DNA evidence

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Tyrannosaurus Rex: Tastes Like Chicken?

Study says birds are dinosaurs' closest living descendants

(Newser) - Dinosaurs are more closely related to birds than reptiles, protein extracted from a Tyrannosaurus rex bone suggests. T. rex collagen, the main protein in bones, is similar to chicken and ostrich collagen but much different than material from alligators and lizards, scientists say. The findings could remap the evolutionary tree...

DNA Used to Nab Criminal Kin
 DNA Used to Nab Criminal Kin 

DNA Used to Nab Criminal Kin

But questions arise over genetic privacy of innocent relatives

(Newser) - Law-enforcement agencies are using DNA of family members—often without their consent—to identify and convict criminals, the Washington Post reports. Privacy advocates object that it turns family members into unwitting informants, and subjects innocent relatives to “lifelong genetic surveillance” because someone in their family committed a crime. But...

US Plans to Widen DNA Database
US Plans to Widen DNA Database

US Plans to Widen DNA Database

Will take samples from illegal immigrants, felony arrestees

(Newser) - The US plans to significantly widen its law-enforcement database by taking DNA samples from illegal immigrants picked up by federal authorities and from all people arrested for federal offenses, the Washington Post reports. The feds currently collect genetic information only from those convicted of federal crimes. The expanded policy follows...

Amanda Knox: 'Railroad Job From Hell'?

Investigators split on merits of murder case against college coed

(Newser) - Amanda Knox , the 20-year-old University of Washington student who's been held by Italian police since November as a suspect in her British roommate's murder, is the victim of a “railroad job from hell,”  an investigator hired by the “48 Hours Mystery” to review the case concluded....

Should Cops Swipe DNA Without a Warrant?

Lawyers say it violates privacy rights; cops say they're catching crooks

(Newser) - Police didn’t need a search warrant to get a DNA sample from now-convicted murderer Altemio Sanchez—they just waited until he left a restaurant and confiscated his glass. That kind of sneaky DNA collection is going on across the country, and defense lawyers don’t like it, the New ...

Police Seek Broader DNA Database
Police Seek Broader DNA Database

Police Seek Broader DNA Database

US wants to follow UK's lead and track down suspects' relatives

(Newser) - US law enforcement currently catalogs 5.6 million DNA profiles, about 2% of Americans, but hopes to expand that and the scope of their searches, the Wall Street Journal reports. A bigger database would allow "familial searches"—looking for near matches of a suspect's brother or sister, for...

DNA May Shine Light on Killer
DNA May Shine Light on Killer

DNA May Shine Light on Killer

Headless body's ties to Indiana serial killer in doubt for a century

(Newser) - Authorities in Indiana are hoping DNA evidence will help them close the case of a woman who killed at least 25 people in the early 20th century before possibly faking her own death. A woman's headless body was found in the burned-out basement of Belle Gunness' house in 1908, and...

Innocent Con Freed After 27 Years
Innocent Con Freed After
27 Years

Innocent Con Freed After 27 Years

DNA testing confirmed he wasn't guilty of rape

(Newser) - A man who spent 27 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit was released yesterday after DNA evidence proved he hadn't assaulted his accuser. Charles Chatman, now 47, had maintained his innocence throughout his time in jail, refusing to give an account of the crime to the parole...

Brit Tourists' DNA Sought in Maddy Case

Investigators aim to match evidence to possible kidnapper

(Newser) - British tourists staying at the same resort where toddler Madeleine McCann disappeared have been told to provide fingerprints and DNA samples to aid the ongoing investigation by Portuguese police, reports the London Times. The move is an attempt to help investigators identify evidence found in the McCann's Portugal apartment that...

Maddy DNA Evidence Found on Beach
Maddy DNA Evidence
Found on Beach

Maddy DNA Evidence Found on Beach

Discovery indicates toddler may have been buried or taken by boat

(Newser) - A retired South African police superintendent who has helped find several missing children has discovered DNA evidence of toddler Madeleine McCann on the beach near the resort where she disappeared, reports the Guardian. The evidence indicates Madeleine may have been buried there at some point—or taken to sea by...

Seven-Year-Old Rape Charges Yield Arrest

DNA evidence unmasks suspect known only as 'John Doe No. 5'

(Newser) - An Illinois man appeared in court yesterday to face rape charges filed against him seven years ago—when prosecutors didn't know his name, but knew his DNA. In 2000, Milwaukee prosecutor Norm Gahn was among the first in the country to file charges based solely on a DNA profile—in...

It's a Wrap: Tooth ID's Mummy Queen
It's a Wrap: Tooth ID's Mummy Queen

It's a Wrap: Tooth ID's Mummy Queen

Powerful Hatshepsut linked to dental root and DNA tests

(Newser) - An ancient tooth and DNA evidence appear to prove that an obese mummy found in 1903 is one of Egypt's most powerful female rulers, Hatshepsut, the New York Times reports. The tooth, located in a box labeled with the queen's name, "fits exactly" with a broken root in the...

Birkhead's the Baby Daddy
Birkhead's the Baby Daddy

Birkhead's the Baby Daddy

DNA evidence wins photographer Birkhead paternity of Daniellyn

(Newser) -  Daniellyn finally has a baby daddy. DNA evidence proved that the daughter of the late Anna Nicole Smith can call paparazzo Larry Birkhead Dad. "I told you so," a jubilant Birkhead told reporters after the announcement at a court hearing in the Bahamas. He  hugged his rival,...

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