ISSN: 2041-6792

Clinical Investigation

Contact DNA

 Touch DNA, also known as Trace DNA, is a forensic method for analysing DNA left at the scene of a crime. It is called "touch DNA" because it only requires very small samples, for example from the skin cells left on an object after it has been touched or casually handled, or from footprints. Touch DNA analysis only requires seven or eight cells from the outermost layer of human skin. The technique has been criticized for high rates of false positives due to contamination for example, fingerprint brushes used by crime scene investigators can transfer trace amounts of skin cells from one surface to another, leading to inaccurate results. Because of the risk of false positives, it is more often used by the defense to help exclude a suspect rather than the prosecution.  

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