Claire Frazier

It revealed to us, to the entire scientific community, how little biology we truly understood, even for the simplest forms of life.

It revealed to us, to the entire scientific community, how little biology we truly understood, even for the simplest forms of life.

Where we felt a tremendous amount of tension was the urgency we were feeling from the FBI to get this information as quickly as possible, but us also knowing that going quickly could lead to inadvertent errors.

Where we felt a tremendous amount of tension was the urgency we were feeling from the FBI to get this information as quickly as possible, but us also knowing that going quickly could lead to inadvertent errors.

And when you start to think that, you know, this isn't just information that's going to be out there to enable science. This is information that ultimately could be entered as evidence in a criminal trial. That's a pretty chilling thought.

And when you start to think that, you know, this isn't just information that's going to be out there to enable science. This is information that ultimately could be entered as evidence in a criminal trial. That's a pretty chilling thought.

In one case, in error, one of the laboratory staff had left these plates in an incubator longer than they should have.

In one case, in error, one of the laboratory staff had left these plates in an incubator longer than they should have.

And this is where the breakthrough happened. So when she pulled these plates out of the incubator to get rid of them, she looked at them. That's when we first saw the differences in the DNA sequence between these morphotypes and the reference.

And this is where the breakthrough happened. So when she pulled these plates out of the incubator to get rid of them, she looked at them. That's when we first saw the differences in the DNA sequence between these morphotypes and the reference.