LEAVING EVEN THE SMALLEST AMOUNT OF DNA at the scene of a crime is enough to get you convicted, according to a boffin from Pennsylvania State University.
Dr Mark Shriver claims that there is enough information in a DNA sample to build up an identi-kit picture of a person's face.
His forensic molecular photofitting relies on mapping genes that are linked to skin pigmentation and, in its more complex form, to groups of genes that control facial structure. It has just been used to convict a serial killer in Florida.
In that case most of the witnesses claimed that Derek Todd Lee was white, but genetic analysis of DNA evidence left at the crime scenes showed he was African American.
Shriver wants to broaden the technique by mapping genes that define facial shape. He thinks he can link the gene mix with fixed points on the face, for example eye corners and separation, corners of the mouth, nose tip and length and face edges. ยต