NEC Corporation develops DNA testing briefcase - CSI on the go

NEC Corporation develops DNA testing briefcase - CSI on the go (http://www.newlaunches.com/archives/nec_corporation_develops_dna_testing_briefcase_csi _on_the_go.php)

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Japan's NEC Corporation along with Aida Engineering have developed a briefcase-sized DNA analysis system that enables the police to perform comprehensive DNA testing at crime scenes in as little as 25 minutes. The same test would take at least a day to a week (if re-testing or conformation is required) in the lab. The system measures 50 x 40 x 20 cm (20 x 16 x 8 in.), and is compact enough to be carried to crime scenes or other locations where quick DNA analysis is required. "The compact unit can be used to: (1) take cell samples, (2) extract the DNA, (3) perform polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification to generate copies of the DNA, (4) perform electrophoresis to measure the spacing between DNA bands (to create the genetic fingerprint), and (5) perform short tandem repeat (STR) analysis to create a unique genetic profile for the individual," NEC is calling it the world's first portable DNA analysis system which can handle everything from extraction to analysis.

The DNA testing in a briefcase system will be shown at the 18th International Symposium on Human Identification scheduled for October 1 to 4 in Los Angeles, and at a meeting of the Japanese Association of Sociology of Law scheduled for November 8 in Tokyo. Aimed at the law enforcement officials the kit will be released in 2008.

Cool, now when you go to the No-Tell Motel you can discover how many people have excreted bodily fluids on the bed. Yay!

the Charlottesville, VA police would have loved to had one of these two years back when they were randomly DNA swabbing every black man they could get to hold still looking for a ten year spree serial rapist they just caught two months ago.

Remember Dr. Henry C. Lee from the OJ Simpson murder trial? He presented absolutely damning expert testimony regarding procedural missteps in the DNA analysis of the crime scene in Brentwood. His testimony basically freed OJ. So what kind of power does this briefcase DNA examination device hold when used in cop shops on Main Street? Will it hold up under scrutiny when corroborated with the lab results? I'm sure the eminent Dr. Lee would scoff at this invention and with good reason. It will turn DNA testing into amateur night - it will be a joke, not reliable. I might trust John Q. Law to wear a badge and carry a gun but I don't have any faith in his ability to perform DNA testing. Such tests would be performed, no doubt, without any reasonable measure of those absolutely necessary and highly specialized procedures involved. I don't think your average law enforcement official has any sense of the need for scientific rigor!

Would briefcase DNA results be admissible as evidence in court even if the lab work came back in contradiction to those field tests? I wonder.

It will take years for this thing to be cheap enough to get to the local law-enforcement level across America (for example) but I can just see a group of cops sweating down some suspect with bullshit about how they tested positive on the briefcase DNA testing. Anyone who knows anything about interrogations knows that lying is a part of the game. With DNA testing held to be The Absolute Final Word on guilt or innocence I can see this briefcase sized "lab" and it's innate power as an examination tool perverted into a method of coercion that makes hot white lights and the polygraph test look pale by comparison.