At a DNA lab in Va., scientists restore names to anonymous victims of Argentina’s ‘dirty war’
By Vanessa Hand Orellana, APSaturday, December 26, 2009
Va. lab IDs Argentine ‘dirty war’ victims by DNA
WASHINGTON — A northern Virginia lab has identified the remains of 42 victims of Argentina’s former dictatorship using DNA.
The Bode Technology Group compared DNA from 600 victims’ bone samples with the DNA from surviving relatives’ blood samples to seek matches.
The independent Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team exhumed the skeletons from mass graves and other sites in Argentina. The group has collected 6,000 blood samples from families and hopes to process another 500 bone samples in 2010.
Experts expect advances in DNA testing to increase the pace of identifications.
Some 12,000 people are officially listed as dead or missing from the 1976-83 junta’s “Dirty War” on dissent, or nearly 30,000 by human rights estimates.
