Review

Nature Reviews Genetics 5, 739-751 (October 2004) | doi:10.1038/nrg1455

There is a Correction (1 March 2005) associated with this article.

Encoded evidence: DNA in forensic analysis

Mark A. Jobling1 & Peter Gill2  About the authors

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Sherlock Holmes said "it has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important", but never imagined that such a little thing, the DNA molecule, could become perhaps the most powerful single tool in the multifaceted fight against crime. Twenty years after the development of DNA fingerprinting, forensic DNA analysis is key to the conviction or exoneration of suspects and the identification of victims of crimes, accidents and disasters, driving the development of innovative methods in molecular genetics, statistics and the use of massive intelligence databases.

Author affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, United Kingdom.
    Email: maj4@le.ac.uk
  2. Forensic Science Service, Trident Court, 2920 Solihull Parkway, Birmingham Business Park, Birmingham B37 7YN, United Kingdom.
    Email: Peter.Gill@fss.pnn.police.uk

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