DNA Fingerprinting History

Sep 10, 1984 - Alex Jefferys, and english geneticist, discovered the method of DNA fingerprinting. It was discovered unexpectedly while he studied patterns of illness in families.

Feb 7, 1988 - In Orlando, Florida, one of the first cases of DNA fingerprinting was used. A burglar suspect was convicted of his crime on the basis of his DNA fingerprint.

Jun 15, 1989 -Judges in court begin using DNA fingerprinting as viable evidence to convict people of crimes. It's not becoming a widely accepted method. It does around this time also have a lot of critics who don't think it should be used in court.

Apr 17, 1992 - A report was published on DNA fingerprinting, and the National Academy of Sciences does their own research on how valid it is.

Aug 1, 1998 -O.J. Simpson's case becomes widely publicized; blood at the scene of the crime from DNA forensics proves that O.J. killed his wife.

Sep 11, 2001 - Thousands of individuals are killed at the World Trade Center in New York. Specialists begin doing DNA profiling of all of the remains at ground zero to try and identify the bodies.

Sep 9, 2004 - Sir Alec Jefferys starts expressing is disapproval for the use of DNA fingerprinting to work with court cases. He stated that this type of profiling was "discriminatory" and that because DNA was only being compared with known convicted people, than someone could be wrongfully accused of a crime.

Dec 17, 2005 - Scientists begin cloning e. coli cells and use DNA fingerprinting to show that DNA in their nuclei matches that from the nuclei of cells from their parent cells. This was done as a beginning step to clone stem cells in the human body.

May 12, 2006 - Law inforcement databases are becoming more widely used, not only for blood samples, but for hair and other items of known convicted criminals.

May 13, 2008 - TUESDAY, May 13 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers say DNA tests may be able to tell doctors which embryos that are to be used for in vitro fertilization (IVF) are most likely to develop healthy. It also tells them which ones aren't.

May 7, 2009 -Police offices start keeping DNA samples and fingerprints of people who were prosecuted, but never actually convicted (this eventually may open up a huge can of worms).