28 Nov 2018

The case for a universal DNA database

From Afternoons, 1:15 pm on 28 November 2018

Over the years there have been several high profile cases in the US where police officers and investigators have used publicly-accessible DNA databases to catch criminals.

There is debate over whether this is ethical but new research argues a universal DNA database in each country might be less discriminatory than current forensic practice.

Researchers suggest these are biased, as the databases contain DNA from mostly non-white, young people. James Hazel, the author of this paper, explains why. 

The human DNA model takes on a double helix shape

The human DNA model takes on a double helix shape Photo: (Pixabay)