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04 Oct 2011 10:04

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U.S.: Texas inmate to be freed after DNA evidence exonerates him

  • He’s eager to be released, as you can imagine, after all these years. He’s kind of going to be Rip Van Winkle — he’s never held a cell phone; Reagan was president when he went in. There’s going to be a lot of adjustments, but he’ll be fine.
  • Houston lawyer John Raley, who works with the Innocence Project • Discussing the imminent release of convicted murderer Michael Morton, who is expected to be released today after DNA evidence exonerated him from the crime of killing his wife in 1986. DNA evidence implicates a convicted felon who has also been tied to a similar 1988 murder. Morton, meanwhile, was convicted on circumstantial evidence and otherwise had no history of violence. Enjoy your freedom, Michael — they have these things called iPhones now, and they’re awesome. (thanks Michael Cote for the tip) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Mar 2011 11:22

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U.S.: Supreme Court narrowly favors death row inmate’s DNA fight

  • 6-3 the SCOTUS decision to favor a Texas death-row inmate source
  • » More rights for death row inmates? Inmate Hank Skinner, based on this decision, will be able to file a civil rights lawsuit to get DNA material. It’s a narrowly-scoped decision, however, and one that only allows Skinner to claim that the state didn’t follow its own policies on acquiring DNA evidence. What does that mean, in layman’s terms? It means that inmates don’t have a broad constitutional right to acquire DNA material in court – a decision which would have much larger ramifications and give inmates a quite-large bargaining point in criminal cases (including the ability for their defense to independently test such DNA material). Still, though, it buys Skinner time.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Dec 2010 20:36

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World: Amanda Knox actually receives good news in her murder trial

  • Amanda is stunned. She is in shock but happy – this brings hope.
  • Amanda Knox’s mother, Edda Mellas • Describing her daughter’s reaction to the positive news that Knox’s request for an independent review of the DNA in her Italian murder case will be allowed. This is a big thing, largely because there’s a widespread belief that the DNA evidence in the case was tampered with and otherwise questionably acquired. Knox, who was convicted earlier this year in an insanely over-the-top trial in Italy, may still have a chance to clear her name yet. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Dec 2010 11:10

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U.S.: Federal health officials: Smoking causes immediate negative effects

  • cause Federal health officials say that smoking causes immediate damage in people’s lungs and DNA (even at tiny amounts), and must be prevented.
  • reaction The Obama administration (which includes a president that still smokes) will redouble its efforts to get people to stop smoking. Start with the president, guys. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Nov 2010 10:01

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U.S.: Chandra Levy trial has a pretty major DNA-related problem

  • bad Gary Condit’s name was dragged in the mud over the Chandra Levy situation – and now, years later, Ingmar Guandique is on trial for the murder.
  • worse During the trial, scientific experts drop a bombshell – no DNA or forensic evidence links either man to the crime scene. This is troubling. source
  • » To make things worse: There is some DNA evidence (semen and fingerprints, to be specific) but it doesn’t match either man. It doesn’t mean that Ingmar Guandique still isn’t the suspect. It just means it’ll be much harder for the prosecution to prove it.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Jul 2010 13:32

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U.S.: Most interesting part of “Grim Sleeper” case? How he was caught

  • See, the police did a familial DNA search. That method, rare and fairly controversial, tied DNA from a convicted relative of Lonnie David Franklin Jr. Why? Because they deemed the case a major public threat. The 2008 California law that they used was fought to no avail by civil rights activists. State attorney general Jerry Brown said the arrest was proof the law works: “Although the adoption of this new state policy was unprecedented and controversial,” he said, “in certain cases, it is the only way to bring a dangerous killer to justice.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Apr 2010 11:13

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U.S.: Protip: Don’t take a tribe’s DNA and do all willy-nilly with it

  • ethical Arizona State University takes DNA from the Havasupai Indians to help with research into high rates of diabetes for the tribe.
  • unethcial The school uses the DNA for many other unrelated studies, and now the school is paying the tribe lots of money. source
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07 Jan 2010 10:55

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Tech: A good percentage of human beings already going viral

  • 8% of DNA in human beings comes from a virus source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Aug 2009 11:09

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Tech: The future of silicon chips: DNA. We’re scared.

Now that research has proven that chips made out of silicon can be made smaller and faster, how long until the chips get a mind of their own? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Feb 2009 10:28

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Tech: Why should Darwin get all the evolution attention?

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