Researchers render accurate 3-D mugshots from DNA

Technology has revolutionized the way police prevent crime and/or track criminals. But getting the word out about a wanted man or woman still relies on hand-drawn composite sketches -- drawings based on descriptions of the subject from eye witnesses. But now, DNA found at a crime scene may help law enforcement automate a more accurate wanted poster for the man or woman still at large. A team of researchers, led by population geneticist Mark Shriver of Pennsylvania State University, have developed new genetical analytical techniques to recreate 3-D renderings of people based on DNA. Controlling for sex and ancestry, the researchers were able to hone in on 24 variants in the 20 different genes that proved most useful at predicting facial structure. Shriver and his researcher colleagues studied the gene sequences and the facial composition of 600 volunteers who were of mixed European and West African ancestry. By targeting the mixed ancestry, especially from two very difference facial types, scientists increased the odds of isolation specific facial structure genes. Their findings were recently published in PLoS Genetics. The techniques aren't quite ready for widespread adoption at crime labs, but Shriver is already working with Pennsylvania authorities to see if a DNA-generate mugshot could turn up some leads in a pair of serial rape cases gone cold. The scientists involved on the project say they need to do broader genetic analysis of different populations, so they can confirm the genes they've pinpointed -- and the facial structures those variants predict -- hold true. But Imaging specialist Peter Claes of the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium said it won't be long before the technique is streamlined. "I believe that in five to 10 years' time, we will be able to computationally predict a face," he told the New Scientist.