DNA TYPING IN FORENSIC MEDICINE AND IN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS - A CURRENT SURVEY

Since 1985 DNA typing of biological material has become one of the mos t powerful tools for personal identification in forensic medicine and in criminal investigations [1-6]. Classical DNA ''fingerprinting'' is increasingly being replaced by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based t echnology which detects very short polymorphic stretches of DNA [7-15] . DNA loci which forensic scientists study do not code for proteins, a nd they are spread over the whole genome [16, 17]. These loci are neut ral, and few provide any information about individuals except for thei r identity. Minute amounts of biological material are sufficient for D NA typing. Many European countries are beginning to establish database s to store DNA profiles of crime scenes and known offenders. A brief o verview is given of past and present DNA typing and the establishment of forensic DNA databases in Europe.