Uses for DNA may spread to far-flung fields like archaeology and fine arts

In the past couple of decades, genetics has revolutionized fields such as…medicine. In the next couple, expect DNA to turn up in such far-flung disciplines as archaeology, fine arts, and computing…Here are some of the ways it might be put to use in the future.

Because genes strongly influence hair color, eye color, and facial structure, you can get a rough idea of what a person looks like by trawling through his or her DNA. That information could prove useful to police departments…[and] could help archaeologists, too.

In more outré work, geneticists could resurrect woolly mammoths, dodos, and other extinct species…In theory, scientists could even resurrect one of those redheaded Neanderthals…

DNA could be used to expose fraud in the art world…Billions of dollars’ worth of art changes hands every year, and some experts estimate that 40 percent of it is fake…[S]ome scientists have suggested attaching a small plastic label full of DNA to works of art.

DNA itself has become a trendy artistic medium…Artists have also begun to produce visual or conceptual works by manipulating creatures’ genes…

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Fun With DNA

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