Category Archives: Mitochondrial Testing

California Becomes First State Accredited For New Technology Which Will Make It Easier To Test DNA Exposed To Harsh Conditions

Posted on February 27, 2020 by | Comments Off on California Becomes First State Accredited For New Technology Which Will Make It Easier To Test DNA Exposed To Harsh Conditions

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra [yesterday] announced a DNA technology advancement that will enable the California Department of Justice…to increase its ability to successfully identify unknown persons. The Department is the first accredited state crime lab in North America to begin fully sequencing mitochondrial DNA, which makes it easier to test degraded evidence samples that have been subjected to harsh environmental conditions. This advancement is particularly important for being able to process DNA involving unknown human remains and help families find closure regarding loved ones who have gone missing.

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Posted in Mitochondrial Testing, New ID Technologies

How one man’s obsession led to the discovery of a lost WWII pilot

Posted on July 4, 2018 by | Comments Off on How one man’s obsession led to the discovery of a lost WWII pilot

In late June 1994, a helicopter banked over the Charley River in Alaska’s eastern Yukon wilderness. Below, on a hillside of granite and greenstone, was the wreckage of a B-24D bomber that went down Dec. 21, 1943 during a flight to test the plane’s systems in extreme cold.
Doug Beckstead, a National Park Service historian, pressed his face against the glass for his first view of the “Iceberg Inez,” one of the many hulks of lost aircraft across Alaska.
This one came with a remarkable backstory. The lone survivor — co-pilot 1st Lt. Leon Crane, a city kid from Philadelphia — made his way out of the frozen Yukon wilds after an 81-day ordeal.

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Posted in Forensic Industry News, Missing Persons, Mitochondrial Testing

DNA ties ‘killer clown’ to getaway car in 27-year-old cold case, prosecutors say

Posted on April 13, 2018 by | Comments Off on DNA ties ‘killer clown’ to getaway car in 27-year-old cold case, prosecutors say

Florida investigators on Thursday released DNA evidence that they say helped lead to the arrest of a woman suspected of dressing up as a clown and fatally shooting her future husband’s then-wife 27 years ago.
Palm Beach County prosecutors said that recent forensic tests conducted by the FBI concluded that hair fibers found in a suspected getaway car could have come from Sheila Keen Warren.

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Posted in Cold Cases, Forensic Industry News, Mitochondrial Testing

Recovery Mission

Posted on June 1, 2016 by | Comments Off on Recovery Mission

Recovery Mission…The painstaking case of lost and found for the Van Bendegom family is only one of many that is playing out around the world. There may eventually be thousands more. Over fifteen hundred Americans who fought and died in the Vietnam War have yet to be identified; and that is only one war. Government officials estimate there are another 7800+ unidentified lost in the Korean War, and 125+ missing soldiers who fought and died in the Cold War. More than 73,000 service personnel from World War II still remain unidentified today…

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Posted in Missing Persons, Mitochondrial Testing

Korean Red Cross stepping up DNA testing for possible family reunions

Posted on July 9, 2015 by | Comments Off on Korean Red Cross stepping up DNA testing for possible family reunions

blue helixSEOUL, South Korea — Amid a backlog of requests from aging war survivors, the Korean Red Cross is dramatically expanding its collection of genetic material from South Koreans separated from their families during the Korean War.

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Posted in Ancestry, Missing Persons, Mitochondrial Testing

Penn State research on mitochondrial DNA could bolster forensic investigations

Posted on January 22, 2015 by | Comments Off on Penn State research on mitochondrial DNA could bolster forensic investigations

MitoUNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A new grant from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) will help scientists from Penn State’s Eberly College of Science delve deep into the world of mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA, used to help solve crime in forensic investigations.

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Posted in Mitochondrial Testing

Bode Technology Uses DNA To Help Identify Missing World War II Soldier

Posted on April 7, 2014 by | Comments Off on Bode Technology Uses DNA To Help Identify Missing World War II Soldier

POW MIAThe Bode Technology Group, Inc.(Bode), a leading provider of forensic DNA services and products, in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin (UW), announced the successful DNA testing of 70-year old bone fragments from a missing World War II soldier.

