Houck Max M, Budowle Bruce
Forensic Science Initiative, West Virginia University, Morgantown 26506-6216, USA.
J Forensic Sci. 2002 Sep;47(5):964-7.
Expert opinions regarding the microscopic comparison of human hairs have been accepted routinely in courts for decades. However, with the advent of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing, an assessment can be made of the association by microscopic hair comparisons in casework between a questioned hair and reference hairs from an individual. While each method can be used separately, the two analytical methods can be complementary and together can provide additional information regarding source association. Human hairs submitted to the FBI Laboratory for analysis between 1996 and 2000 were reviewed. Of 170 hair examinations, there were 80 microscopic associations; of these, only nine were excluded by mtDNA. Importantly, 66 hairs that were considered either unsuitable for microscopic examinations or yielded inconclusive microscopic associations provided mtDNA results. Only six hairs did not provide sufficient mtDNA, and only three yielded inconclusive results. Consistency was observed in exculpatory results with the two procedures. This study demonstrates the utility of microscopic hair examinations and the strength of combining microscopic analysis with mtDNA sequencing.
几十年来，关于人类毛发微观比较的专家意见在法庭上一直被常规接受。然而，随着线粒体DNA（mtDNA）测序技术的出现，可以通过对毛发进行微观比较，评估案件中可疑毛发与个体参考毛发之间的关联。虽然这两种方法可以单独使用，但它们可以相互补充，共同提供有关毛发来源关联的更多信息。我们回顾了1996年至2000年间提交给联邦调查局实验室进行分析的人类毛发。在170次毛发检验中，有80次通过微观分析得出关联；其中，只有9次被mtDNA排除。重要的是，66根被认为不适合进行微观检验或微观分析结果不确定的毛发提供了mtDNA检测结果。只有6根毛发没有提供足够的mtDNA，只有3根得出不确定的结果。两种检测程序在无罪证据结果上具有一致性。这项研究证明了毛发微观检验的实用性，以及将微观分析与mtDNA测序相结合的优势。
