DNA Technology

Authorities in Hawaii pleaded Tuesday with relatives of those missing after the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century to come forward and give DNA samples, saying the low number provided so far threatens to hinder efforts to identify any remains discovered in the ashes. Some 1,000 to 1,100 names remain on the FBI's tentative, unconfirmed list of people unaccounted for after wildfires destroyed the historic seaside community of Lahaina on Maui. But the family assistance centre so far has collected DNA from just 104 families, said Julie French, who is helping lead efforts to identify remains by DNA analysis. Maui Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin, who is running the centre, said that the number of family members coming in to provide DNA samples is a lot lower" than in other major disasters around the country, though it wasn't immediately clear why. That's our concern, that's why I'm here today, that's why I'm asking for this help, he said. Martin and French sought to reassur

The government on Monday withdrew the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2019 from Lok Sabha. Amid sloganeering by opposition members over the Manipur violence, Union Minister Jitendra Singh withdrew the Bill when the House reassembled at 12 noon after an earlier adjournment. The Bill seeks to regulate the use and application of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) technology for the purposes of establishing the identity of certain categories of people, including victims, offenders, suspects, undertrials, those missing and unidentified deceased. The Bill was introduced on July 8, 2019 and referred to the Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change for examination. The report of the committee was laid in Lok Sabha on February 3, 2021.

Blood samples are being collected in a graded manner as part of DNA fingerprinting of armed forces personnel and this process has so far helped identify mortal remains in 12 cases, including the helicopter crash that killed then Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, said Lieutenant General Daljit Singh, Director General - Armed Forces Medical Service (DGAFMS), on Monday. Singh was addressing the press on the sidelines of the Pune-based Armed Forces Medical College's (AFMC)'s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. It is an ongoing process in which blood samples are being collected in a graded manner for archiving in the repository that is maintained at AFMC's Department of Forensic Medicine, he said. "What does DNA profiling mean? You take a drop of the blood of an individual, put it on a special filter paper, and store it in a repository. Later, if you want to identify that individual for some reason, such as an unfortunate accident, we can retrieve his sample from the repository and

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Absence of privacy legislation can create complications