Vladimir Kremlev for RT. Click to enlarge

The paper goes on to suggest a method of identifying faked DNA.

Modern forensic science relies on DNA evidence to provide court evidence which decides thousands of sentences; both convicting people of crimes and clearing them of charges. The paper casts doubt on how reliable the evidence is and will be in future trials.

“Stealing an identity is now a possibility, potentially someone could come along and collect your DNA without access to a tissue sample and make it look like your DNA using various complicated techniques,” commented Gail Javitt, from the Berman Institute of Bioethics at John Hopkins University.

“From now on in criminal procedures, they have to be careful about having a real DNA, not a faked one,” she added. “Outside the criminal context, we need clear policies that it’s “hands off our DNA” and maintain the privacy of our genetic information.”

However, skeptics point out that the majority of criminals wouldn’t have either the knowledge nor access to the required equipment to fabricate DNA evidence.

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