You DNA Is On Every Strand Of Hair!

Many times, the only available DNA to be found during an investigation is on hair. The DNA is actually located in the follicle of the hair.

If you pull out one strand, it's the part that looks like it has a tiny bit of skin around it at the bottom. Since this was in your head, it takes plenty of skin cells with it. Scientists can get an enormous amount of data from just a single strand of hair. Since it holds all your genetic information in the form of DNA, one strand of hair can identify you easily

This is a popular subject on many courtroom dramas and movies. Many times, a police officer or other agency will be investigating a crime and have very little evidence. After thoroughly checking a crime scene, chances are there has been a hair or two left behind by a criminal. Hair falls out quite often as you can notice by brushing your hair or showering. Every time you scratch your head or engage in a vigorous activity you are probably losing a couple strands. This is gathered up by forensic scientists and run through a DNA database. If it matches someone who happens to be on file somewhere, the police just found a potential suspect or witness. This is essential for solving crimes as many times there is nobody around and no witnesses whatsoever.

The DNA from hair is just like DNA gathered from other areas of the body and is 99.999% reliable as a form of identification. Many people get convicted of crimes every year based on hair found at crime scenes. Many times, there isn't a matching sample on file with any databases so police will have to gather all the DNA samples they can from everyone they think might have been involved. Even if they don't end up catching a person right away, by tagging their DNA and keeping it in a database, if that person ever is DNA tested for any reason, they will be linked to the older crime and charged.

DNA testing hasn't been around that long and most people associate hair tests with drug screenings. This is because when you take drugs, most of them leave the body through urine in a few days or weeks. With a hair sample, the history of drugs is stored in the hair shaft itself and can be identified for much longer. The typical test is valid for 90 days. Some employers require this from their employees if it is a very high level or secure facility.

The DNA from hair can also be used for paternity tests, sent for medical studies and kept for tracking family histories and inherited diseases. This is widely becoming the accepted practice and is standard now in place of blood typing.