Tag Archives: DNA

What would it take to prove the existence of Bigfoot?

Texas Monthly’s Lauren Larson visits the annual Texas Bigfoot Conference and asks the important question. [Michael Mayes, a schoolteacher and author of Valley of the Apes: The Search for Sasquatch in Area X] introduces a question that has preoccupied investigators … Continue reading

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A deeper look at de-extinctioning

Really good stuff. You are wandering the forests of Mauritius, an oyster-shaped island east of Madagascar, when you spy a dodo, a bird famous for being as dead as one can possibly be. Yet this dodo waddles before you, pecking … Continue reading

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Dodo update

Everyone needs a home. After years of working on bringing back one of the most popular extinct animals — the dodo — Colossal Biosciences has found a home for its bird in Mauritius in a new partnership with the Mauritian … Continue reading

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Woolly mammoth de-extinctioning

Here we go. In a historic building in Deep Ellum, a colossal effort is underway to bring some of the most famously extinct animals back to life. The wild mission comes from a Dallas-based company called Colossal Biosciences which is … Continue reading

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Funding for child DNA ID kits quietly dropped

This is such a weird story. For months, Texas lawmakers were on track to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to continue distributing child identification kits to Texas schoolchildren, a program championed by state officials. In April, both the Texas House and Senate approved preliminary … Continue reading

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Mammoths and dodos

How you feel about this will likely depend on how strongly you identify with that Ian Malcolm quote from Jurassic Park. The Texas entrepreneur working to bring back the woolly mammoth has added a new species to his revival list: … Continue reading

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Reading and writing and DNA kits…

I dunno, man. I just don’t know. Texas public school systems are set to distribute DNA and fingerprint identification kits for K-8 students to parents who wish to participate. The state Legislature passed a law in spring 2021 requiring the … Continue reading

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Let’s protect Galveston’s red wolves

They’re one of the cooler things about Galveston. The coyotes that roam Galveston Island are quickly becoming famous. The animals are the subject of dedicated social media pages and their silhouettes have been emblazoned on T-shirts. Earlier this year, they … Continue reading

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I don’t know why anyone thinks that IVF will be safe in Texas

That’s what people are saying now. Abortion bans across the country have thrown into question the fate of in vitro fertilization, an expensive medical process that helps people become pregnant. But experts and anti-abortion groups say Texas’ laws shouldn’t apply … Continue reading

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More on finding Baby Holly

Everything about this story continues to fascinate me. How did investigators find Holly Marie Clouse? It all came down to a question about spelling — and a birth certificate. In January, genealogists identified the bodies of Harold Dean Clouse and Tina … Continue reading

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Long lost daughter of Tina Linn and Dean Clouse found

Incredible. Absolutely incredible. Donna Casasanta got the call this week, a call she’s spent half of her life praying for. A call about Holly Marie. More than 40 years ago, her son, Harold Dean Clouse, moved to Texas from New … Continue reading

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Missing In Harris County Day 2022

From the inbox: For those with missing loved ones and those who would advocate for them, an annual event May 14th in Houston is the place to be for resources, awareness, and more. May 14, 2022, is Missing in Harris … Continue reading

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More on Tina Linn and Harold Clouse

Very moving stuff. Donna Casasanta picked through the brush in an overgrown patch of woods in northeast Harris County, looking. The 80-year-old mother had spent 40 years wondering. She had traveled 980 miles, driven with her grown children for three … Continue reading

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Tina Linn and Harold Clouse

This is a fascinating story about two people who were murdered in 1980, discovered in 1981, and finally identified in 2021 thanks to the broader availability of public DNA databases. Debbie Brooks was hard at work one day back in … Continue reading

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Mutant mosquito update

Keeping you informed on the news you can really use. Four years ago, the Zika virus became an issue. More than 300 people were infected in Texas. Zika can cause birth defects and fetal neurodevelopmental abnormalities in pregnant women. The … Continue reading

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Missing In Harris County Day

I had no idea this was a thing. Last year, 40,175 children were reported missing in Texas (over 9,600 of these from the Greater Houston area). And while many of these cases ended up solved, as of December 31, 8,360 … Continue reading

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The red wolves of Galveston County

Very cool. The coyotes Ron Wooten spotted on Galveston Island’s west end had eye-catching dark, reddish fur and long, slender builds. In the golden dusk of that July evening in 2013, about a dozen of the animals rested in what … Continue reading

