“Why This Scientist Keeps Receiving Packages of Serial Killers' Hair” by Heather Murphy

Molly Palma

Mr. Ippolito

Forensics C Odd

Current Event Three

Murphy, Heather. “Why This Scientist Keeps Receiving Packages of Serial Killers' Hair.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Sept. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/16/science/hair-dna-murder.html?searchResultPosition=1

It’s a work in progress but Dr. Green from the University of California in Santa Cruz might’ve just solved a problem believed to be insolvable in the world of forensics. Usually when forensic scientists leave a crime scene with hair samples, they are left frustrated. In order for a strand of hair to serve purpose in a lab, they must be pulled from the root of the head, because that’s the source of the genetic information. Dr. Green is working against this and has figured out how to read DNA information from any strand of hair. He’s had people from law-enforcement delivering hair to his lab and he’s created DNA profiles with it, just like samples of saliva would. Dr. Green is unable to publicize his techniques in his process before he’s certain of what works, but Dr. Green’s discovery has already become a breakthrough. This process will likely be utilized in private cases though. According to Murphy “each hair costs several thousand dollars to sequence, and that’s before hiring a genetic genealogist to try to identify its source”. Maybe processes will become easier in the future regarding this specific study and the technology will be open for use other than those with such wealth.

Dr. Green’s breakthrough relates back to the current conversation about DNA sites, like GEDmatch or Full Genomes. In order to create a DNA profile on sites like this and link suspect, it’s necessary to have DNA samples. Saliva and blood might not be the only ways that fulfil the procedures asked for by the site; if Dr. Green is able to regularly extract DNA through unrooted hair, it can be helpful legally, provided the source is able to afford lab expenses. Murphy said that “there are 200,000 to 250,000 cold cases in the United States… and even if hair was collected in just 10 percent, that’s 20,000 cases that could benefit”. Benefiting forensic science can benefit the justice system as well. Murphy communicated how many criminals don’t think to shave their head. If this Dr. Green’s system pulls through, many careless criminals will be caught.

It is important that Ms. Murphy addressed the difference between mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA. Mitochondrial DNA has already been found through unrooted strands of hair. Though, it serves one purpose: connecting mother and child. Nuclear DNA is the DNA that can link suspect through distant relatives. It was interesting how Dr. Green connected these definitions through an anecdote about Dr. Rae-Venter’s boredom after heart surgery. The author sought to contextualize Dr. Green through accomplishments made in the past. It gave him credentiality that he didn’t necessarily need more of. At the beginning of the article, Murphy acknowledged that this discovery is “game-changer” to the world of forensics. Later she followed up with the fact that “he was involved in sequencing the entire Neanderthal genome from shards of bone that were at least 38,000 years old”. This deters from her central point, which is about Dr. Green’s research in hair. To improve on her work, the author might try and trim down her language, so it is a lighter read for someone who doesn’t regularly immerse themselves in forensics.