STRAF 2: New features and improvements of the STR population data analysis software.

Population data in forensic genetics must be checked for a variety of statistical parameters before it can be employed for casework. Several tools exist to perform such tasks; however, it can become challenging to obtain the right results due to the number of software to use and the broad range of input formats. Furthermore, a substantial amount of experience is required to use some of these programs.

Ethical and legal reflections on secondary research using genetic data acquired for criminal investigation purposes.

Research with human genetic data or human beings more generally requires valid informed consent. However, several exceptions exist to this universal principle, usually for situations where it is impossible or at least impractical to obtain this consent. Those exceptions are usually bound to requirements of necessity, shared benefit for the concerned community and minimization of harmful impact.

Who threw that stone? A study on DNA transfer.

Contact or touch DNA traces from stones account for around 5 % of all crime scene-related swab samples analysed in our department. These traces are often used to identify perpetrators in cases such as burglary, when a stone is used as a tool to break a window or in cases of property damage during riots. Provided that a DNA profile can be obtained in such a case, questions may arise in court regarding the possibilities of DNA transfer onto the stone.

Considerations on expanding criminal offender DNA databases with Y-STR profiles.

Although national criminal offender DNA databases (NCODDs) including autosomal short tandem repeats (STRs) have been a successful tool to identify criminals for decades in many countries, yet there are many criminal cases they cannot solve. In cases with mixed male-female samples, particularly sexual assault, expanding NCODDs with Y-chromosomal STR (Y-STR) profiles allows database matching in the absence of autosomal STR profiles. Although Y-STR matches are not individual-specific, this can be largely overcome with rapidly mutating Y-STRs (RM Y-STR) allowing separation of paternally related men.

Citrullination, a novel posttranslational modification of elastin, is involved in COPD pathogenesis.

Elastin is an extracellular matrix protein (ECM) that supports elasticity of the lung, and in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and emphysema, the structural changes that reduce the amount of elastic recoil, lead to loss of pulmonary function. We recently demonstrated that elastin is a target of peptidyl arginine deiminase (PAD) enzyme-induced citrullination, thereby leading to enhanced susceptibility of this ECM protein to proteolysis. This study aimed to investigate the impact of PAD activity in vivo and furthermore assessed whether pharmacological inhibition of PAD activity protects against pulmonary emphysema.