Yissum Research Development Company Ltd, the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is promoting a novel method for identifying a suspect’s DNA in complex DNA mixtures for use in forensics.
The novel technique, developed by Ariel Darvasi from Department of Genetics at the university in collaborations with Lev Voskoboinik from the Forensic Biology Laboratory of the Israeli Police, consists of checking the DNA mixture and the suspected individual’s DNA for 1,000-3,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms which are relatively rare in a relevant population.
“DNA profiling has become an indispensable tool in crime investigations, and is used both to convict and acquit suspects,” says Yaacov Michlin, CEO of Yissum. “The novel DNA profiling method developed by Darvasi will enable the police to investigate even complex crime scenes containing DNA from multiple individuals and discern with high reliability the presence or absence of DNA from a specific suspect.”
If the DNA found at a crime scene is a mixture from more than two individuals, as is often the case, current DNA analysis methods are inefficient. Darvasi’s invention makes it possible to establish with a very high level of certainty if a suspect’s DNA is present in a mixture of DNA from up to ten individuals.
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