ABSTRACT

This chapter provides information regarding collection, preservation, and analysis of genetic samples as well as the types of questions that genetic analysis can answer in a forensic context. Molecular analysis is now a routine part of forensic investigations. The importance of molecular-based identification procedures in both the forensic and archaeological context: principles, protocols, and procedures for selection, cutting, and packaging of skeletal remains are similar when one is pursuing either forensic or ancient DNA analysis. Standardization of Short Tandem Repeat (STR) loci used in forensic typing is important, because information is shared domestically between laboratories at the state and federal level as well as by the international community. The European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) and the European DNA Profiling groups (EDNAP) recent recommendations were to add three new mini-STR loci, with alleles less than 130 bp, to the seven currently utilized in the international criminal police organization.