{"id":2871,"date":"2019-12-03T15:43:16","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T15:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/?p=2871"},"modified":"2019-12-03T15:43:16","modified_gmt":"2019-12-03T15:43:16","slug":"familial-dna-searches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/familial-dna-searches\/","title":{"rendered":"Familial DNA Searches"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DNA has been used as a form of evidence for years and is now\naccepted as one of the more reliable ways of connecting a person with a crime.\nHowever, recently police have begun using familial DNA to identify suspects\nwithout having an exact match for their DNA. This brings with it several legal\nand ethical issues, which we\u2019ll talk about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What has past testing looked like?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The\nCombined DNA Index System (CODIS) is software to store DNA from convicted\nfelons and use it to identify whether any of that stored DNA matches an unknown\nsample.<\/li><li>They\nmatch alleles at 13 specified locations in the samples and depending on the\nstrength of the tests, it must match a certain number of the locations.<\/li><li>A\ntypical test used to identify a suspect is at the strongest level, where all 13\nmust match.<sup>1<\/sup><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"220\" height=\"186\" src=\"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/832\/2019\/12\/220px-Codis_profile.jpg\" alt=\"A screenshot of a cell phone\n\nDescription automatically generated\" class=\"wp-image-2872\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/832\/2019\/12\/220px-Codis_profile.jpg 220w, https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/832\/2019\/12\/220px-Codis_profile-128x108.jpg 128w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 220px) 100vw, 220px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What is Familial DNA Search?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>A\nfamiliar DNA search uses a different software to list the likely candidates for\nclose family relations and ranks them, then using lineage testing to confirm\nclose candidates.<\/li><li>This\nis different than partial matching, which simply identifies candidates who only\nmeet a certain level of matches STRs without using lineage testing.<\/li><li>Y-STR\ntesting, one form of lineage testing, looks specifically alleles on the\nY-chromosome which allows you to look at fraternal connection. This highlights one\nof the current drawbacks of familial searching, which is that it currently can\nonly identify male relations.<sup>1<\/sup><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"410\" src=\"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/832\/2019\/12\/la-me-g-familial-dna4-20180426-1024x410.png\" alt=\"A screenshot of a cell phone\n\nDescription automatically generated\" class=\"wp-image-2873\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/832\/2019\/12\/la-me-g-familial-dna4-20180426-1024x410.png 1024w, https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/832\/2019\/12\/la-me-g-familial-dna4-20180426-300x120.png 300w, https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/832\/2019\/12\/la-me-g-familial-dna4-20180426-768x307.png 768w, https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/832\/2019\/12\/la-me-g-familial-dna4-20180426-863x345.png 863w, https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/832\/2019\/12\/la-me-g-familial-dna4-20180426-270x108.png 270w, https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/832\/2019\/12\/la-me-g-familial-dna4-20180426.png 1125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When is familial DNA testing used?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Familial DNA is used only as a last resort when no\nother DNA testing has worked thus far. It also has typically only been used for\nmajor cases.<sup>2<\/sup><\/li><li>Familial DNA is also an expensive option for\nlabs\u2014Y-STR testing is currently not regularly used in normal testing, so the\nadditional tests must be purchased for familial DNA. Additionally, much of the current\nsoftware is slow, making the process use up valuable time and resources, and must\nbe purchased or developed in house by a jurisdiction.<sup>3<\/sup><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What are some of the concerns about Familial DNA?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The first major concern about familial DNA\nsearches is that it violates your 4<sup>th<\/sup> amendment privacy rights. While\nmany accept that upon being convicted for a crime, you give up some of your privacy\nrights which allow for collection of criminal DNA, it is not widely accepted\nthat those rights apply to your family. By using criminal DNA to conduct\nfamilial DNA searches, you are infringing on the rights of family members.<\/li><li>The next major concern is that familial DNA is\ndiscriminatory, since there is a larger pool of samples for African Americans\nsince they are more likely to be incarcerated and have DNA samples collected.\nThis would make it easier to find matches for African American suspects versus\nother races.<sup>2<\/sup><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Familial DNA searches could make DNA searches for criminals vastly more effective, with one study seeing a 40% increase in the likelihood of finding a relative for an unknown DNA sample through this method versus finding a direct match through traditional methods.<sup>4 <\/sup>However, I believe that we have not had the technology advances or worked through the legal implications of familial DNA searches enough to widely implement this process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our current methods don\u2019t offer any equivalent for Y-STR testing which would help identify female relations, so we currently must rely on partial matches only. Additionally, fourth and fourteenth amendment rights are at stake, and we need to have a national discussion on how to protect those rights before implementing familial DNA searches widely. Still, in the famous cases which have already used this method, including the Grim Sleeper case, it is already clear that is certainly has the potential to find new, so far unidentified subjects to some of the most puzzling cold cases still open today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">1. National Criminal Justice Reference Service.<em> Understanding Familial DNA Searching:\nPolicies, Procedures, and Potential Impact, Summary Overview. <\/em>251043.\nAugust 2017. By Sara Debus-Sherrill and Michael B. Field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2. National Criminal Justice Reference Service. <em>Study of Familial DNA Searching Policies and\nPractice: Case Study Brief Series. <\/em>251081. August 2017. By Michael B. Field,\nSaniya Seera, Christina Ngyuen, and Sara Debus-Sherrill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">3. National Criminal Justice Reference Service. <em>Study of Familial DNA Searching Policies and\nPractices: Cost Simulation Tool User Guide. <\/em>251045. August 2017. By Avi\nBhati and Sara Debus-Sherrill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">4. Frederick R. Bieber, Charles H. Brenner, &amp; David\nLazer. (2006). Finding Criminals through DNA of Their Relatives. Science,\n312(5778), 1315. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DNA has been used as a form of evidence for years and is now accepted as one of the more reliable ways of connecting a person with a crime. However, recently police have begun using familial DNA to identify suspects without having an exact match for their DNA. This brings with it several legal and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/familial-dna-searches\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Familial DNA Searches<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3229,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[110],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-genetic-testing"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3229"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2871"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2871\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/biol2013h-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}