DNA Evidence Can Be Fabricated, Scientists Show

[DownintheUpside]

Originally posted by Andrew Pollack

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.”

Source

Uh oh, bad news for a justice system that increasingly rely's on the use of DNA testing to solve cases or is this a step in the right direction to make it a little more failsafe?

[bodebliss]

Dna evidence might become inadmissible in court. Wouldn't that rock their world?

[Alexandra_Kitty]

I read that article this morning and thought what was the big shock? If you can clone DNA, you can fabricate DNA...

[freenina]

Funny how they prove that it can be fabricated, and then they produce a test which can discern between the fake ones and the real ones, that they will sell to forensic laboratories.
Either way, I don't think this will cause the overturning of a lot of court cases. As long as the DNA samples are still on file, they can just test to see that it hasn't been faked.

[DownintheUpside]

True for existing cases, but any new ones that come in is where they are going with that story above, not that all cases based on DNA evidence will be thrown out it is a matter of needing higher scrutiny towards that collected I think, more as a "hello, look what can be done."