The Mystery of Anastasia: Can DNA Testing Solve It?
According to an Associated Press article published late last week, the mystery surrounding the missing Russian Princess Anastasia could be solved later this spring through DNA testing.
Scientists in England, Russia and the U.S. plan to test DNA found in bone fragments that were found in Russia last year. They will compare DNA from the bones to DNA samples known to be from the Czar’s family and descendents.
Scientists are reviewing any biological and genetic material that has been deemed relevant at the request of the Russian prosecutors as part of a reopened investigation of the deaths of the royal family. The bones to be tested were found at a site in Northen Russia where the rest of the Russian royal family was supposedly killed. After the killing, scientists believe the killers doused the bodies in sulfuric acid before burning them to hide or eliminate evidence. However, scientists believe the killers ran out of time to thoroughly destroy all evidence, thus leaving behind these bone fragments. After initial viability testing, scientists have determined that there is indeed enough preserved DNA to move forward with DNA analysis and comparison.
Anastasia was the youngest daughter of Russia’s Czar Nicolas II. Czar Nicolas and his family were murdered during a revolt in the Bolshevik Revolution in the early 1900s. Anastasia was was rumored to have escaped execution, and the mystery surrounding her possible survival is legendary because over the years many women have claimed to be the surviving princess.
The most famous of these women, Anna Anderson, was proven not to be Anastasia after her death in 1984. Scientists compared Anderson’s DNA to DNA samples taken from a descendant of the Russian royal family and determined there was no relation. Anna Anderson’s story became the centerpiece for many media broadcasts about the Anastasia mystery, including the 1956 film Anastasia and consequent news stories, novels, and even a musical.
For more information on how this type of DNA family relationship testing works, visit www.betagenetics.com/genetic_services.html. Results of the DNA testing will be released later this spring, scientists who are involved in the case have said.
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on Monday, April 7th, 2008 at 7:20 pm and is filed under Home Paternity Tests.
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