Jurors’ perceptions of scientific testimony: The role of gender and testimony complexity in trials involving DNA evidence

The colonization of Ireland by mammals has been the subject of extensive study using genetic methods and forms a central problem in understanding the phylogeography of European mammals after the Last Glacial Maximum. Ireland exhibits a depauperate mammal fauna relative to Great Britain and continental Europe, and a range of natural and anthropogenic processes have given rise to its modern fauna. Previous Europe-wide surveys of the European badger ( Meles meles ) have found conflicting microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA evidence in Irish populations, suggesting Irish badgers have arisen from admixture between human imported British and Scandinavian animals. The extent and history of contact between British and Irish badger populations remains unclear. We use comprehensive genetic data from Great Britain and Ireland to demonstrate that badgers in Ireland's northeastern and southeastern counties are genetically similar to contemporary British populations. Simulation analyses suggest this admixed population arose in Ireland 600–700 (CI 100–2600) years before present most likely through introduction of British badgers by people. These findings add to our knowledge of the complex colonization history of Ireland by mammals and the central role of humans in facilitating it.

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Bokolo v S 2014 (1)sacr 66 (sca): The practicality of challenging dna evidence in court

South African Crime Quarterly ◽

10.4314/sacq.v52i1.4 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Emma Charlene Lubaale

Keyword(s):

Supreme Court ◽

Active Role ◽

Case Note ◽

Scientific Validity ◽

Dna Evidence ◽

The Supreme Court ◽

Appeal Decision ◽

Court Of Appeal ◽

The Ideal

The techniques used in DNA profiling are well established and scientifically validated. The scientific validity of DNA evidence can, however, be so persuasive that such evidence risks being reduced to proof of guilt or innocence. Thus, the incorrect use of DNA evidence could lead to a miscarriage of justice where the innocent are convicted and the guilty are acquitted. Drawing from the Supreme Court of Appeal decision in Bokolo v S (Bokolo case), this case note discusses how DNA evidence can be placed in its proper forensic context. The article sets out the ideal role of expert witnesses, the role of opposing or neutral experts, and the active role of judicial officers in evaluating DNA evidence.

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Projecting Ancient Ancestry in Modern-Day Arabians and Iranians: A Key Role of the Past Exposed Arabo-Persian Gulf on Human Migrations

Genome Biology and Evolution ◽

10.1093/gbe/evab194 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (9) ◽

Author(s):

Joana C Ferreira ◽

Farida Alshamali ◽

Francesco Montinaro ◽

Bruno Cavadas ◽

Antonio Torroni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Persian Gulf ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Data Set ◽

The Caucasus ◽

Dna Evidence ◽

Eurasian Lineage ◽

The Common ◽

Out Of Africa ◽

Sub Saharan

Abstract The Arabian Peninsula is strategic for investigations centered on the early structuring of modern humans in the wake of the out-of-Africa migration. Despite its poor climatic conditions for the recovery of ancient human DNA evidence, the availability of both genomic data from neighboring ancient specimens and informative statistical tools allow modeling the ancestry of local modern populations. We applied this approach to a data set of 741,000 variants screened in 291 Arabians and 78 Iranians, and obtained insightful evidence. The west-east axis was a strong forcer of population structure in the Peninsula, and, more importantly, there were clear continuums throughout time linking western Arabia with the Levant, and eastern Arabia with Iran and the Caucasus. Eastern Arabians also displayed the highest levels of the basal Eurasian lineage of all tested modern-day populations, a signal that was maintained even after correcting for a possible bias due to a recent sub-Saharan African input in their genomes. Not surprisingly, eastern Arabians were also the ones with highest similarity with Iberomaurusians, who were, so far, the best proxy for the basal Eurasians amongst the known ancient specimens. The basal Eurasian lineage is the signature of ancient non-Africans who diverged from the common European-eastern Asian pool before 50,000 years ago, prior to the later interbred with Neanderthals. Our results appear to indicate that the exposed basin of the Arabo-Persian Gulf was the possible home of basal Eurasians, a scenario to be further investigated by searching ancient Arabian human specimens.

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DNA Evidence as the Basis for Conviction

Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal/Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad ◽

10.17159/1727-3781/2021/v24i0a8537 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 24 ◽

pp. 1-35

Author(s):

Lirieka Meintjes-Van der Walt ◽

Priviledge Dhliwayo

Keyword(s):

Crime Scene ◽

Criminal Cases ◽

Match Probability ◽

Dna Profile ◽

Dna Evidence ◽

Proper Role ◽

New Type ◽

Scene Recovery ◽

Probabilistic Evidence

The sufficiency of DNA evidence alone, with regard to convicting accused persons, has been interrogated and challenged in criminal cases. The availability of offender databases and the increasing sophistication of crime scene recovery of evidence have resulted in a new type of prosecution in which the State's case focuses on match statistics to explain the significance of a match between the accused's DNA profile and the crime-scene evidence. A number of such cases have raised critical jurisprudential questions about the proper role of probabilistic evidence, and the misapprehension of match statistics by courts. This article, with reference to selected cases from specific jurisdictions, investigates the issue of DNA evidence as the exclusive basis for conviction and important factors such as primary, secondary and tertiary transfer, contamination, cold hits and match probability which can influence the reliability of basing a conviction on DNA evidence alone, are discussed.

