TOTAL INFORMATION ANALYSIS

Thursday, March 04, 2004

Wired News Mar. 04, 2004:

Resurrecting a debate over one of the 20th century's most enduring mysteries, a team of scientists is casting doubt on DNA tests that confirmed the deaths of Czar Nicholas II, the last ruler of imperial Russia, and most of his family.

In a newly released report, the scientists declare that the testing of remains found in the Ural Mountains was shoddy and flawed. They add that their own tests on the preserved finger of the sister of the czar's wife raise even more questions about the original findings.
[...]
The new report, in the Jan. 28 online edition of the Annals of Human Biology, questions the DNA findings. The authors, including geneticists from Stanford University and the Russian Academy of Sciences, allege that "major violations of standard forensic practices" took place, and they suspect that "fresh" DNA . . . contaminated the samples.

They also allege that the DNA testing produced results that were too specific for such old, decayed remains. "If you obtain results like that, they're evidence of contamination," Knight said.
[...]
Another researcher who worked on the original Romanov projects expressed amazement at the idea that the DNA from the remains could have been contaminated yet still reveal links to Prince Philip and the czar's brother.

"That is not going to happen by accident. What has to be implied here is some kind of bizarre conspiracy theory," said Tom Parsons, chief scientist of the Armed Forces DNA Identification Lab, whose office confirmed the DNA tests that linked Czar Nicholas to his brother. If the contamination came from "some random schmo," it wouldn't magically provide a link to the czar, he added.

In response, Knight insisted that he isn't accusing the researchers of working together to twist the truth. "I never dreamed that all those people got together and committed conspiracy," Knight said, although he hinted that others may have tinkered with the remains. "All sorts of people have vested interests in this thing."
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| Posted at 23:04 | PERMA-LINK |

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