The inventor of genetic finger printing has been awarded the world’s oldest science prize, the Royal Society’s Copley Medal.
In 1984, Prof Sir Alec Jeffreys stumbled on a method for distinguishing individuals based on their DNA.
It was a discovery that went on to transform forensic science and resolve questions of identity and kinship.
He receives the medal “for his pioneering work on variation and mutation in the human genome”.
Prof Jeffreys said he was “thrilled” by the honour.
“I am particularly delighted that the award recognises our work extending over three decades into exploring DNA diversity and the processes that generate this variation, and not just our accidental foray into forensic DNA.”
That accidental foray came about almost exactly 30 years ago, when he was comparing the X-ray images that resulted from processing the DNA of one of his lab technicians, alongside her mother and father.
“My first reaction to the results was ‘this is too complicated’, and then the penny dropped and I realised we had genetic fingerprinting,” Prof Jeffreys has said of the original finding.
