Ancestry informative markers (AIMs) are polymorphisms that have contrasting frequencies between populations from different geographic areas. Questions that forensic researchers might ask are: 1) Can we distinguish between just continental populations or can we get to regional populations as well? and 2) What can we learn about admixed populations?
Dr Chris Phillips, forensics researcher at the University of Santiago de Compostela, is working with a global consortium to develop a custom AIMs panel for the Precision ID NGS System for human identification. He describes how they have selected those SNPs and are generating population analysis systems.
Watch the video to hear how AIMs can be used to generate investigative leads when there is no match in the database and how they might be used as an alternative to or a way to corroborate an eyewitness account.
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