DNA analysis has presented investigators with the opportunity to resolve disputed questions of fact from tiny and even degraded biological specimens formerly beyond the reach of investigational technology. The technique also readily lends itself to database systems; England and Wales launched the National DNA Database on April 10, 1995. The DNA molecule has an almost unlimited potential for storing biological information. It transmits information in accordance with discovered hereditary and genetic principles, thereby conferring uniqueness on every human except for monozygote identical twins. The challenge for forensic sciences is to develop systems that are capable of obtaining access to as much of the variable sequence as technology will allow in simple, reliable, cost-effective ways that can be speedily retrieved from a computer. The National DNA Database is beginning to provide the potential to achieve this result. Figures