90-Minute DNA Screening Available Soon For Law Enforcement

Tuesday, January 28, 2014 - 11:30 in Biology & Nature

DNA Richard Wheeler via Wikimedia Commons Current human DNA tests take two to three weeks to be completed, and must be sent into an accredited laboratory. But a new rapid test, which could analyze human DNA in 90 minutes in the field, is nearly complete, Pentagon and industry officials told USA Today. The change to an exponentially faster, mobile test will have huge implications for for law enforcement, war crimes investigations and immigration, Chris Asplen, the executive director of the Global Alliance for Rapid DNA Testing, told the paper. "When it comes to solving crime (not proving it in court but actually using DNA to find the killer, rapist, burglar, etc.) the value of DNA as an investigative tool is directly proportional to the speed at which it can be leveraged in any given investigation," Asplen said. The Pentagon will finish evaluating the test...

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