DNA, the magical molecule that carries all of the information for your physical characteristics, could soon reveal the look of your face.
A paper released on Monday by genomics-based company Human Longevity claims that it can predict individuals' faces by using their genomes.
Researchers sequenced the whole genomes of 1,061 volunteers of varying ages and races, and feed their genomic and biometric information into a machine learning program.
By analyzing given data, the program was able to construct a picture of a volunteer's face which indicates his or her gender, skin and eye color, facial structure, age, height, weight, and even voice.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported the machine learning program could match anonymized genomes to their hosts with more than 80 percent accuracy in racially mixed groups. However, in groups of those with only European or African-American ancestry, the accuracy dived to 50 percent.
Results will be more accurate if more genomes are examined, said J. Craig Venter, executive chairman of Human Longevity and senior author of the paper. He also claimed that the study demonstrated higher accuracy in predicting simple characteristics such as skin and eye color, but tend to make more mistakes when it comes to complex traits like voice.
The genomics pioneer said, "I've always said to people that your genome is more than all the other numbers in your life that identify you: Your credit card number, your date of birth, your address, your Social Security number," The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
Although the technology looks promising, some people are questioning its authenticity.
MIT Technology Review reported skeptics claim that the California-based company simply portrayed average looks of their volunteers based on their gender and races, which can be tested easily from DNA.
"The face prediction is just predicting the average face for your race. You will always say, 'Wow, that kind of looks like me,'" Jason Piper, genetics expert of Human Longevity told MIT Technology Review.
Yaniv Erlich, chief scientific officer of a genealogy website named MyHeritage.com said on Twitter that Venter's technology cannot predict face.
To prove his point, Erlich posted a picture of Venter's prediction of his own face from last year, saying that it looks more like actor Bradley Cooper than its host.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man has been found guilty of raping a woman a year before he was charged with kidnapping and killing a school teacher who was on an early morning run.
A jury in Memphis convicted 40-year-old Cleotha Abston of kidnapping and raping the woman in September 2021.
According to The Daily Memphian, the jury's Friday decision found Abston guilty on three counts of aggravated rape, especially aggravated kidnapping and unlawful possession of a weapon. Jurors had heard testimony from witnesses Tuesday and Wednesday, and then closing arguments on Thursday.
The Memphis news outlet reports that the victim reported she had been raped on Sept. 21, 2021, after meeting Abston on a social dating site and agreeing to meet him at his apartment.
Abston allegedly held her at gunpoint, covered her face with a T-shirt, walked her outside the apartment and raped her in the backseat of his girlfriend's vehicle.
“I didn’t want to die,” she testified Tuesday, explaining why she complied.
Abston was not charged in the 2021 rape case until after being charged with snatching Eliza Fletcher from a street near the University of Memphis on Sept. 2, 2022, and forcing her into an SUV. Her body was found days later near a vacant duplex.
Abston was not arrested on the rape charges before Fletcher’s killing because of a long delay in processing the sexual assault kit, authorities have said. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors say they will pursue the death penalty if Abston is convicted of first-degree murder in Fletcher's death, but no trial date has been set in that case.
The killing of Fletcher, a 34-year-old kindergarten teacher and mother of two, shocked the Memphis community and led to a flood of support for her family. Runners in Memphis and several other cities held an early-morning running events in her honor a week after she was abducted. A second run honoring Fletcher was held last year.
Abston was arrested after police detected his DNA on sandals found near the location where Fletcher was last seen, an arrest affidavit said. An autopsy report showed Fletcher died of a gunshot wound to the head. She also had injuries to her right leg and jaw fractures.
After Fletcher’s death, the Legislature passed a law requiring the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to issue a quarterly report on sexual assault kit testing times.
Abston’s lawyer, Juni Ganguli, had filed a change of venue motion seeking to have jurors from the Nashville area hear the rape case, but a judge denied the request. Ganguli had said that heavy media coverage and social media commentary threatened Abston’s ability to receive a fair trial if Memphis-area jurors are used.
Ganguli had said social media comments about news stories in the Fletcher case have been overwhelmingly negative and toxic.
The rape victim in the 2021 case has since sued the city of Memphis on allegations that the Memphis Police Department did not properly investigate her case, but the lawsuit was dismissed by a judge.
FILE - Cleotha Abston sits during a court appearance at the Shelby County Criminal Court, July 6, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. A jury in Memphis convicted Abston, Friday, April 12, 2024, of kidnapping and raping the woman in September 2021.(Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal via AP, File)/The Commercial Appeal via AP)
