This is the blog for GW students taking Human Evolutionary Genetics. This site is for posting interesting tidbits on: the patterns and processes of human genetic variation;human origins and migration; molecular adaptations to environment, lifestyle and disease; ancient and forensic DNA analyses; and genealogical reconstructions.

GWHEG figure

GWHEG figure

Sunday, February 6, 2022

Forensic Epigenetic Age Estimation and Beyond: Ethical and Legal Consideration

 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168952518300611

This article discusses the method of analyzing DNA methylation biomarkers across the genome of an individual to estimate the age of a possible suspect, and the resulting privacy concerns such a practice raises. Forensic scientists would accomplish this by determining the degree of DNA methylation of a sample to ascertain their epigenetic age, which will function as a stand-in for their actual age. Having this ability can greatly benefit an investigation as law enforcement can narrow in further on a suspect; however, controversy lies surrounding the vast amount of personal information that can be obtained from analyzing an individual's DNA (i.e., genetic predispositions, lifestyle choices, etc.), which the article goes in depth on.