Post by bioinformatics on Feb 6, 2018 2:51:25 GMT
Thank you for allowing me to join the board, I am a long-time reader with a lengthy interest in the EAR/ONS case. My background is in genomics (not for forensics but rather for agriculture/crops) and as such I have some questions regarding the DNA in this case. Please forgive me if these questions have been asked before.
1. What is the state of the DNA sample from EAR/ONS? Has the sample been amplified using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) or any other technique to generate more useable copies of the sequence?
2. Where does the DNA evidence currently reside? Do multiple agencies have DNA samples? Or do many have just the sequenced data (not the sample itself)?
3. Who 'owns' the EAR/ONS DNA sample from the perspective of authorizing outside testing? I imagine the data (and certainly the actual DNA sample) is not public domain at this point.
4. Have any of the agencies involved in the investigation tried Y-STR (Short Tandem Repeats) analysis to attempt to derive a suspect surname? It seemed to be a promising technique in the Phoenix 'Canal Murders' from a few years ago. (https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2016/11/30/how-forensic-genealogy-led-arrest-phoenix-canal-killer-case-bryan-patrick-miller-dna/94565410/) It is still a controversial technique due to its heavy reliance on commercial DNA databases (Ancestry.com, 23andMe, etc), but it seems like it might be worth a try in this case.
5. Obviously these forensic genetic-based investigative techniques represent a significant cost (lower in 2018 but still not cheap). Are there any crowd-sourced funding initiatives (Gofundme, Kickstarter, etc) set-up to try and offset the costs of running DNA tests in the EAR/ONS case? Would it even be legal for the public to set-up crowdfunding to help with a criminal investigation?
Thanks in advance for any info,
Bio
1. What is the state of the DNA sample from EAR/ONS? Has the sample been amplified using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) or any other technique to generate more useable copies of the sequence?
2. Where does the DNA evidence currently reside? Do multiple agencies have DNA samples? Or do many have just the sequenced data (not the sample itself)?
3. Who 'owns' the EAR/ONS DNA sample from the perspective of authorizing outside testing? I imagine the data (and certainly the actual DNA sample) is not public domain at this point.
4. Have any of the agencies involved in the investigation tried Y-STR (Short Tandem Repeats) analysis to attempt to derive a suspect surname? It seemed to be a promising technique in the Phoenix 'Canal Murders' from a few years ago. (https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2016/11/30/how-forensic-genealogy-led-arrest-phoenix-canal-killer-case-bryan-patrick-miller-dna/94565410/) It is still a controversial technique due to its heavy reliance on commercial DNA databases (Ancestry.com, 23andMe, etc), but it seems like it might be worth a try in this case.
5. Obviously these forensic genetic-based investigative techniques represent a significant cost (lower in 2018 but still not cheap). Are there any crowd-sourced funding initiatives (Gofundme, Kickstarter, etc) set-up to try and offset the costs of running DNA tests in the EAR/ONS case? Would it even be legal for the public to set-up crowdfunding to help with a criminal investigation?
Thanks in advance for any info,
Bio