sure what would happen next. The District Attorneys office had been fighting to keep Darryl behind bars for nearly a quarter century. Professor Watson was worried the prosecutor would challenge the results of the True Allele tests, and keep Darryl in prison while they argued their validity.

Then, just days before the hearing, Lake County D.A. Bernard Carter shocked everyone.

Play Video

Family and friends fought and waited almost 25 years to see Pinkins walk out of a prison a free man. After groundbreaking DNA technology helped c...

It was Thursday night and I was sitting at my desk preparing for the hearing on Monday, when I got the call from Professor Watson that Carter had decided there was no need for a hearing. Carter told the judge that the new DNA evidence is clear, and Darryl Pinkins is an innocent man.

The very next morning, Darryl was scheduled to be released. While my team scrambled to change our flight reservations and find a local camera crew in Indiana to cover us until we arrived, I was given the gift of a lifetime.

With Fran Watsons very kind and generous permission, I called Darryls family and Roosevelt Glenn to deliver the news. Being a great producer, Maureen Maher made sure I had someone on the other end videotape the calls for our report.

Its over, I said, and told them that Darryl would soon be free.

The sounds I heard next will forever echo in my head: A sister shouting with joy a mother releasing 25 years of anguish and a strong, proud man (soon to be declared innocent himself) openly weeping.

One tweet and three years later, a man walked free and 48 Hours was there to see it. We were also there when Lake County Prosecutor, Bernard Carter, shook Darryl Pinkins hand, and admitted that mistakes had been made in this caseand thanks to True Allele, justice was served.

The cases of Darryl Pinkins and Roosevelt Glenn were the first wrongful convictions overturned by a new DNA technology, and 48 Hours was there to witness it.

Read the original:
Could DNA unlock answers in questionable conviction case? - CBS News