Cat hair from crime scenes may help nab criminals

Cat hair from crime scenes may help nab criminals


One of the downsides of fluffy pet ownership is the “leftovers” their love can leave behind. No matter how much you vacuum, sweep or lint roll your couches and clothes, Bartholomew’s orange hairs end up on your neatly pressed suit or freshly washed towels. It’s an inconvenient fact of life with few upsides — until now.

Thanks to researchers from the University of Leicester [Lester], a study has shown that one single cat hair holds DNA that could link a suspect with the scene of a crime — or even a victim.

Typically, folks dabbling in less-than-savory acts are concerned with leaving behind no trace of their own DNA. But a new study outlines a means of extracting all the information investigators or scientists could need from a single cat hair.

Using a new method, researchers in England were able to determine the sequence of the cat’s entire mitochondrial DNA, making it 10 times more discriminating than a previous technique that could only look at one small segment. The newer method also helps identify the “rare” types of DNA each cat has, helping scientists better determine which feline follicle may be associated with the foe in question. In fact, the team was able to match DNA from the remains of a missing female cat to DNA from her surviving male offspring.

The researchers said their new method for extracting DNA is efficient and that just one cat hair should yield enough DNA for sequencing analysis, lending some cautious optimism to the future of feline forensics. Eventually, similar techniques may translate to other kinds of pets, too — namely, dogs.

But for now … move over, McGruff. Scientists are taking a scratch out of crime.

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