Staggering Breakthrough

Charlie Hatchett · Post by **Charlie Hatchett** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 10:41 am

Minimalist wrote:
Forum Monk wrote:Can I have a drumstick?

If you can wrestle it into the oven you can have whatever you like.

Here, I pass the honorary torch back to you:

Post by **Minimalist** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 11:41 am

but what sequences we got support that idea."

I interpret that as a call for more people to begin research along these lines.

Digit · Post by **Digit** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 1:09 pm

And this gives the chance to raise a point I was hoping somebody might clarify for me.
In this country if you tread on a policeman's foot they take a DNA sample for future reference, if then a sample from a crime scene matches, you become a guest of Her Majesty. Problem, the normal technique applied relies on the matching of 7 points. This low number has resulted in thousands of samples having to be ignored as apparently instead of the chance match running into millions it actually comes down to 1 in 35!
Sooo! When the experts are looking for matches to prove dino/bird HSN/HSS relationships or otherwise, how far do they go?

Forum Monk · Post by **Forum Monk** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 1:22 pm

Based on that depth of analysis you suggest, Digit, stegasaurus could be laying on the ground with a gaping hole in his belly and they would indict the turkey.

Digit · Post by **Digit** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 1:41 pm

I don't get that Monk! What I was trying to point out was that the full DNA for a Wood Pigeon would probably be unmatched by any other Wood Pigeon. So given 2 samples, without ID, how many matches would be rquired for the lab tech to swear that both samples came from Wood Pigeons?