1984

Via hypervariable “minisatellites” – neat little sequences found on all human chromosomes with a series of repeats unique to the individual – lead to Alex Jeffreys and Vicky Wilson’s discovery of each individual’s unique genetic fingerprint (a string of black marks that looks like a bar code) that was first used to exonerate an accused murderer and identify the actual murderer in England in 1986 (Ridley, 131-135).