Q When did DNA testing come into play for finding criminals?
A DNA testing was first used as a tool to identify criminals in Minnesota in 1989, when the state established a data bank of DNA profiles from adults and juveniles convicted of criminal sexual conduct. Two years later, the state had its first "cold hit" -- a previously unidentified suspect was identified based on a DNA match between crime-scene samples and the DNA database. It was the first time that this had happened in the United States.
Minnesota linked with the FBI's national database when it was created in 1993. The Minnesota database was broadened in 2000 to include all violent-crime convictions and again in 2002 to include all felony convictions.
DNA evidence from unsolved cases is entered into a forensic index to be checked against future offender samples. Law-enforcement agencies also occasionally revisit what have become cold cases to determine if evidence exists that could benefit from DNA analysis. Most of these cases predate the use of DNA.
Source: Jill Oliveira, public information officer, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
Raw deal on onions Q Is it true that raw onions kill germs, specifically the flu? I received an e-mail that described how to cut up onions and place them around the house to prevent the spread of flu.
A Biologists say it's highly implausible that onions could attract the flu virus as a bug zapper traps flies. Viruses require a living host to replicate and can't propel themselves out of a body and across a room.
The idea that onions have medicinal properties goes back millennia and spans many cultures. Egyptians thought onions were fertility symbols. Ancient Greeks rubbed them on sore muscles, and American Indians used them to treat coughs and colds.
