DNA Phenotyping in Forensic Science

• Forensic scientists are improving their ability to identify people without seeing their faces using DNA phenotyping.
• Parabon combined forensic sculpture and DNA phenotyping to identify a victim and catch her killer.
• Shriver Lab at Penn State is building an algorithm to predict a person's face based on their DNA and collected data from people who share their genetic ancestry.
• The algorithm works best when a person looks statistically average.
• Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) contribute to the variations in a person's appearance.
• Mark and his team are building a database of which SNPs affect which features.
• The formula isn't perfect and requires more data to improve accuracy.
• Forensic hair analysis often uses racial categories to categorize hair, which can sway a jury's perception of a perpetrator's race.
• DNA phenotyping has limitations and cannot predict a person's gender, scars, or makeup.
• The key to using DNA phenotyping to solve crimes is understanding its limitations.

Explore how DNA phenotyping is revolutionizing forensic science by predicting a person's facial features based on their DNA. Learn about the technologies and algorithms used, the role of SNPs in determining appearance, and the limitations and challenges of DNA phenotyping in crime solving.