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Who is a Native American? And who gets to decide? From genealogists searching online for their ancestors to fortune hunters hoping for a slice of casino profits from wealthy tribes, the answers to these seemingly straightforward questions have profound ramifications. The rise of DNA testing has further complicated the issues and raised the stakes. In Native American DNA, Kim TallBear shows how DNA testing is a powerful-and problematic-scientific process that is useful in determining close biological relatives. But tribal membership is a legal category that has developed in dependence on certain social understandings and historical contexts, a set of concepts that entangles genetic information in a web of family relations, reservation histories, tribal rules, and government regulations. At a larger level, TallBear asserts, the \"markers\" that are identified and applied to specific groups such as Native American tribes bear the imprints of the cultural, racial, ethnic, national, and even tribal misinterpretations of the humans who study them. TallBear notes that ideas about racial science, which informed white definitions of tribes in the nineteenth century, are unfortunately being revived in twenty-first-century laboratories. Because today's science seems so compelling, increasing numbers of Native Americans have begun to believe their own metaphors: \"in our blood\" is giving way to \"in our DNA.\" This rhetorical drift, she argues, has significant consequences, and ultimately she shows how Native American claims to land, resources, and sovereignty that have taken generations to ratify may be seriously-and permanently-undermined.

In 2018, after law enforcement announced it had used a technique called forensic investigative genetic genealogy (FIGG) to identify the Golden State Killer, we conducted a U.S. general population survey and found most respondents supported using FIGG to solve violent crimes. Since then, FIGG has helped close hundreds of criminal cases, but it also has weathered controversies. On FIGG's fifth anniversary, we conducted an expanded, follow-up survey with U.S.-based participants to determine if public opinion had changed and found continued support for FIGG across most applications. The same proportion (91 %) of respondents in the 2018 and 2023 surveys endorsed using FIGG in genetic genealogy databases to help identify perpetrators of violent crimes. Similar to the 2018 survey, only 57 % of respondents supported FIGG to help identify perpetrators of non-violent crimes. The results indicate that U.S. policies that have been adopted for FIGG are generally consistent with the opinions of our survey respondents over time. Nonetheless, there are opportunities to strengthen FIGG governance with the goal of maintaining public trust in the technique. •FIGG relies for its existence on public support.•In 2023, we conducted a survey to assess U.S. public acceptability of FIGG.•Of 1394 respondents, 91 % endorsed FIGG to help identify violent perpetrators.•By comparison, only 57 % endorsed FIGG to help identify non-violent perpetrators.•The results align with 2018 survey results and current U.S. policies for FIGG.

•Forensic genetic genealogy, a technique that uses public genetic databases, raises technical and process considerations.•This article explores considerations such as feasibility for investigators, scientific validation and an assessment of cost.•The article reviews legal issues, in an Australian context, for laboratories considering using this capability for casework. Forensic genetic genealogy, a technique leveraging new DNA capabilities and public genetic databases to identify suspects, raises specific considerations in a law enforcement context. Use of this technique requires consideration of its scientific and technical limitations, including the composition of current online datasets, and consideration of its scientific validity. Additionally, forensic genetic genealogy needs to be considered in the relevant legal context to determine the best way in which to make use of its potential to generate investigative leads while minimising its impact on individual privacy. This article presents these issues from an Australian perspective, with the observations and conclusions likely to be applicable to other jurisdictions.

InThe Genealogy of a Gene, Myles Jackson uses the story of the CCR5 gene to investigate the interrelationships among science, technology, and society. Mapping the varied \"genealogy\" of CCR5 -- intellectual property, natural selection, Big and Small Pharma, human diversity studies, personalized medicine, ancestry studies, and race and genomics -- Jackson links a myriad of diverse topics. The history of CCR5 from the 1990s to the present offers a vivid illustration of how intellectual property law has changed the conduct and content of scientific knowledge, and the social, political, and ethical implications of such a transformation. The CCR5 gene began as a small sequence of DNA, became a patented product of a corporation, and then, when it was found to be an AIDS virus co-receptor with a key role in the immune system, it became part of the biomedical research world -- and a potential moneymaker for the pharmaceutical industry. When it was further discovered that a mutation of the gene found in certain populations conferred near-immunity to the AIDS virus, questions about race and genetics arose. Jackson describes these developments in the context of larger issues, including the rise of \"biocapitalism,\" the patentability of products of nature, the difference between U.S. and European patenting approaches, and the relevance of race and ethnicity to medical research.

