Amelia Earhart Mystery: New DNA Evidence May Reveal Truth About Her Disappearance

[babylonsister]

Amelia Earhart Mystery Solved? 'Investigation Junkies' to Launch New Expedition
DNA Evidence on a Remote Island May Reveal the Truth About Earhart's Disappearance

By CHRISTINA CARON
July 27, 2009


It has been 72 years since famed aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared while attempting to fly around the world. But the mystery remains unsolved: Nobody knows exactly what happened to Earhart or her plane.

Now researchers at the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, or Tighar, say they are on the verge of recovering DNA evidence that would demonstrate Earhart had been stranded on Nikumaroro Island (formerly known as Gardner Island) before finally perishing there.

During May and June of next year, Tighar will launch a new $500,000 expedition, continuing the archaeological work it has been doing on the island since 2001.

"We think we will be able to come back with DNA," said Tighar's Executive Director Ric Gillespie, who is working with two DNA labs in Ontario, Canada, Genesis Genomics and Molecular World. "We were out there in 2007 under the impression that in order to extract DNA we would need to find a piece of a human, and we didn't find anything like that. But we did find what's best described as personal effects of the castaway that died there."

During the 2007 trip, Gillespie and his crew uncovered early 20th-century makeup and two pieces of broken glass that match a 1930s compact mirror, among other artifacts. DNA can be extracted from such remnants as long as those artifacts aren't contaminated during the collection process. Unfortunately, in 2007, they were. Armed with a new collection protocol, Gillespie and his team will return to the site to seek out new items during their May 2010 excursion.

more...

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=8160365&page=1

[imdjh]

1. I really hope no public money is being spent on this.

[brooklynite]

4. Guessing the money comes from...

...selling the rights to TV documentaries.

[xultar]

5. I'm all for funding this. It is history and important, especially for women in aviation.

[mzmolly]

8. Ditto!

:hi:

[corkhead]

9. ...and how poorly they fly?

:evilgrin:

just kidding!

[truedelphi]

10. I am hoping you have written that from some

Underground bunker whose location is undisclosed!

[scubadude]

2. I believe this should be funded.

It would be relatively easy to send a ship, which would be in the area anyway, to go about this. Look at the lengths we go to to retrieve Vietnam Vest remains. These were American heroes too.

Scuba

[Catshrink]

3. I always thought it was the clenis.

[MzNov]

6. This is very exciting. I hope they get the answers about her disappearance. nt

[Lochloosa]

7. Her planned flight path would have taken her near the island

[truedelphi]

11. Does this mean that as she approached the destination, she

Mistakenly looped back? I always thought they were rather close to the island they were heading for when they intially got lost.

Pls feel free to Correct me if I am wrong, I find the subject interesting.

[Freddie Stubbs]

12. She was kidnapped by aliens

Didn't anyone watch Star Trek Voyager?

http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/The_37%27s_(episode)