It is now more than ten years since Dr. Alec Jeffreys (now Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, FRS)
reported in Nature that the investigation of certain minisatellite regions in the human genome could
produce what he termed DNA fingerprints and provide useful information in the fields of paternity
testing and forensic analysis. Since that time we have witnessed a revolution in the field of forensic
identification. A total change of technology, from serological or electrophoretic analysis of protein
polymorphisms to direct investigation of the underlying DNA polymorphisms has occurred in a
short space of time. In addition, the evolution and development of the DNA systems themselves has
been rapid and spectacular.