Anthropologists are often the custodians of long-term unidentified human remains though their positions as curators of university or museum skeletal collections. Various factors decrease the solvability of these legacy cases including the passage of time, the loss of provenience for specific cases, and lack of documentation or case records. While anthropologists can contribute important information toward identification, it is often necessary to explore novel and cross-disciplinary strategies to resolve difficult cold cases. In long cold cases, the postmortem interval, in particular, may be difficult to estimate leading to further challenges in achieving identification. Modern advances in radiocarbon bomb pulse dating, isotope analysis, and actualistic studies have contributed to positive identification of unidentified human remains in some legacy cases, but may not be available to all forensic practitioners and law enforcement from resource-poor agencies. Pooling resources, as well as collaborating with professionals outside of forensic anthropology, is a useful strategy to pursue when anthropological methods are exhausted.The case study presented here demonstrates a collaborative approach between forensic anthropologists, forensic genetic genealogists, and law enforcement in a century-old homicide. The dismembered and mummified parts of a male body were recovered in a remote cave in 1979 and again in 1991. Despite forensic anthropologists creating and updating the biological profile over the decades from recovery to present, no identification was made until the application of forensic genetic genealogy (FGG) to the case in 2019. New interpretations of bone microstructure and trauma analysis are presented for the case, alongside the historical documentation and \"proof of life\" evidence used by the genealogy team. A review of the FGG methods underscores the challenges in this case (e.g. significant endogamy, multiple aliases used by the victim) and the steps taken toward resolution. Ultimately, a combined anthropology and genealogy approach resulted in a confirmed identity for a man who was murdered in 1916. Key points Forensic scientists should leverage a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach toward human identification. When combined with forensic anthropology methods, forensic genetic genealogy is a valuable tool linking biological and cultural-historical aspects of identity. Forensic anthropologists should review challenging cases in their labs as new methods are introduced and new resources become available.

Millions have sent their DNA to be analyzed by private companies, which are revealing customers' ancestry and family connections and reporting health risks. But what are the pitfalls and unintended consequences of sharing genetic data?

DNA testing can serve as a powerful tool that unlocks the hidden information within our bodies for family history research. This book explains how genetic genealogy works and answers the questions of genealogists and individuals seeking information on their family trees. Now that DNA testing for genealogical purposes has existed for nearly a decade and a half—and been refined and improved during that time—it has established its value among family history researchers. It is now becoming accepted as another tool in the kit of well-rounded genealogists. This book covers this fast-growing application of genetics, empowering genealogists to apply this information to further their research. It will also enable general readers to understand how genetic information can be applied to verify or refute documentary research—and to break down frustrating walls that block the discovery of ancestors. The book describes the three major categories of DNA testing for family history research: Y-chromosome tests for investigating paternal (surname) lines, mitochondrial tests for investigating maternal (umbilical) lines, and autosomal tests for exploring close relationships. Expert genealogist David Dowell provides guidance on deciding which test to take and identifying which members of your family should be tested to answer your most important genealogical questions. Readers will also learn how to interpret the results of tests and methods for further analysis to get additional value from them.

La investigación genealógica genética (IGG) es una herramienta de identifi cación forense que permite, mediante el uso de la búsqueda familiar de largo alcance, resolver crímenes o identifi car cadáveres una vez apurada la metodología tradicional mediante la base de datos CODIS. Esta técnica se divide en tres etapas en las que se requiere del análisis de STR y de los datos SNP. El uso del genotipado de alta densidad de SNP para la estimación de la longitud de segmentos genómicos compartidos (expresada en cM), permite realizar búsquedas en bases de datos civiles, como GEDmatch, FTDNA y DNASolves, para construir árboles genealógicos con parientes de lejano grado de parentesco y abarcar un rango mayor de posibles sospechosos. Los datos obtenidos de las bases de datos genealógicas, junto con el estudio de ADN no autosómico, de la zona geográfi ca, edad, sexo... y la utilización de la imputación genética permiten predecir y acotar los resultados. Así, la investigación fi nalizará con el establecimiento de un principal sospechoso y la comparación de su perfi l genético con aquel hallado en la escena del crimen. No obstante, el impacto denota la necesidad de una regulación específi ca en consecuencia con los derechos a la intimidad y seguridad ciudadana.