←back to thread

Extracting DNA from the air – DNA evidence of human occupancy in indoor premises

(www.nature.com)
248 points punnerud | 1 comments | 15 Mar 25 18:38 UTC | HN request time: 0.215s | source
Show context
treetalker ◴[16 Mar 25 01:35 UTC] No.43376369[source]▶
From the abstract:

> Detectable levels of DNA were also observed in air and dust samples from ultra-clean forensic laboratories which can potentially contaminate casework samples.

Great news for criminal defense attorneys.

replies(3): >>43396186 #>>43396637 #>>43396805 #
moontear ◴[18 Mar 25 07:36 UTC] No.43396637[source]▶
How would that argument go? As far as I understand it, the DNA of the occupants of said lab may be found. That would mean that the criminal samples may also contain DNA of the lab occupants/scientists. Isn’t that the case currently as well and those DNA parts would be omitted?
replies(3): >>43396710 #>>43396769 #>>43396800 #
1. yzydserd ◴[18 Mar 25 08:10 UTC] No.43396800[source]▶
It’s possibly not the GP’s point, but in general the more DNA that is available the better from a defense perspective. Many wrongful convictions involve a lack of physical evidence. Recent advances like “touch dna” and “m-vac” have led to new DNA evidence used in actual innocence decisions. Too often, a jury convicts a likely suspect on weak circumstantial evidence. Just as with Touch DNA, Air DNA will create new problems with avoiding contamination.

The path toward Air DNA has been known for years [0]. Wouldn’t be surprised to learn crime scene investigators have been sampling and storing air in high profile cases ready for the tech to catch up.

[0] https://www.science.org/content/article/dna-pulled-thin-air-...