ZEIT Verbrechen – DNA analysis
Criminal cases are solved and cold cases are reopened in the DNA laboratory at Berlin's Charité hospital. A visit.
Picture editor: Chantal Seitz
Trace samples from the crime scene are analysed in the DNA laboratory.
A microlitre of blood, a tiny splash at the crime scene, contains thousands of cells. Just three fresh cells are enough to create a complete DNA profile.
Marion Nagy heads the DNA laboratory at the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Charité in Berlin. Her team mainly works on so-called cold cases.
In order to analyse the DNA, it must first be available in its pure form. To do this, human cells are cracked and the DNA they contain is amplified.
Special lamps are used in the laboratory to visualise traces of secretions such as semen so that samples can be taken from the right places.
Anyone entering the laboratory must first provide a saliva sample. This ensures that visitors do not contaminate DNA samples unnoticed.