Forensic science experts at Flinders University are refining an innovative counter-terrorism technique that checks for environmental DNA in the dust on clothing, baggage, shoes or even a passport.
This research is led by postdoctoral research associate Dr Jennifer Young, will developed a system to trace the source of dust on suspect articles to match a soil profile of a specific area or overseas country.
A statement was released by Dr young stating that:
“This could help provide evidence of where a person of interest might have travelled based on the environmental DNA signature from dust on their belongings,”
“This microscopic environmental trace evidence, based on soil geochemical, bacterial and fungal analysis would complement and enhance current forensic intelligence tools,”
According to Professor Linacre, Chair of Forensic DNA Technology at Flinders, environmental samples are ideal contact evidence, as crime scene detection can establish a link between a suspect, a location and a victim. He said:
“Environment samples extracted via the ‘massively parallel sequencing’ technology provide biological signatures from complex DNA mixtures and trace amounts of low biomass samples,”
This project has received State Government Defence Innovation Partnership (DIP) grant of almost $150,000 to develop the intelligence and forensic potential of dust traces for counter-terrorism and national security, working with the Australian Federal Police and university partners (University of Adelaide and University of Canberra) to match the DNA extraction and amplification technique to Australian soil profiles from Geosciences Australia.
This project will utilise a series of soils with contrasting properties to understand the relationship between soil biogeochemical signals and the derived dust signal under controlled conditions, before introducing environmental variables through an ‘in-situ’ experiment.
The project is among more than $1 million in funding announced in the fourth round of the Defence Innovation Partnership’s Collaborative Research Fund.
SOURCE : FLINDER’S UNIVERSITY
Forensic Genesis 
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