Everyone knows DNA plays a crucial role in solving crimes—but what happens when the evidence is of low quantity, degraded or comes from multiple individuals? One of the major challenges for forensic laboratories is interpreting this type of DNA data from crime scenes and comparing it to known profiles or databases. Traditional methods, although tried and true, can be improved, which is why DNA sequencing is now being considered by forensic laboratories across the country.
Last year marked the first time that evidence from Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) was used in court to help clarify the circumstances of a crime in Kern County, California. Using NGS, the Kern Regional Crime Lab was able to analyze over 150 genetic markers from a single evidence sample—compared to just approximately 24 with previous methods—helping to establish the key details in a murder investigation.
Never before had NGS, a form of DNA testing that allows researchers to obtain higher-resolution data by analyzing more genetic markers, even from low-quantity or degraded samples, been used in a criminal case in the United States. Because the legal system is slow to adopt new technologies until accepted in court, this landmark proceeding opened the door for the broader application of this innovative technology, which now promises to transform the future of forensic science. The College of Arts and Sciences’ Forensic and National Security Sciences Institute (Forensics Institute) is leading the effort to bring this advancement to New York State, recently hosting the nation’s first sequencing training for forensics professionals from public crime labs across the state…