> In October, the Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology announced that it would embark on a study to determine the reliability o

> In October, the Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology announced that it would embark on a study to determine the reliability of DNA testing, including the algorithmic methods used by companies like TrueAllele. This research, which NIST says is to establish “foundational validity,” has been condemned by Perlin specifically through a post on the Cybergenetics blog, which calls the study “wasteful, “unnecessary,” and “meaningless.” Perlin argues that True Allele’s validity has already been proven through scientific, peer-reviewed research studies. But these studies that Perlin relies on are internal validation studies that were paid for and run by Cybergenetics. It is a bit unsettling that NIST wants to independently test “foundational validity” but the company founder is so dismissive of the idea.