Fast-track DNA tests were used to confirm the identity of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, after his capture by US forces on Saturday.DNA profiling experts contacted by New Scientist are surprised at the speed of the results, but all agree such a rapid conclusion would be possible. “I have to say I’m quite impressed,” says Alec Jeffreys at the University of Leicester, UK, who pioneered DNA profiling techniques. “The time scale is feasible.”