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Rape kit lawsuit dismissal will be appealed

To be expected. Two women who on Friday lost a lawsuit against the City of Houston and a variety of officials over a rape kit backlog will file an appeal, an attorney for the women announced in a news release … Continue reading

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Rape kit backlog lawsuit dismissed

Interesting. A federal judge has dismissed a 2017 lawsuit two rape victims filed against Houston’s current mayor and police chief and five sets of predecessors, among others, for allowing a backlog of rape kits to accumulate over decades without being … Continue reading

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In which we try again to eliminate a rape kit backlog

How exactly did we get here? The city’s independent crime lab on Tuesday announced an ambitious plan to clear a backlog of hundreds of rape kits and other DNA evidence, the latest effort to rein in a recurring problem that … Continue reading

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Lawsuit filed over untested rape kits

This could be a big deal. A former Houston woman is suing the City of Houston and a long list of current and former mayors and police chiefs for failing to investigate a backlog of more than 6,000 untested rape … Continue reading

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Let’s use mutant mosquitoes to fight Zika

What could possibly go wrong? The Bayou City’s teeming mosquito population spawns in dark, wet nooks and carries a slew of deadly tropical diseases that could ravage the region. So Houston is pondering a sneak attack, something akin to a … Continue reading

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Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences officially opens

Excellent news. The greater Houston region now has a sophisticated asset to investigate and solve crimes with the official opening of the new Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences (HCIFS). Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and other dignitaries, including Harris … Continue reading

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Harris County crime lab experiencing DNA testing backlog

These things do happen. Expanded testing for property crimes has helped create a backlog of more than 4,600 DNA cases in the Harris County crime lab, straining its ability to complete the processing of such evidence for sexual assaults and … Continue reading

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The pros and cons of merging the crime labs

The calls to merge the city and county crime labs are back, but not everyone likes the idea. Merging Houston’s and Harris County’s crime labs, an idea that was rejected several years ago by the city’s mayor when forensic work … Continue reading

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I just don’t care about Blue Bell

Sorry. Paul Kruse’s father had warned him about the perils of family-run businesses, but he couldn’t escape his place as the obvious heir of a dawning ice cream empire. After ascending to the corner office in 2004, Kruse delivered Blue … Continue reading

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John Bradley does John Bradley things

From Grits for Breakfast: Former Williamson County District Attorney and Texas Forensic Science Commission Chairman John Bradley – who left Texas to become Attorney General of the island nation of Palau after facing national disapprobation, losing reelection, and struggling to … Continue reading

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DNA mixtures

Grits reports on the latest developments in forensics at a hearing of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, and what it means to the legal system in Texas and elsewhere. First, a bit of background. DNA testing looks at two metrics … Continue reading

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All backlogged rape kits have been tested

Great news. Houston officials have completed the lab testing and review of a three-decade backlog of rape kits, yielding 850 matches in the national DNA database. On Monday, Mayor Annise Parker, District Attorney Devon Anderson and police department and crime … Continue reading

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Michael Morton still has work to do

We should be glad he’s doing it. Michael Morton, who spent nearly 25 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, said Monday that under current DNA testing requirements, he wouldn’t have had access to the evidence that led … Continue reading

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More suspects arrested from the rape kit backlog

More good news. Houston’s effort to test a nearly three-decade backlog of sexual assault kits has resulted in new charges filed against 19 people, city officials said Monday, including 10 suspects identified and arrested for the first time. One of … Continue reading

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Palau catches a little heat for hiring John Bradley

Hilarious. The president of Palau has defended appointing a US lawyer who left his previous role as Texas county prosecutor amid controversy over an innocent man who spent almost 25 years behind bars. President Tommy Remengesau confirmed former Williamson County … Continue reading

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John Bradley’s second act

Lisa Falkenberg brings a fascinating and unexpected update to the story of John Bradley, the former Williamson County DA and Texas Forensic Science Commissioner who served as one of the main villains in the Michael Morton case. Since losing elected … Continue reading

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Equality is about more than marriage

It’s about families, and lots of other things, too. Joe Riggs and Jason Hanna never expected to make national news after a surrogate mom gave birth to their twins. Riggs, 33, and Hanna, 37, have been together almost four years. … Continue reading

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