New DNA hair analysis makes catching criminals faster and cheaper

Forensic DNA profiling of human hairs is critical to solving many serious crimes, however most hairs found at crime scenes contain very little DNA. This makes DNA testing of hairs a real challenge. Existing methods to obtain and interpret DNA profiles from shed human hairs is expensive and often unsuccessful.

Associate Professor Jeremy Austin leads the advanced human forensic identification program at the University of Adelaide, and is the Deputy Director at the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD). Recently he was interviewed by The Lead about a new simple DNA hair profiling procedure producing highly accurate results for a lower cost.

"Our research shows that we can retrieve DNA profiles from shed human hairs that contain trace amounts of DNA without compromising the accuracy of our results. Previous methods required specialist and expensive laboratories," says Associate Professor Austin.

Read the full article to find out more.