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Look what the cat dragged in. Few people knew about a British university’s cat DNA database until it helped convict a man of manslaughter.
Last July, cat hairs were found on a curtain wrapped around a dismembered torso that washed up in Portsmouth, England. The Hampshire police sent the hairs to The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at the University of California, Davis. Because the genetic material could be shared among a number of animals, the scientists couldn’t assess the significance of the DNA match that they discovered between the hair at the crime scene and the hair of the suspect’s cat, “Tinker.”
So why are black cats always on the roster of spooky emblems? As with many aspects of holiday celebrations, history has everything to do with it. It comes down to the historical superstitions of. Spooky scary bongo cat by blake1052; Bongo cat by XxphoenixmanxX; Mr.Bongo Cat by Anton3612; Bongo Cat remix by stephanie1008; Bongo Cat by Charmander53; Nom-go Cat by cs1150086; Bongo Cat remix by SsullyY; Bongo Cat by nataliedhps430 (ALI-A RARE FOOTAGE) NINJA KILLING 2 PEOPLE AT ONCE by GoldenTreeBubble; Bongo Cat and Flute Cat plays Ice Man.
“We had to keep some details of our database quiet until the case was heard in court,” says genetics researcher Jon Wetton of the University of Leicester. Through the database, the researchers were able to show that only two percent of the U.K. database sample matched the hairs on the curtain—which helped to support the prosecution’s claim of a link to Tinker. Last week, his owner was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum of 12 years before being eligible for parole.
“With the success of the case, the University put out a press release,” says Wetton. “We thought it would make the inside page of the local paper but it seems to have gone a bit global really.” The international press has exploded with stories about the database.
Could our pets implicate more wrongdoers? Although DNA from human bone, hair, saliva, and blood have revealed the perpetrator in crime scene investigations, this was the first time feline hair was used in a criminal trial in the U.K.
I spoke with Wetton and doctoral student Barbara Ottolini who worked to create the database, which may lead some criminals to avoid brushes with our furry friends.
How did the cat DNA database come about?
JW: We were contacted in April of this year by the Hampshire police because of this murder case. The database was made specifically for the case, but with the intention it would also be useful for future investigations across the country. The funding came from the Hampshire police and was indirectly supported by the Leverhulme Trust.
What kind of information can be gained by such a repository?
JW: We are not looking to identify a specific cat. Mitochondrial DNA types are shared between breeds and every cat who shares the same maternal lineage has the same mitochondrial profile. You can’t with any certainty say ‘I think this came from a Persian,’ for example. The database is specifically for saying whether a particular profile is common or rare. We have hair at the crime scene and we have a cat that we think left hair behind. What’s the chance they match?
What is the database’s main function?
JW: The most likely use is cold cases, when all other lines of inquiry have been exhausted, or to provide additional support with other evidence. We are aware of some very famous cases within the UK where among the evidence, pet hairs were found. No one was able to progress with those at the time. But we need to know which cat is believed to have left the hairs behind—we need hairs or a blood sample from that cat.
BO: Also, if there were a dedicated database in each country, then the investigative power of this technique would increase dramatically.
What’s the chance your pet could help incriminate someone?
JW: In the UK, there are about 10 million cats and 10 million dogs. If you’re a pet owner, you’ll appreciate that your clothes, furniture, and certain parts of the house are pretty much saturated with pet hairs. If someone broke into your house and brushed against curtains as they came in through the window, they might pick up cat and dog hairs. They would end up being tagged by the pet in your house.
How big is the database?
JW:It’s very important for the case that we have the most robust data set possible. We have samples of mitochondrial DNA from 152 cats.We looked at 32 local cats from the immediate area of where the body was found, and 120 samples across the rest of England. We looked at how often we saw Tinker’s profile and it was seen just three times in our database.
Where did the cat samples come from?
BO: They came from pet clinics across the country when cats were taken in by their owners for routine blood testing.
JW: The vet did their tests, and they would have just thrown away the blood samples. We just said, “Can we have any leftover samples from the places we’re interested in?”
Jon, didn’t you set up a database for dogs too?
