9/11 remains and new DNA tool

From NY Post:

New DNA technique could provide hope of identifying remains of more 9/11 victims

 By MICHAEL GARTLAND
September 30, 2012

For the 1,120 families of 9/11 victims whose remains have yet to be identified, there’s a new glimmer of hope for closure.

City forensic scientists plan to soon add another tool to their laboratory — a cutting-edge technique that will allow the city Medical Examiner’s Office to use DNA taken from bone fragments to determine a person’s eye and skin color. 

“It’ll give us some physical descriptions of some individuals whose remains were recovered,” said Mark Desire, assistant director of the medical examiner’s Department of Forensic Biology. “We can narrow down the search.” 

As it stands now, an unidentified DNA sample without a match can only tell scientists whether the deceased was a man or a woman....

Much more here.