WHAT IS IT?

 

For years, TV detectives have been gathering the skin, blood, and semen of TV criminals. The evidence always tells a story full of twists and turns, but it always leads to the right guy. On television, genetics never lie, fingerprints are easily identified, and the real bad guy is always convicted on the strength of the evidence he leaves behind.

In real life, forensics is not terribly sexy. Mostly, it means taking photos or plaster casts of footprints (by far the most plentiful trace evidence at any crime scene). Even the fun blood-pathology stuff is done by putting a tiny bit of evidence in a test tube and then waiting while a computer does something. It is, like most science, boring. (Unless you’re a scientist, in which case it’s terribly exciting.)

It can, however, tell an investigator a surprising amount. Our understanding of genetics has progressed to the point that we can trace the origins of entire racial groups to individuals who lived thousands of years ago. For a few hundred dollars, you can have your entire genome mapped in a couple of hours. The markers for specific diseases (Parkinson’s), physical expressions (redhead), and predilections (alcoholism) can all be recognized and flagged. Your blood, your hair, and your saliva all carry your genetic history. The question is, now that we have access to this information, what do we do with it? Will insurance companies demand a gene sequence before agreeing to insure you? Will they charge extra to insure you for diseases from which your genes say you might someday suffer?

Your genes aren’t the only part of you a properly equipped researcher can mine for information. Biometrics like fingerprints and eyes and the pattern of a voice are relied on as forms of identification. Tiny shreds of clothing and the tread patterns of your shoes can be analyzed, and their origins and owner determined. If you are a criminal, everything you own, from toothbrushes to tube socks, becomes potential evidence. But investigators can also be fooled. DNA evidence can be easily planted, fingerprints can be faked or misidentified, voices can be mimicked. All that you are can be turned against you.