When the samples reach Salt Lake City, a team of 12 to 14 scientists at Sorenson Genomics begins the delicate work of isolating the DNA. Roughly 850 samples are currently under analysis.

"We were excited about being able to help," said Lars Mouritsen, chief scientific officer of Sorenson Genomics. "When the teeth arrived, knowing that each one of those represents an individual back in Thailand who's deceased, and a family who has lost loved ones, it brought a tremendous reality to it."

Mouritsen said the team has extracted a number of tissue samples. "Ideally, we would have wanted to do the extraction and all the testing in Thailand," he said, "but the facilities just didn't exist."

Following extraction, DNA amplification and sequencing begins, and the exact order of roughly 3 billion chemical building blocks unfolds. The information is stored in a computer database, where each sample is matched against others. About 1,200 of the 3 billion nucleotide bases are analyzed to make a match.

The team was hoping to capture genomic DNA, which is found in a cell's nucleus, making a match easier. However, Thailand's heat, humidity and saltwater degraded many of the genomic DNA samples.

"In those cases," Mouritsen said, "it makes it a little more difficult to make the identification."

That has led to testing of mitochondrial DNA, the genetic material found in mitochondria, which are located in the cytoplasm of a cell and inherited maternally.

"The mitochondria are much more abundant, and the DNA is really much more robust," Mouritsen said. "So it's still very possible for us to take the mitrochondrial DNA and be able to make matches of mother to children."

James LeVoy Sorenson said he wanted to help with the identification because he feels each person has an obligation to help others in need.

"The fact is we are all brothers and sisters," Sorenson said. "As I look at you and you look at me, we are closer than we think. We look at each other for differences, but really just look at the similarities."

In addition to his partnership with Sorenson, Rockwood has started his own fund to help in Thailand, online at www.thaitsunamihelp.org. Funds will be used to hire displaced resort workers to help in ongoing aid and reconstruction efforts.

"I've made a lot of money here (in Thailand), and this for me is to give something back," Rockwood said. "Anybody who's ever spent any amount of time with the Thai people know they're some of the most loving, caring people. It's infectious how wonderful these people are, and it is just so sad that most of the major victims here are poor people. These poor fishing villages that are right next to the water got hit the most."

---

E-mail: danderton@desnews.com