Recovery of DNA from Old Saliva

[Marat]

Many books have been written about the identity of the infamous Whitechapel Murderer of 1888, better known as Jack the Ripper. There are presently about 200 people seriously suspected of having committed the crimes, and their relatives could in many cases still today be traced through historical records. While little crime scene evidence from the murders has been preserved, one anonymous letter written to the police at the time of the murders has been held by many scholars of these crimes to be an authentic letter from the true killer. This letter has a stamp affixed to its envelope, and the glue on the back of that stamp had to be licked -- presumably by the killer -- to be attached, and this letter and stamp are still in the evidence box in the holdings of Scotland Yard.

 

So the question is: Would there be any prospect of today recovering DNA from the saliva on the back of that stamp, or would it all have evaporated by now, even despite being sealed in glue behind a stamp all these years? If the DNA could still be recovered, it could be compared to the relatives of the existing list of suspects and it might theoretically be possible to solve this crime even now.

[Mr Skeptic]

Odds are it would have been decomposed by bacteria. Under good conditions DNA can survive -- it is a very stable molecule. Also, it can't evaporate.

[CharonY]

Essentially the saliva itself (or most biological matrices for that matter) contain nucleases that can rapidly degrade free DNA. Add microorganisms to the mix and you look at a highly unstable system. However, for some SNP analyses even the degraded DNA may be sufficient (as only very small fragments are required). Unless, however the information of likely candidates or very close relatives is stored somwehere, the identity may be very hard to assess.

Edited January 12, 2011 by CharonY

[ewmon]

Back in 1888, the lack of quality control and consumer protection oversight for stamp glue might have allowed all sorts of biological contaminants (from a human DNA perspective), which would literally muddy up the waters. I'm guessing the glue was mucilage or a glutinous substance or similar material. Because the first adhesive stamp was the Penny Black, first issued in 1840, it's likely that the stamp on the envelope in question (in 1888) was an adhesive stamp and did not require using glue from a bottle or other external source (which would not require wetting with saliva, etc).

[Marat]

Evidently the technical problems of making the first postage stamp in England were solved by a suggestion from Sir Rowland Hill to the Parliamentary Committee then considering the issue. He said: "Perhaps the difficulties might be obviated by using a bit of paper just large enough to bear the stamp [i.e., the official symbol that postage had been paid], and covered on the back with a glutinous wash which, by applying a little moisture, might be attached to the back [sic] of the letter." This seems to have been the method adopted. (The Rotarian, May, 1940, p. 68) Given the convenience of just licking the stamp to provide the moisture rather than applying a damp cloth, I suppose then that in the 1880s English stamps were licked as they are today. While it does seem unlikely that enough DNA could have survived to be useful for identification today, 'Ripperologists' are so fanatical in their quest I am sure they would insist the Home Office undertake an investigation at least to try to find something if they were to consider this possibility.

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[TRUTHBETOLDBYDNA]

Questions! I have a letter from 1971 that is sealed and the postage stamp is perfectly intact. My mother open it on the side using a letter opener. My mother has passed....bless her heart........and the envelope contains the dna from a man that may be my father.

 

How viable do you think the DNA is from this envelope, considering it is from 1971? Also, the envelope is in great condition. It was never damp or kept in any compromising conditions.

 

How would I lift the DNA to submit for DNA analysis to try to establish paternity....? Please...any help would be an amazing blessing!

 

[Arete]

Questions! I have a letter from 1971 that is sealed and the postage stamp is perfectly intact. My mother open it on the side using a letter opener. My mother has passed....bless her heart........and the envelope contains the dna from a man that may be my father.

 

How viable do you think the DNA is from this envelope, considering it is from 1971? Also, the envelope is in great condition. It was never damp or kept in any compromising conditions.

 

How would I lift the DNA to submit for DNA analysis to try to establish paternity....? Please...any help would be an amazing blessing!

 

 

DNA would be recoverable, but you'd be looking at aDNA techniques. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_DNA

 

I've had some cursory experience in ancient DNA from a purely research point of view. I'm not aware of any publicly available aDNA resources, but based on my experience, to recover the kind of loci you'd need for a paternity analysis you'd be looking at thousands of dollars in consumables before you even paid anyone for their time or equipment....

 

Your best bet would be to contact someone who specializes in aDNA (Google is your friend), and see if they would run your sample. Be aware that it will be expensive, and you will get zero guarantees as to it working.

 

Good luck, and sorry if its not what you were hoping for.