U.S. biological weapons scientists will soon begin comparing the genetic makeup of anthrax samples taken from U.S. laboratories with that of samples taken from the letters used in last fall’s attacks, Newhouse News Service reported today (see GSN, April 9).

The researchers, from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease at Fort Detrick, Md., will also examine the coating used to weaponize the anthrax spores for any further clues about who might be responsible, Newhouse reported.

Experts, however, said genetic evidence could provide few leads for the FBI’s “Amerithrax” investigation.  Even if some leads are discovered, genetic fingerprinting is still too new and prone to errors to stand up in court, they said.

“If I were a defense attorney, I would raise questions about the error rate of DNA technologies,” said Abigail Salyers, president of the American Society for Microbiology.

The genetic fingerprinting process itself might cause problems, said Jill Trewhella, head of the bioscience division at Los Alamos National Laboratory.  In order for scientists to study DNA fragments, they must first make copies, a process that can introduce errors, according to Newhouse.

“What’s the degree of certainty you can have comparing a DNA sequence or chemical signatures of different labs?  This is not known.  It’s happening now,” Salyers said, adding she is planning a conference in June to develop forensic guidelines for bioterrorism investigations.

The FBI has worked to ensure that any scientific evidence in the Amerithrax investigation, including genetic evidence, will stand up to scrutiny in court, according to an FBI official.

“We have extremely top-of-the-line experts in pathogens, molecular biology and analytical chemistry,” said Van Harp, head of the FBI investigation.

The FBI might have to rely on scientific evidence for a big break in its investigation because thousands of interviews and a reward of $2.5 million have provided little information, Newhouse reported.

“We all agree that the scientific analysis will be the key to identifying the source of the anthrax and putting the pieces together,” said Kevin Donovan, head of the FBI’s New York Office (Kevin Coughlin, Newhouse News Service, April 10).

About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines

HOME  |  CONTACT US  |  GET INVOLVED  |  SITE MAP

Back to top