How the charred remains will be tested for matching DNA

The same tests used on victims of 9/11 will be used on remains of supposed Ayotzinapa students

MEXICO.- Mexico's Attorney General, Jesus Murillo Karam, announced on Friday during a press conference, that three witnesses of the Guerreros Unidos cartel lead investigators to the site where three bags containing ashes and remains of what are believe to be the missing students were disposed of.

Reportedly, all that remains of the bodies which were burned in the Cocula town dump for upwards of 13 hours are small bones and teeth that are so charred they break in pieces just with a simple touch. The Attorney General also stated that while the suspects stated that these remains belonged to the students, his office will not take this as a fact until scientific proof confirms this. This is not an easy task, especially when considering the "high degree of deterioration/url]" of the only proof located thus far.

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Cocula burial pits. Photo via Lasillarota.com
Cocula burial pits. Photo via Lasillarota.com

During the controversial press conference, Murillo confirmed on the one hand that the students were murdered, but that they will be considered missing persons until they are found or a determination is made on the bones. The remains have been sent to a specialized lab in Austria to conduct mitocondrial tests, at a cost of a thousand dollars per bone. Only two bones were reportedly found in conditions to be sent for testing.

[url=http://www.animalpolitico.com/2014/11/son-los-restos-de-los-normalistas-esto-hara-la-ciencia-para-verificarlo/]According to an article by Animal Político, the deterioration of the bones would be not be testable under common DNA tests.

[p]The normal DNA test requires complete cells with an almost complete nucleus, which contain only two copies of DNA and is normally heavily diminished when exposed to intense temperatures, such as very hot or very cold weather.

Mitrocondrial DNA tests on the other hand can analyze from 500 up to 2,000 thousand copies of DNA per cell, thus increasing the possibility of determining the identity of the remains despite intense levels of deterioration. In other words, there is only one nucleus with two copies of nuclear DNA, but there could be hundreds of mitochondrial (with copies of mitochondrial DNA for testing).

Mitochondrial DNA tests require a sample from the mother of the subject, since mitochondrial DNA only contains the mother's information. These are the same testes that were conducted on victims of the attacks on September 11, 2011 on the Twin Towers in New York City.

Elizabeth.rosales@sandiegored.com

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