Bigfoot DNA Study Update - Dr. Ketchum Responds to Critics

After a heated debate with Steve Kulls on the blog talk radio show Bigfoot Tonight last Sunday night I asked Dr. Ketchum to help me with a few questions I did not have the answers to and only she could answer. Dr. Ketchum has responded and I would like to post the answers to help silence the critics. I will be listing my questions in black and her answers in red.

 
1. Where are the passing peer reviews and why are they not available for the public?
They never are with published scientific journals. You can be sued for revealing them.

Comments: Some critics are ignorant and do not know that peer reviews are confidential while others critics in the scientific community do know! These critics are using the public's ignorance on the peer review process unethically and unfairly to tarnish Dr. Ketchum and the DNA Study.

Reference(s):

Nature - Peer Review Policy

Anonymity 
We do not release reviewers' identities to authors or to other reviewers, except when reviewers specifically ask to be identified. Unless they feel strongly, however, we prefer that reviewers should remain anonymous throughout the review process and beyond.

Peer Review and Manuscript Management in Scientific Journals: Guidelines for Good Practice

The Golden Practices

The submission of a manuscript and all the details associated with it must

be kept confidential by the editorial office and all the people involved in the

peer-review process. The identity of the reviewers must be kept confidential.

2. Which amplifier was used was it a standard one or one you developed?
 Primers...both

Comments: Below is an excerpt from the DNA Study -Supplement - Materials and Methods

 Nuclear DNA from the selected samples, human references, and appropriate controls was
amplified using the Promega PowerPlex® 16 kit20 and an Applied Biosystems™ 9600® Thermal
Cycler according to manufacturer’s suggested conditions. The PowerPlex® 16 is a STR multiplex
system containing primers for the following loci: Penta E, D18S51, D21S11, TH01, D3S1358,
FGA, TPOX, D8S1179, vWA, Amelogenin, Penta D, CSF1PO, D16S539, D7S820, D13S317,
and D5S818. Amplified products were prepared and subjected to electrophoresis according to the
PowerPlex® 16 kit instructions on an AB Prism® 310 Genetic Analyzer or an AB Prism® 377
DNA Sequencer. The samples were also amplified using AmpFℓSTR® Yfiler® PCR
Amplification Kit (Applied Biosystems by Life Technologies) that amplifies 17 Y-STR loci in a
single PCR reaction using 5-dye chemistry. Amplified products were prepared and subjected to
electrophoresis according to the AmpFℓSTR® Yfiler® PCR Amplification Kit instructions on an
ABI Prism® 310 Genetic Analyzer or an AB Prism® 377 DNA Sequencer.

3. Did the study video document their testing?
Some of it but not much since most of it was done outside of my lab and the labs didn't know what they were testing.

4. Why did GenBank refuse to accept her genomes? 

I have an email thread where they did (Deny Acceptance)  but due to confidentiality issues I can not go public, but I am sending you a copy so you may comment on the validity of my claim.

Comments: I can verify that I have read the email thread. It is authentic and the responses are from an official representative of GenBank. GenBank did refuse entry of the genome after repeated attempts because of the reason that Dr. Ketchum outlined in her interview with George Knapp on Coast to Coast on February 17th, 2013. "Because the species of the submission was listed as "Homo Sapiens" (Human) they (GenBank) wanted signed written permission from the subject (Bigfoot)"

In my opinion it appears that GenBank was looking for any excuse to keep this genome out of the database and away from the scientific review.

Again Dr. Ketchum provides open and honest answers and was as forthcoming as she could be. The general public is ignorant on the procedures and protocols for publishing a scientific paper. The critics are seizing on this fact to try and discredit Dr. Ketchum, and the DNA study. 

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