(流利说)基因族谱学如今可以侦破近期犯罪案件，而不仅仅是历史悬案

今日导读

案发现场，死者头部受到重创，生前曾遭到性侵，被钝器打击致死，有被捆绑的痕迹，身上打着不同寻常的菱形结，但现场没有任何凶器和指纹。尸检得出死者死于凌晨 2 时至 3 时，由于案发现场在其家中，没有搜到有效的目击证词...... 假想警察要侦查这样一起棘手的案件，30 年前他们面对寥寥线索可能束手无策，但现在有了一个打击犯罪的新途径——基因族谱学。今天的报道来自《麻省理工科技评论》，让我们跟着 Daniel 老师一起走进“犯罪现场”。

带着问题听讲解

Q1: 什么样的案子才是"cold case"？

Q2: 动词"strike"有哪些含义？

Q3: 基因族谱学对现代刑侦有怎样的重大影响？

新闻正文

Genetic genealogy is now solving recent crimes, not just cold cases

基因族谱学如今可以侦破近期犯罪案件，而不仅仅是历史悬案

For the first time, a public database of DNA profiles was used to solve a very recent crime. The implications for crime fighting are tremendous.

一个公共的 DNA 档案数据库首次被用于侦破一项最近的犯罪案件。这对于打击犯罪的影响非常重大。

Red handed: A 31-year-old man, Spencer Glen Monnett, was arrested by police in Utah on July 28 for the rape of an elderly woman, Carla Brooks. The crime happened only last April.

被抓现行：31 岁男子斯潘塞·格伦·莫奈于今年 7 月 28 日被美国犹他州警方抓获，罪名是强奸一位名叫卡拉·布鲁克斯的老年女性。这个案子仅仅发生在刚过去的 4 月。

Monnett was located via “genetic genealogy”: DNA he left at the crime scene was used to find his relatives and then him.

嫌疑人莫奈被“基因族谱”锁定：警方通过他留在犯罪现场的 DNA 找到了他的亲戚，然后锁定了他。

Not just cold-case murders: This year police began using genetic genealogy to crack notorious decades-old murders, like the Golden State Killer case, which had gone unsolved since the mid-1970s. So far, a half-dozen alleged murderers have been named. 

不仅仅是这样的历史悬案：警方今年开始利用基因族谱学侦破臭名昭著的陈年旧案，例如金州杀人案，自从 20 世纪 70 年代中期起就悬而未决。到目前为止，已经有六名嫌疑犯被指认。

How it works: Genealogists upload the sequences of DNA left at a crime scene to a large database of genetic profiles to find relatives of an unknown suspect. Then they zero in on him (yes, they're all men, so far) by building a family tree and using that information to inform traditional detective work.

工作原理：族谱学专家们将被遗留在犯罪现场的 DNA 序列上传到一个巨大的 DNA 档案数据库，以此来寻找未知嫌疑人的亲戚。然后他们绘制家谱并用这些信息配合传统的侦查工作，以此锁定他（是的，用了“他”，因为目前为止，犯罪嫌疑人均为男性）。

Implications?: You bet. It appears police can now ID a criminal within weeks of a crime. What's more, the Utah case is the first time the tool was used to investigate a lesser crime than murder. 

有什么影响呢？：你想得没错。现在看来，警方可以在案发之后的几周之内确认罪犯的身份。不仅如此，犹他州的案子还是基因族谱学第一次被用于侦查次于命案的罪行。

“I believe this will be the trend,” says CeCe Moore, the genealogist and DNA detective who worked the Monnett case. She thinks searching genetic databases soon after crimes are committed will save police resources and could even have stopped this rapist from striking again.

“我相信基因族谱学破案将成为一种趋势，”协助侦破了莫奈案件的族谱专家兼 DNA 侦探切切·摩尔如是说。她认为，在案发不久后搜索基因数据库不仅可以节省警方资源，还本可以阻止该名强奸犯再次犯罪。

“We are so relieved,” she says.

“这样我们轻松多了，”切切·摩尔说道。

—————  文章来源 / MIT Technology Review

重点词汇

genealogy/ˌdʒiːniˈælədʒi/

n. 族谱学

cold case

历史悬案

tremendous/trəˈmendəs/

adj. 精彩的；巨大的

e.g.

Steve Jobs is a tremendous person.

red handed

被抓现行

e.g.

He is caught red handed.

crack/kræk/

v.（使…）开裂；击破

e.g.

crack an egg into the pan

notorious/noʊˈtɔːriəs/

adj. 臭名昭著的；臭名远扬的

e.g.

an area notorious for violence

alleged/əˈledʒd/

adj. 据称的；涉嫌的

zero in on

瞄准…；（使）对准…

e.g.

We zero in on the news topics on Mondays.

lesser/ˈlesər/

adj. 次要的

strike/straɪk/

v. 侵袭；攻击