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January 16, 2004

Strange But True!

  • A weekly column of incidental information, off-the-wall observations and other random facts about the world.
    • By BILL SONES and RICH SONES, Ph.D.
    Special to the Journal

    Q. It's been used to trace ancestries, solve crimes, assess organ donor-recipient compatibility, optimize mate selection for endangered species, settle patent cases involving genetically engineered organisms, identify the origin of hides or tusks in suspected poachings, and even to answer historical riddles such as whatever happened to the son of Marie-Antoinette following her beheading. What is this revolutionary procedure, much in the news these days?

    A. Right, DNA analysis, useful whenever it might be important to trace the lineage of humans, animals or plants, say Mahlon Hoagland et al. in "Exploring the Way Life Works: The Science of Biology." In 1999, scientists DNA-tested the preserved heart of the presumed Dauphin Louis XVII of France, son of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, both guillotined in 1793 at the height of the French Revolution. The child reportedly died in prison, but rumors swirled of his escape, and many people claimed to be him or one of his descendants.


     
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