Oh, science, will you ever stop amazing and terrifying me?
From the NY Times:
Scientists in Israel have demonstrated that it is possible to fabricate DNA evidence, undermining the credibility of what has been considered the gold standard of proof in criminal cases.
The scientists fabricated blood and saliva samples containing DNA from a person other than the donor of the blood and saliva. They also showed that if they had access to a DNA profile in a database, they could construct a sample of DNA to match that profile without obtaining any tissue from that person.
“You can just engineer a crime scene,” said Dan Frumkin, lead author of the paper, which has been published online by the journal Forensic Science International: Genetics. “Any biology undergraduate could perform this.”
According to King County Prosecutor's office spokesman Ian Goodhew, staff in the prosecutor's office are already forwarding around this story as, Goodhew says, the viability of DNA evidence 'could effect a fair number of serious cases.' However, Goodhew says, ultimately it's up to prosecutors to 'argue to a jury why they should accept [DNA] evidence they as reliable.'
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