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Posted in Forensic Industry News, Mass Disaster, Missing Persons, Mitochondrial Testing

Authorities turn to mitochondrial DNA tests to identify 3/11 victims

Posted on February 21, 2014 by | Comments Off on Authorities turn to mitochondrial DNA tests to identify 3/11 victims

MitoJapanese authorities who are still trying to identify the remains of victims of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami say they are having greater success testing mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) compared to conventional testing methods.

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Posted in Mass Disaster, Mitochondrial Testing

Infant bones sent to Texas for examination

Posted on January 23, 2014 by | Comments Off on Infant bones sent to Texas for examination

MitoThe skeletal remains of two infants found in North Canton will be sent to the University of North Texas for testing Tuesday. Police and investigators hope result will answer questions surrounding the bones, which were found in a deceased woman’s home more than a month ago.

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Posted in Cold Cases, Mitochondrial Testing

Lost Remains of Slain Ancient Queen Unearthed

Posted on January 13, 2014 by | Comments Off on Lost Remains of Slain Ancient Queen Unearthed

Queen KetevanThe remains of a woman kept in an Indian church likely belong to an ancient queen executed about 400 years ago, a new DNA analysis suggests.

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Posted in Ancient DNA, Mitochondrial Testing

Ancient DNA Studies Open the Door to the Ancestral Past

Posted on November 21, 2013 by | Comments Off on Ancient DNA Studies Open the Door to the Ancestral Past

MitoLast July, researchers reported that they had found a direct genetic link between the remains of Native Americans who lived thousands of years ago and their living descendants. Scientists used mitochondrial DNA to track three maternal lineages from ancient times to the present, comparing the complete mitochondrial genomes of four ancient and three living individuals from the north coast of British Columbia, Canada.
The findings not only will cause population experts to rethink ancient migrations into this area, but according to advocates for native populations, will solidify these groups’ claim to their ancestral homelands.

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Posted in Mitochondrial Testing

DNA lab to ID final 8 Lac-Megantic, Quebec victims

Posted on October 28, 2013 by | Comments Off on DNA lab to ID final 8 Lac-Megantic, Quebec victims

first Responders at Lac Megantic tragedyMONTREAL — Authorities who are trying to identify the final eight victims of the Lac-Megantic train blast have turned to the only Canadian lab that might be able to ID the charred remains.

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Posted in Forensic Industry News, Mass Disaster, Missing Persons, Mitochondrial Testing

Neolithic Europe hunter-gatherers, farmers coexisted — but no sex

Posted on October 11, 2013 by | Comments Off on Neolithic Europe hunter-gatherers, farmers coexisted — but no sex

Neolithic FarmersNeolithic hunter-gatherers and farmers lived side by side without having sex for more than 2,000 years, new research suggests.
Analysis of fossil skeletons unearthed in a cave in Germany revealed that the two populations remained mostly separate for two millennia, despite living in the same region.

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Posted in Ancient DNA, Forensic Industry News, Mitochondrial Testing

European link to Jewish maternal ancestry

Posted on October 9, 2013 by | Comments Off on European link to Jewish maternal ancestry

Jewish AncestryA new genetics study has challenged previous theories about the maternal ancestry of Ashkenazi Jews.
The study suggests that most female ancestors came from southern and western Europe, not the Middle East as some authors assume.

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Posted in Ancestry, Mitochondrial Testing

Ontario lab joins search to identify Lac-Megantic’s still-missing

Posted on October 6, 2013 by | Comments Off on Ontario lab joins search to identify Lac-Megantic’s still-missing

train derailmentEight people killed in the Lac-Mégantic disaster remain unidentified. A Thunder Bay DNA laboratory is hoping to change that.

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Posted in Forensic Industry News, Mass Disaster, Missing Persons, Mitochondrial Testing