Long-necked Q-Tips lay side by-side on the counter. Stickers that wrapped around their stems gave bar codes and neatly printed names.
These cotton swabs may help attach names to those whose remains lay under the rubble of the World Trade Center towers.
The Q-Tips carry cells?and genetic clues?wiped from the inner cheeks of those hoping to learn the fate of loved ones they fear are victims of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York.
Some samples come from grandparents, children, possibly babies, said Suzanne Miles, lab technician at Myriad Genetics, who stood over the counter, handling the Q-tips.
Since September, the Research Park company has applied its genetic expertise to help attach names to victims of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and offer resolution to those still fearing the worst.
“My emotions are very mixed, it’s hard psychologically,” Miles said of the work. While she feels good about helping the victims’ families, the work brings the tragedy into focus for her.
“That has made it hard to go home and watch the news,” she said.
Her lab extracts DNA from the relatives’ cells, preparing to generate genetic fingerprints of those who donated.
These samples, when compared with those from the victims’, can help take names off the list of missing.
Tooth and hairbrushes, chewed gum, dirty clothes and other personal affects can also carry victims’ DNA. Loved ones turn these items over to the city, and the city sends DNA extracted from them on to Myriad.
Victims remains, too, are initially processed back East. The DNA arrives as a clear liquid, kept on ice .
Once it has the DNA, Myriad’s researchers look for repetitious sequences in the genetic code. The number of repeats at 13 locations in the genetic code determines a person’s unique genetic fingerprint.
The fingerprints go back to New York, where a computer program searches for matches.
As of Monday, 4,136 remained missing from the World Trade Center. The city had identified almost 500, about 10 of these through genetic analysis, according to the New York City Office of Emergency Management.
Tattoos, birthmarks and jewelry typically identify a body, but in their absence, investigators turn to the genetic code, said Terri Scholl, administrative laboratory manager. Because of the disaster’s destructive force, no one knows how far identification will go?evidence of some victims may have been obliterated by fire or the collapsing building.
“We speak with New York literally 10 times a day,” she said. “They are under so much pressure.”
Myriad has received about 3,300 cheek swabs from relatives, roughly the same number of DNA samples from personal affects and about 2,000 or so victim samples, she said.
Victim identification is atypical work for Myriad. The company develops genetic and protein-related technologies and offers genetic tests to determine if someone is predisposed for breast, ovarian or colon cancer.
It also participates in CODIS, a nationwide FBI project assembling the DNA profiles of criminals.
Extracting DNA from the relatives’ cells is performed in the same lab where samples from convicted felons and potential cancer patients are prepared.
“The actual steps are very similar,” said Kirsten Ruston, accessioning supervisor. “There are definitely more feelings attached.”
Standing nearby at the counter, Miles said this was not the type of work she expected. She began work at Myriad this summer, excited at the opportunity to pursue her interest in forensics and work on the CODIS project.
As part of the FBI’s project, Myriad contracted with the state of New York, forming a foundation for their current work.
Myriad’s system is highly automated, using barcodes to identify samples. A robot transports the samples much more efficiently than a human could, said Scholl.
And even if it’s done from across the country, the genetic analysis gives Myriad employees a chance to help those who may have lost someone, Ruston said.