The Arabist

The Arabist

By Issandr El Amrani and friends.

Egypt's amazing DNA scientists

Forget everything you heard from the Arab Human Development Reports and Ahmed Zuwail about Egypt's scientific research and development lagging behind. The country actually has the most advanced bio-geneticists in the world, being able to retrieve all sorts of information from a DNA sample:

Security sources: DNA reveals bomber was from Egypt’s Delta region 

Authorities have announced that a body found at the scene of the Two Saints Church attack is suspected to be that of the suicide bomber.

According to DNA tests performed on the body, the bomber is suspected to be from Egypt’s Delta region, north of Cairo. Officials say that investigation results show he was a university graduate with no permanent job, who left his family home about one year ago.

Officials also say that investigations are still undergoing in order to confirm these finding and to track down the suspect’s family members for further interrogations.

This new information refutes previous statements by the government, which claimed that the bomber was of Afghan origin.

Wow. Just wow. Egypt has done such a great job at genome sequencing it can determine Delta genes, as opposed to Saidi ones. And it has the amazing ability of determining employment status, university enrollment and all sorts of other info.

All joking aside, this piece is a prime example of why basic scientific literacy is necessary in journalism. Still, I'd like to know how exactly DNA sampling helped find this suspect — if at all.