A trans-Atlantic group of 41 scientists want access to the 7 million DNA records on the US national database to test whether DNA matching statistics are accurate, or overstated. There are indications that probability numbers need re-thinking, the scientists say, based partly on research from Australia.

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Scientists question DNA accuracy

A group of 41 scientists and lawyers based in the UK and USA are questioning the basic assumptions about the likelihood of DNA matching, on which people are convicted and executed.

Their request is outlined in New Scientist magazine on 6 January 2010.

They want access to the massive US DNA database to run tests to prove or disprove the ‘random math probability’ (RMP) figures used by scientists and in courts throughout the world.

The group, led by Dan Krane of Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, is demanding access to CODIS – the US national DNA database, which contains over 7 million profiles – so that they can test the assumptions behind RMPs. They have outlined their arguments in a letter, which was published in Science in December 2009 (vol 326, p 5960).

Part of Mr Krane’s arguments about accuracy stem from work he did on the DNA database in Victoria in 2003, where plain entry errors of 0.1% were indicated by data analysis, Linda Geddes reports.

New Scientist is supporting the scientists. In an editorial, it said: “Until the authorities involved in DNA profiling are transparent about how often database matches occur, scepticism will remain…In the US, at least, people have been executed largely on the basis of DNA evidence.”

Go to New Scientist article: Unreliable evidence? Time to open up DNA databases

Go to New Scientist editorial