IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO FORENSIC INVESTIGATIONS

摘要

The invention aims to provide additional information of the identity or source of DNA sample, particularly an ethnic characteristic, such as the ethnic grouping, of the person who is the source of the DNA sample. The invention provides a method of obtaining information about the nature of a physical characteristic of the source of a sample from a number of possibilities for that physical characteristic, the method comprising analysing at least part of the DNA in the sample, the analysis determining the presence and/or identity of one or more variations at one or more locations of the DNA; providing a database containing information on the presence and/or identity of the one or more variations at the one or more locations of the DNA for a plurality of reference samples, the nature of the physical characteristic being known for the reference samples; for one or more of the possible natures of the physical characteristic, taking at least some of the reference samples having a common nature for the physical characteristic together to give a grouping and considering the frequency of occurrence of the combination of the presence and/or identity of the one or more variations at the one or more locations of the DNA for the sample in that grouping having a common nature of the physical characteristic; the frequency of occurrence being used to predict information relating to the nature of the physical characteristic of the source of the sample.