JW: In my previous job at the Forensic Science Service, we set up a similar database for a similar purpose, working out the likelihood that dog hairs at crime scenes were linked with particular individuals. There was everything from human murder cases where people set dogs on individuals to dog fighting.
How would you distinguish between a cat hair and a dog hair?
JW: It’s difficult. People with a lot of experience can tell them apart under a microscope. You can also test any sample and figure out which species it came from.
How much genetic variation is there among cats? How does that compare to humans?
JW: A lot less than humans and less than dogs as well. When cats were domesticated, only a handful of cats contributed to subsequent generations, creating a population bottleneck. Most variation was lost because virtually every cat these days is probably related to about a dozen founder female cats.
Could the database be used by conservationists to help endangered species, like the tiger?
JW: I would love to do that, and at the Forensic Science Service we developed techniques to look at that problem. One of the main reasons why tigers are in danger of going extinct is because most of the body can be used in traditional Chinese medicine. We set up a test that would allow us to tell if any confiscated medicine contained tiger parts. We are quite keen on looking at our database to see if we can tie it into rare and endangered species.
What would you like to do next?
JW: We’re interested in seeing how much more information we can get from DNA. We’re looking at potentially using more advanced technologies that might hint at breed or hair colors. It’s a pretty major task. You’re not going to be able to do it with a single hair, not for a while at least. Once identifying skin, hair and eye color is worked out in humans, it will be less difficult to do in cats.
Last, but not least. How do people react when you say what you’ve been working on?
BO: They immediately ask whether or not I’ve been at the crime scene. Or they start asking about whether I can clone someone.
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A bizarre mummified cat which has been discovered buried in the wall of a Transylvanian house could fetch £1,000 at an auction.
The feline is thought to have been buried to ward off evil spirits in Dracula's Transylvania around 100 years ago.
Artist Valentin Hirsch found the perfectly preserved corpse in his late grandmother's home in Bistrita while cleaning the property.
The Berlin-based tattooist had been tidying the house with his brother when they made the spooky discovery.
Valentin, 40, said: 'My brother Adrian and I found the cat in the wall of my grandma's house, which was built in 1921.
'We were cleaning the cellar when we noticed a crack in the wall and decided to loosen the bricks to see what was behind it.
'We thought we might find a hidden room or compartment.
'As I removed some of the bricks, I noticed something that looked like a miniature head of an animal.
'My first thought, after removing more bricks and seeing the entire body, was that it might be a miniature sculpture of a tiger.
Spooky Cats Cracked
'As I shone the flashlight on it, I had mixed feelings of what it might be.
'I still thought it was a sculpture until I touched it, took it out and realised by the lightness of it that it was something else.
'For a moment I was paralysed in thought and astonished by what I had found.
'It left me with many questions about how the cat got there, who put it there and about the previous owners of the house.
'We placed the cat on a piece of paper and took it out of the cellar to have a closer look at it in the sunlight.
Mummified Ancient Egypt foetus with horrifying defects mistaken for a bird
'We also went to the cadastral office in Bistrita and requested a historic document to trace back all the owners of the house.
'We have not been able to find any additional information on who the owners were.
Spooky Cats Crackers
'It remains very mysterious. We are planning to have a closer look at all the rooms, the cellar and the attic next time we go to the house.'
The mummified cat is going under the hammer next Tuesday (13/10) and is expected to fetch between £800 and £1,200.
The city, in northern Transylvania in Romania, was mentioned in Bram Stoker's Dracula.
In the 1897 novel, the main character Jonathan Harker stays in the city before travelling to Dracula's castle.
Jim Spencer, head of Hansons' Library Auction, said: 'Dried or mummified bodies of cats are often found concealed within structures in the British Isles, northern Europe and North America.
Spooky Cat Scratch Houses
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'It was customary to place the dried body of a cat inside the walls of a newly-built home to ward off evil spirits or as a good luck charm.
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'Cats were known to sense ghosts and other supernatural beings, and dried cats were sometimes placed in locations deemed vulnerable to witches entering the house, in this case the cellar.
'With Halloween nearly upon us, this has to be the ultimate quirky and rather spooky find.' Alien storm download for mac.
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