Anyone who has watched crime dramas on TV knows that forensic scientists can use DNA "profiling" to identify people from evidence gathered at a crime scene, establish a paternity link or help free an innocent person who has been wrongly jailed. A lesser known but rapidly growing application of DNA profiling is tracing a person's paternal ancestry - a process known as genetic genealogy. The laboratories performing this testing often differ in their results, making data comparison between labs difficult and casting doubt on reported genetic matches. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently published a paper* with recommendations for genealogy testing that they hope will improve the accuracy and reliability of the product.
You can read more at the Medical News Today web site at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/134099.php.
