genetic genealogy

Science Nov 07

A father took an at-home DNA test. His son was then falsely accused of murder

By William Brangham, Nsikan Akpan, Rhana Natour

Michael Usry said police officers should be allowed to use the tools that they're given to catch criminals, but given his experience, he worries about the possible misuse of "powerful" DNA techniques like genetic genealogy. Photo by William Brangham

Genetic genealogy can help solve cold cases. It can also accuse the wrong person.

For law enforcement, the case for using genetic genealogy is strong. But it's not foolproof.

By Nsikan Akpan

In the past, law enforcement could not match genetic profiles in their forensic databases with DNA records stored in ancestry sites. Photo by KTSDESIGN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/via Getty Images

DNA ancestry searches can now identify most white Americans. Here’s why that’s legally questionable

Police identified the Golden State Killer with a genetic ancestry search for his distant relatives. These two studies show how easy that could be done for anyone.

By Nsikan Akpan

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