Application of forensic DNA testing in the legal system

DNA technology has taken an irreplaceable position in the field of the fore nsic sciences. Since 1985, when Peter Gill and Alex Jeffreys first applied DNA technology to forensic problems, to the present, more than 50,000 cases worldwide have been solved through the use of DNA based technology. Althou gh the development of DNA typing in forensic science has been extremely rap id, today we are witnessing a new era of DNA technology including automatio n and miniaturization. In forensic science, DNA analysis has become "the ne w form of scientific evidence" and has come under public scrutiny and the d emand to show competence. More and more courts admit the DNA based evidence . We believe that in the near future this technology will be generally acce pted in the legal system. There are two main applications of DNA analysis i n forensic medicine: criminal investigation and paternity testing. In this article we present background information on DNA, human genetics, and the a pplication of DNA analysis to legal problems, as well as the commonly appli ed respective mathematics.