Senate Passes DNA Databank Expansion Legislation

New York Senate.gov
The New York State Senate today passed legislation, sponsored by Senator Steve Saland (R-I-C, Poughkeepsie) and Senator Martin Golden (R-C, Brooklyn), for the largest expansion of the state’s DNA databank since it was created in 1994.

DNA Turning Human Story Into a Tell-All

New York Times
The tip of a girl’s 40,000-year-old pinky finger found in a cold Siberian cave, paired with faster and cheaper genetic sequencing technology, is helping scientists draw a surprisingly complex new picture of human origins.

Florida International University Receives $349,000 Grant From the Department of Justice

SOUTH EASTON, Mass., Jan. 31, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Florida International University (“FIU”) and Pressure BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:PBIO) (“PBI” and the “Company”) today announced that FIU has been awarded $349,130 from the Office of Justice Programs of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”). The grant will support the continued development of a faster and more accurate method of processing DNA evidence for rape prosecutions using PBI’s patented Pressure Cycling Technology (“PCT”) Platform.

Fall River gets $148K grant to update crime lab

Massachusetts
FALL RIVER — The Police Department’s Crime Scene unit office is being revamped following the receipt of a federal grant.

Genetic Identity Webinar: Development and Validation of a 21-locus STR Multiplex

Date: Thursday February 2, 2012
Time: 5.00 PM – 6.00 PM (EET: Helsinki, Tallinn)
Time: 4.00 PM – 5.00 PM (CET: Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm)
Time: 3.00 PM – 4.00 PM (WET: London, Lisbon, Dublin)
Time: 10.00 AM – 11.00 AM (EST: New York)
Use the time zone converter to calculate your local time of the webinar

The webinar will approximately take 1 hour. All Promega @cademy webinars are free, though we do ask you to register.

Genetic link between Native Americans and Asians strengthened

Medill Reports
Could a remote, mountainous region in southern Siberia be the genetic source from whence Native Americans sprung?

Forensic lab of South Asia to be operational soon, says Shahbaz

The Nation India
LAHORE – Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said the latest forensic lab of South Asia will soon be fully operational in Lahore to probe the criminal evidence on most modern scientific lines

State crime lab’s problems have put murder cases on hold

The Day.com Connecticut
…The forensic lab in Meriden, years behind in testing physical evidence in all but the highest-priority cases, lost its certification from the American Society of Crime Lab Directors (ASCLAD) in August 2011. The FBI also audited the lab and stopped allowing it to submit DNA information to a national databank…

Serbs, Croats “have most similar DNA”

SKOPJE — A six-year long DNA research of the Balkan peoples conducted by Skopje Forensics Medicine Institute has showed remarkable resemblance among them.

Call renewed for DNA data bank for missing people

Vancouver Sun Canada
Melanie Alix has worked through the heartache after spending more than three years searching for answers since her 21-year-old son disappeared.
The Saskatchewan woman has now added her voice to a call for a DNA data bank for missing people and their family members, similar to the system in place for criminals. She hopes a national system could provide closure and answers to countless families left in despair after losing a loved one.