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New Scientist has Dental records beat DNA in tsunami IDs.

WHEN the devastating tsunami struck the Indian Ocean in December 2004, it was not DNA that identified most of the victims but traditional forensic methods such as comparing dental records. In Thailand, for example, DNA techniques put names to less than 1 per cent of the victims.

The scale of the disaster made the detection effort particularly difficult. Teams were dealing with thousands of bodies in a hot, wet climate, where roads and other infrastructure had been destroyed and lab facilities were virtually non-existent. In other recent disasters, such as 9/11 and the massacres in the former Yugoslavia, DNA identification proved to be the most useful tool. But in Thailand neither the time nor the facilities were available.

In Thailand some 75 per cent of bodies were identified using dental records, 10 per cent by fingerprints and just 0.5 per cent using DNA profiling. For the remainder a combination of techniques was used.

One advantage teeth have over DNA is that they can be easily stored to be compared with dental records later. Without refrigeration, DNA samples would have quickly degraded. Forensic odontologists were still working in Phuket months after the disaster. By February, they had identified more than 400 people with dental records. By April more than 1200 had been identified, and by July the number had reached 1700. The number now identified is 2200, and 3300 bodies are unidentified.

For the Tsunami victims it seems the “old fashioned way” of forensic odontology worked the best. DNA, of course continues to have value but climatic conditions continue the role of comparing teeth and skulls.

H/T MedGadget

Technorati Tags: dentistry, dentist, dental, forensic odontology , DNA

President Bush’s nominee for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts leaves his house on Monday, Sept. 12, 2005, in Chevy Chase, Md. Less than three years after first donning a judge’s robe, John Glover Roberts Jr. is on a path toward speedy confirmation for becoming, at age 50, chief justice of the United States.

The ASSociated Press has Senate to Start Roberts’ Hearings Today.

Roberts smiled and said merely, “Good morning,” as he left for the hearings from his suburban Maryland home Monday. Outside the Supreme Court, across the street from the Capitol, several dozen demonstrators carried signs that said “Confirm Roberts” and “Stop Abortion Now.” Court officers stood shoulder-to-shoulder to keep demonstrators at a distance.

Lawmakers were devoting the first day of the weeklong hearings to opening statements _ from the 17 men and one woman on the Senate Judiciary Committee, from the three senators who were introducing Roberts and from the nominee himself.

Less than three years after first donning a judge’s robe, Roberts seemed on a path toward speedy confirmation.

Today the country will be bored with the statements of the eighteen Senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The hearings are beginning…..carried gavel to gavel on C-Span 3 or cspan.org.

Supporter of Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee John Roberts, Corinne Reed of Wichita Kan., joins a a rally of supporters and opponents Roberts’ confirmation in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, Monday, Sept. 12, 2005 in Washington. Roberts’ confirmation hearing begins today

Technorati Tags: Supreme Court, George Bush, John Roberts