The Gazette. Learn something new today and every day.

DNA ‘truth’ may be false tomorrow

The Gazette Opinion Staff

Jun. 15, 2013 9:58 am

I am a science major and spent the bulk of my career in research management in the pharmaceutical industry.

The “truth” of today is the falsehood of tomorrow. That is what life is about. We all knew the world was flat and we all knew that fingerprinting was the gold standard for identification, until we found out that it is not.

DNA technology is today's “truth” until tomorrow we find out the problems with it.

But, even for “actual truths” - whatever that is - humans make mistakes. Do an Internet search and you will find tons of lab errors in processing DNA samples and people found guilty based on DNA “evidence” that was contaminated, processed incorrectly, or misread by folks who know better.

Niles Ross

Cedar Rapids

Opinion content represents the viewpoint of the author or The Gazette editorial board. You can join the conversation by submitting a letter to the editor or guest column or by suggesting a topic for an editorial to editorial@thegazette.com