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Its accuracy has made DNA evidence virtually unassailable. A landmark report published by the National Research Council in 2009 dismissed most forensics as unproven folk-wisdom but singled out DNA as the one forensic science worthy of the name. Yet in recent years Hampikian and other geneticists have begun to question the technology. Thanks to a series of advances-including the polymerase chain reaction, which can multiply tiny amounts of DNA-it's now possible to detect DNA at levels hundreds or even thousands of times lower than when DNA fingerprinting was developed in the 1980s. Investigators can even collect "touch DNA" from fingerprints on, say, a glass or a doorknob. A mere 25 or 30 cells will sometimes suffice. This heightened sensitivity can easily create false positives

4:47 video Over the past few weeks, the Nobel committees have been announcing the 2015 laureates. This year's winners in the physics and chemistry categories made discoveries about the tiny neutrinos flying through all of us, and the ways our bodies repair DNA.