British police test new technique to decipher DNA samples

British police are trialing a new DNA profiling technique that may help to decipher previously inscrutable samples and resolve many thousands of unsolved crimes.

Starting on Wednesday, the technique is being trialed by four police forces in the north of England and after a three month trial period, it is scheduled to be extended to police forces in the rest of England and Wales, the New Scientist reported on its website.

The computer-based technique developed by the government's Forensic Science Service (FSS), allows the profiling of small, poor quality and mixed DNA samples from crime scenes, according to the report.

The new software, called DNAboost, could help scientists identify 40 percent more samples than presently possible - and ultimately increase crime detection rates by up to 15 percent.

"The software allows us to carry out a much more sophisticated interpretation process," Paul Hackett, DNA manager at the FSS in Birmingham, UK, was quoted as saying.

In conjunction with a form of supersensitive DNA testing also developed by the FSS, the technique could double the number of unsolved "cold cases" that can be cracked, the report said.

The FSS runs the world's first and largest national DNA database, handling over 10,000 samples of DNA from crime scenes and 50,000 from individuals every month.

Source: Xinhua