Each year, forensic scientists hope for more advanced technology that can assist in identifying victims of crimes as well as find the criminals responsible.
A new forensic technique known as phenotyping (FDP) uses DNA like skin and blood to predict a person’s physical appearance. Some investigators are already leaning on this new advancement to help solve cold murder cases.
How does phenotyping work?
Scientists scan a person’s genes for variations that influence traits such as eye color, skin color, freckling and geographical ancestry.
Critics argue that these are not exact sketches because there are a variety of factors such as a person’s diet, whether they smoke or drink, hairstyle, scars and tattoos that greatly determine how a person looks.
Supporters of phenotyping suggest that although the sketch may not be exact, the similarities may jog memories of what people look like. They argue that this brings life to old cases and could possibly bring a killer to justice.
Parabon Nanolabs is one of the major companies specializing in phenotyping and have many clients that use them to help solve crimes. It’s a relatively recent arrival in forensic science and critics question how useful and accurate the information actually is.
Time, testing and technology will help to determine if this type of forensic evidence is accurate and able to assist in catching criminals.