Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Directorate of Forensic Sciences in the Uganda Police Force-UPF is seeking Shillings 450 million for examining at least 100 DNA samples from suspects and crime victims each quarter. This is contained in a document prepared by the acting head of the Directorate Forensic Science, …
Read More »DNA: Uganda Police profiles 800 hardcore criminals
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Police Force (UPF) has profiled 853 repeated offenders also known as serial criminals across the country. The profiles include the photos, DNA samples and case records of serial criminals in various parts of the country. Although the profiled criminals are drawn from …
Read More »Scientists unravel secrets from the faults in our genes
Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Imagine the body’s instruction manual, the genome: here words are genes, letters are DNA, and the equivalent of typos can have disastrous consequences. In recent years, scientists have grown increasingly fluent in the language of genome, but much remains mysterious, including the function of many of …
Read More »China’s second gene-edited foetus is 12-14 weeks old: scientist
Beijing, China | AFP | The second woman carrying a gene-edited foetus in China is now 12 to 14 weeks into her pregnancy, according to a US physician in close contact with the researcher who claimed to have created the world’s first genetically-modified babies last year. Chinese scientist He Jiankui …
Read More »CRIME: Uganda’s opposition says Museveni’s DNA proposal will not work
Kampala, Uganda | GODFREY SSALI | The Leader of Opposition in Uganda’s parliament Winnie Kiiza has said that compulsory DNA tests for all Ugandans will not work without political will. Kiiza was Friday responding to President Yoweri Museveni’s remark after the body of 28-year-old Suzan Magara was found early this …
Read More »Museveni pushes for capture of DNA records after Suzan Magara murder
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Museveni has said government will consider getting DNA records of every Ugandan in order to effectively fight crime. “DNA records of everybody are good to compare with blood samples, sweat, sperm etc found at the scene of crime. Palm-prints are better than …
Read More »Somalia’s first forensic lab targets rape impunity
Garowe, Somalia | AFP | The new freezers at Somalia’s only forensic laboratory can store thousands of DNA samples, although for now there are just five. The big hope is that they could be the start of a revolution in how the troubled Horn of Africa country tackles its widespread …
Read More »CRISPR-Cas: Genetic engineering’s Holy Grail
CRISPR-Cas technology is poised to change the world, but those changes need to be positive COMMENT | TECHNOLOGY | Antoine Danchin | Since its introduction four decades ago, genetic engineering has been a source of high hopes for health, agriculture, and industry. But it has also provoked deep anxiety, not least …
Read More »Method for editing embryo DNA at centre of legal war
Washington, United States | AFP | As scientists announced Wednesday they had corrected a disease-causing gene mutation in human embryos for the first time, a legal dispute over who discovered the CRISPR-Cas9 “editing” tool they used, continues to rage. With the potential to revolutionise medicine and agriculture, the fight over patent …
Read More »UK experts give green light to ‘three-parent babies’
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British scientists on Wednesday approved the use of so-called “three-parent baby” fertility treatments, paving the way for the country to become the first in the world to officially introduce the procedures. An independent panel of experts tasked with reviewing the safety of mitochondrial gene …
Read More »