Can DNA be fabricated?

[Wayne M]

We were watching Law & Order SVU this evening and one of the topics was DNA being found at a crime scene where the person who it belonged to was never there.

They went on to find that DNA had been fabricated to set someone up for the crime.

I said, "Wow, I wonder if that is true?" Now I'll ask you, is it? Think.

I did a Google search on the words "dna fabrication" without the quotes and was totally surprised at the top results. It pointed to a New York times article, and basically the SVU program used about every quote and idea in the article.

And yes, DNA can be fabricated.

Can you imagine what that is going to do to those incarcerated based on DNA profile?

Wow.

[Jackm]

In a way, as long as DNA can be transferred from someone, it can be used to implicate a person. Kind of like taking someone's fingerprint and leaving it on a weapon at the scene of a crime. If they're really out to get you...you're probably screwed.

Jack

[hamguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jackm In a way, as long as DNA can be transferred from someone, it can be used to implicate a person. Kind of like taking someone's fingerprint and leaving it on a weapon at the scene of a crime. If they're really out to get you...you're probably screwed. Jack

Just how can you take someone's fingerprint and leave it on a weapon? Decal?

But, is this subject not totally off topic RV wise, that is?

[RustyJC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hamguy But, is this subject not totally off topic RV wise, that is?

This topic is in the Just Conversation forum. From the main forum page:

Quote:

Just Conversation This is a forum for friendly, professional, informal exchange of "NON-RV" related subjects.

Rusty

[wa8yxm]

What the technician did was use the suspect's DNA as the sample.

He did not fabricate.. He simply used the same sample both as "Control" and as "Test".

And yes. it is possible for a technician to lie on the test.. This is why the Supreme Court (I'm not sure if it was a state court or SCOTUS) recently ruled that Lab Tech's can be cross examined in court.

Click here for a Blog on the decision

As for comment on this issue.. I'm kind of "Undecided"

[doc]

It has been a few years and I am sure there are advances in DNA research since I retired, but our lab was able to replicate DNA in cases were there was DNA present, but insufficient to make a comparison in the old way (RFLP) This took a longer time to make a comparison and needed more material.
The 'newer' method is PCR (polymerase chain reaction) take a very small sample and replicates it again and again. It gets results in comparisons usually within 24 hours (or less for an elimination of a questioned sample)
I am not sure that a technician, given a DNA sequence can simply 'manufacture' a a DNA chain. These things are huge, comparatively speaking and this would be a tremendous undertaking. Again, my experience here ended in 02.

Interestingly, to those of us who enjoy the outdoors, a bacterial enzyme from one of Yellowstone's hot pools aids in the PCR method. The company that patented this method and licensed it to various labs around the nation was paying a royalty to the National Parks Service for many years - or at least it was when I retired in '02.