Found on the ninemsn news website, this reports on the case of an innocent man who was convicted through DNA testing. The article focuses not on the story itself but on the inquiry that is taking place over the accuracy of DNA fingerprinting, in particular reference to cold cases.

DNA has been used for 17,000 cold cases dating to 2001 and in the inquiry, so far only this one has been proven to have been in error. The cause of this error is also known - a human mistake of placing the wrong sample in the well during gel electrophoresis.

The quotes in the article, and the article itself defend this method, and state that they aim to limit the possibility of human error even more by using robots and the like. It is very clear that the mistake in this case lay with the lab technitions and not the method: "he stressed the science behind DNA testing was not in question".

It draws to a close reminding the public that science is not infallible. It claims that people place too much faith in DNA fingerprinting despite the fact that it is not an "exact science": "People who look at that science - and they are lay people, judges and juries - are disproportionately impressed by it."

This is an important message - people need to be aware of the failings of science as well as the success. They need to have an accurate view, not a glamorised picture. It is good that this article highlights the errors that can occur in a process such as this, but encourages people to keep their faith in science and even in DNA fingerprinting. One mistake should not condone a method (as long as the mistake is human error and not the method itself causing mmajor problems).

The article also says that one form of evidence should not stand alone, which matches my last post. Evidence should appear from all sides and the majority should agree.

So don't throw science out there just to impress people. That is not what it is for. Science is all about truth.

Image from news article.