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The purpose of DNA typing in forensic medicine is to match a sample from the crime site with a suspect. Technically, application of the techniques described above do not actually determine whether the sample came from the suspect. Rather, statistical analysis of the test results yield a probability that the sample did not come from the suspect, and with DNA typing, that probability can be so miniscule as to be certain. Importantly, DNA testing has proven to be as powerful for exonerating suspects as it has for convicting them. Indeed, about one in three cases reported by FBI laboratories, DNA testing proved that the current suspect could not have committed the crime, which in many cases was followed by apprehension and conviction of the true perpetrator.
A great diversity of criminal detection has benefited from DNA testing, and it has been especially valuable in solving rape and murder cases. Additional examples include robbery, assault, kidnapping, car accidents, extortion and blackmail. It also has been successfully applied to parentage determination and useful in settling certain immigration disputes that hinges on proving family relationships.
Some illustrative examples of forensic DNA testing include:
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