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DNA as ‘ready-made evidence’: An analysis of Portuguese judges’ views

The International Journal of Evidence & Proof ◽

10.1177/13657127211070331 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 136571272110703

Author(s):

Susana Costa

Keyword(s):

Justice System ◽

Critical Assessment ◽

Public Prosecution ◽

The Public ◽

Scientific Authority ◽

Probative Value ◽

Dna Evidence ◽

Chain Of Custody ◽

Biological Evidence

The introduction of biological evidence in judicial settings raises particular modes of entanglement between professional cultures and perceptions of the probative value of evidence. When DNA evidence reaches court, it also challenges the perceived margins of critical assessment of the work and understandings of previous links in the chain of custody, like the criminal police, forensic experts and the public prosecution services. Given the apparent neutrality of judicial institutions, how do Portuguese judges perceive and value biological evidence? And how do judges see their articulation with other operators of the criminal justice system? An analysis of 14 interviews carried out with Portuguese judges reveals the challenges in the evaluation of biological evidence, which is characterised as a ‘safe haven’, grounded as it is on an indisputable scientific authority. The suggestion of the presence of a cultural rift emerges, which, taken with the work of other epistemic cultures, leads to biological evidence being seen as ‘ready-made evidence’ on its arrival in court, thus limiting the role of judges in its appraisal.

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Early History of Animal Domestication in Southwest Asia

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Environmental Science ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780199389414.013.548 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Benjamin S. Arbuckle

Keyword(s):

Management Strategies ◽

Neolithic Period ◽

Southwest Asia ◽

Dna Evidence ◽

Animal Management ◽

Domestic Livestock ◽

History Of ◽

The Subject ◽

Scholarly Inquiry

The domestication of livestock animals has long been recognized as one of the most important and influential events in human prehistory and has been the subject of scholarly inquiry for centuries. Modern understandings of this important transition place it within the context of the origins of food production in the so-called Neolithic Revolution, where it is particularly well documented in southwest Asia. Here, a combination of archaeofaunal, isotopic, and DNA evidence suggests that sheep, goat, cattle, and pigs were first domesticated over a period of several millennia within sedentary communities practicing intensive cultivation beginning at the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. Resulting from more than a century of data collection, our understanding of the chronological and geographic features of the transition from hunting to herding indicate that the 9th millennium bce and the region of the northern Levant played crucial roles in livestock domestication. However, many questions remain concerning the nature of the earliest predomestic animal management strategies, the role of multiple regional traditions of animal management in the emergence of livestock, and the motivations behind the slow spread of integrated livestock husbandry systems, including all four domestic livestock species that become widespread throughout southwest Asia only at the end of the Neolithic period.

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Molecular Evidence of a Broad Range of Pathogenic Bacteria in Ctenocephalides spp.: Should We Re-Examine the Role of Fleas in the Transmission of Pathogens?

Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease ◽

10.3390/tropicalmed6010037 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 37

Author(s):

Georgios Dougas ◽

Athanassios Tsakris ◽

Stavroula Beleri ◽

Eleni Patsoula ◽

Maria Linou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pathogenic Bacteria ◽

Potential Role ◽

Bacterial Species ◽

Molecular Evidence ◽

Dna Evidence ◽

Streptococcus Species ◽

Classification Of Diseases ◽

International Statistical Classification

The internal microbiome of common cat and dog fleas was studied for DNA evidence of pathogenic bacteria. Fleas were grouped in pools by parasitized animal. DNA was extracted and investigated with 16S metagenomics for medically relevant (MR) bacteria, based on the definitions of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (WHO). The MR bacterial species totaled 40, were found in 60% of flea-pools (N = 100), and included Acinetobacterbaumannii, Bacteroidesfragilis, Clostridiumperfringens, Enterococcusfaecalis, E. mundtii, Fusobacteriumnucleatum, Haemophilusaegyptius, Kingellakingae, Klebsiellapneumoniae, Leptotrichiabuccalis, L. hofstadii, Moraxellalacunata, Pasteurellamultocida, Propionibacteriumacnes, P. propionicum, Proteusmirabilis, Pseudomonasaeruginosa, Rickettsiaaustralis, R. hoogstraalii, Salmonellaenterica, and various Bartonella, Staphylococcus, and Streptococcus species. B. henselae (p = 0.004) and B. clarridgeiae (p = 0.006) occurred more frequently in fleas from cats, whereas Rickettsiahoogstraalii (p = 0.031) and Propionibacteriumacnes (p = 0.029) had a preference in fleas from stray animals. Most of the discovered MR species can form biofilm, and human exposure may theoretically occur through the flea-host interface. The fitness of these pathogenic bacteria to cause infection and the potential role of fleas in the transmission of a broad range of diseases should be further investigated.

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