On the DNA trail

by DANIELA WAKONIGG

For a long time, investigators had to content themselves with fingerprints from fingers and shoes, the color and structure of found hair, or the analysis of blood groups. In the 1980s, a powerful tool was added: DNA analysis. Initially, the use of the new method still caused difficulties due to a lack of technical prerequisites, and too little was known about DNA.

Today, samples from the crime scene are regularly analyzed in molecular genetic laboratories, such as that of Cornelius Courts. The molecular biologist and…

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